The Economics of a Pandemic – What makes for good economic policy in the age of COVID-19? - with Dr. Ed Lazear

It has been exactly two months since the first case of coronavirus was detected in the United States. As the stock market continues to fall and businesses temporarily close, questions are mounting as to how to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19. How is the current economic downturn different from the 2008 recession? What should be the overarching aim of our economic policy moving forward? How can Congress target the individuals and businesses that need assistance the most – both in the short-term and the long-term? Dr. Ed Lazear offers answers to these questions and more.

Dr. Ed Lazear is Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and a Professor of Economics at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He served as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors under President George W. Bush from 2006 to 2009. Dr. Lazear is a labor economist by trade and is the founder of the field of economics known as “personnel economics.” His extensive research, which has appeared in numerous economic journals, has focused primarily on employee incentive structures and productivity in firms. Dr. Lazear is the recipient of over two dozen awards and fellowships and is a frequent contributor to Wall Street Journal.