Economic policies for the aftermath of COVID-19

Abstract

In the panel on economic policies in the aftermath of COVID-19 at the 2020 The State of the Union Conference, the Institute brought together Laurence Boone, chief economist of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Jeroen Dijsselbloem, former President of the Eurogroup; Ricardo Reis, A.W. Phillips Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and EUI Professor George Papconstantinou to discuss the main issues in this regard. The session launched with a high-level opening address by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde who identified the COVID-19 crisis as ‘our generation’s Schuman moment’ and called for bold collective action by governments and the EU. Lagarde was followed by a high-level discussion led by FT editor Roula Khalaf with EU Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Paolo Gentiloni, who stressed the need for a ‘macroeconomically significant recovery fund’.