COVID-19 Thought Leadership Digest: August 7, 2020

In the last few weeks, Booth faculty have made numerous media appearances to discuss the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, including Congressional negotiations on a new relief bill. They've also produced new working papers on social distancing compliance, COVID-19's impact on the stock market, and the consequences of publicly disclosing virus transmissions. Check out these and other updates from the Booth community below.

COVID-19 Research and Insights from Chicago Booth Review

Fear, not government shutdowns, chilled the economy
Research from Booth's Austan D. Goolsbee and Chad Syverson suggests government lockdowns didn't crash the economy—fear of the virus did.

Video: Line of Inquiry: George Wu on negotiating over Zoom
Booth's George Wu says that while some aspects of negotiation are easier in person than online, the reverse is true for other aspects.

Video: How the gig economy could support pandemic recovery
With unemployment at historic levels, the gig economy could help workers keep certain professional skills from atrophying, suggests former Booth professor John Barrios.

What we're losing by working remotely
In a COVID-19 Q&A, Lindsey Lyman explores the hidden costs of working from home.

Who has been stockpiling during the crisis?
Constantine Yannelis discusses how the pandemic is affecting consumers, businesses, and policy makers.

Follow CBR's COVID-19 page and social channels for the latest insights from Booth faculty.

Select Thought Leadership in the Media

Should governments spend away?
August 3 | Project Syndicate
As the pandemic and its consequences persist, Raghuram Rajan says we must target our spending carefully. "We must shift to protecting workers, not every job," he says.

After the coronavirus pandemic, here's how the UK can solve its looming productivity crisis
August 3 | The Independent
The UK risks sleepwalking its way into a further productivity slide in the midst of an economic crisis, Chad Syverson suggests.

Rules on insolvency 'must be eased to prevent flood of bankruptcies'
August 3 | The Times
Randall Kroszner says that policymakers in Britain should take a pragmatic approach to corporate insolvency to protect jobs and to preserve as much economic value as possible.

The anatomy of a very brief bear market
August 2 | Financial Times
Niels Gormsen and Ralph Koijen find that dividend futures, which measure expected dividend growth, fell much less in the crisis than stock prices.

Another $1,200 stimulus check won't make up for loss of the $600 enhanced unemployment insurance
July 31 | CNBC Make It
Joseph Vavra estimates that cutting enhanced unemployment insurance would decrease consumer spending by $13 billion per week.

How Democrats and Republicans can reach a deal on coronavirus relief
July 31 | CNBC Squawk Box
Austan Goolsbee discusses negotiations for new COVID-19 relief benefits.

To stay up-to-date with media mentions, follow Booth's In the News page and social channels.

COVID-19 Content across Campus

Helping small businesses pivot
A Polsky Center program is connecting student consultants with local Chicago businesses to help them adapt to challenges brought on by the pandemic.

Researching a crisis in real time
Dan Adelman, Eric Zwick, Chang-Tai Hsieh, and other Booth faculty pivoted their research in extraordinary ways in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Rebuilding the global economy amidst radical uncertainty
Read highlights from the first event in Booth's virtual Road to Economic Recovery series, featuring insights from Randall S. Kroszner and British economist Mervyn King.

Measuring the labor market since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis
The Rustandy Center posted the latest update from Marianne Bertrand and her coauthors' analysis of the labor market impacts of COVID-19 on small- and medium-sized businesses.

COVID-19 data sources for researchers
The research team at the Rustandy Center is compiling data sets to track COVID-19 data by state, including stay-at-home orders, business regulations, and COVID-19 cases by zip code.

European economic recovery
The latest survey of IGM's European Economic Experts features insights from Booth's Veronica Guerrieri, Christian Leuz, Lubos Pastor, and Canice Prendergast.

How to better cope with the mental burden of a pandemic
UChicago News shared a Q&A withChicago Booth Review and Aylet Fishbach on dealing with loneliness and uncertainty amid COVID-19.

Becker Friedman Institute Podcast and Working Papers

Pandemic Economics: How to price a vaccine?
Richard Thaler explores the economic forces that drive production and distribution of necessary goods like COVID-19 tests and, importantly, a vaccine.

Pandemic Economics: US & China—relationship on the rocks?
Is COVID-19 complicating US-China relations? Zhiguo He and Chang-Tai Hsieh offer insight on how the crisis has impacted existing dynamics between the world's two largest economies.

Coronavirus: Impact on stock prices and growth expectations
Niels J. Gormsen and Ralph Koijen quantify how investors' expectations about economic growth have evolved in response to the new coronavirus outbreak and subsequent policy responses.

The persuasive effect of Fox News: Non-compliance with social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic
Jean-Pierre Dubé and coauthors measure the effects of cable news on regional differences in compliance with social distancing during the early stages of the pandemic.

The cost of privacy: Welfare effects of the disclosure of COVID-19 cases
Chang-Tai Hsieh and coauthors quantify the effect of public disclosure on the transmission of the virus and economic losses in Seoul.

Upcoming Events

Virtual Harper Lecture: China's economy at a crossroads
Thursday, August 6, 8–9 p.m.(UTC+8)
Enormous challenges and opportunities emerge for China as the world is stranded in an unprecedented economic and health crisis. Join professor Zhiguo He to examine how the visible and invisible hands of China's economy will guide it through.