In international crises, disasters and wars, private lenders disappear. But governments have stepped in and lent far more to each other than we previously thought. Christoph Trebesch tells Tim Phillips that new data on 200 years of official lending may contain unexpected good news for countries crippled by Covid-19.
Vox Talks
Vox Talks
Enrico Perotti tells Tim Phillips that while regulatory reform means that banks are unlikely to be at risk, the coronavirus shock poses a serious liquidity risk for the shadow banking sector, where significant funding has been extended on the basis of cash flow rather than real collateral. Avoiding financial panic is key, and will require liquidity support as well as targeted fiscal measures.
How can euro area countries work together to protect their economies? A diverse group of economists has suggested the creation of an emergency Covid credit line. CEPR President Beatrice Weder di Mauro tells Tim Phillips how it would work.
In a VoxTalks special, Danny Quah tells Tim Phillips how Singapore defended itself against the health and economic impact of Covid-19, and what other countries can learn from its actions.
Find Danny's chapter in the new VoxEU book Mitigating the Covid Economic Crisis. Free to download here.
We think about political polarization as a disagreement about policies. But what if the voters can't even agree on the facts? Stefanie Stantcheva tells Tim Phillips about new research that has profound implications for democracy.