The PPE panic of 2020

In the scramble for PPE in early 2020, prices spiked, supplies dried up, and doctors were forced to use garbage bags for protection. A year on, Chad Bown has examined what happened, and he tells Tim Phillips how we can avoid a repeat.

The paper discussed is: Bown, C. 2021. 'How COVID-19 medical supply shortages led to extraordinary trade and industrial policy'. CEPR, Discussion Paper 16359