The Economic Impact of COVID-19

In the second half of this video, Dr. Stephen Davies from the British think tank Institute of Economic Affairs discusses the possible long term impact of COVID-19 on our lives. By studying the history of pandemics, Dr. Davies takes into account the political and economic discourses of our times in order to foresee potential prospects in the next months and years.

The following map helps you navigate through the video:

1. [21:37] Economic Impact 1

   Massive supply-side shock

2. [23:50] Economic Impact 2

   Normalisation of new trends
   Home working

3. [25:03] Economic Impact 3

   Cause a sharp correction in asset valuesDestroy a lot of ‘wealth’

   Debt forgiveness

4. [27:35] Economic Impact 4

   Reverse economic integration
   Reverse globalisation (in economic terms)

5. [28:44] Political & Public Policy

   State economic interventionism & economic nationalismA revival of state ownership but a decline of regulation

   Major welfare reforms

6. [30:43] Cultural Effects

   Two contrasting reactions:1. A move to seriousness

   2. A move to hedonism

Sources:

• Video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wbd5Ge4MwI

• Dr. Stephen Davies at iea: https://iea.org.uk/dr-stephen-davies/