COVID-19 Thought Leadership Digest: March 25, 2021

Below, you'll find the latest research updates from our faculty, as well as media appearances and upcoming virtual events related to COVID-19.

COVID-19 Research and Insights from Chicago Booth Review

How to make rational, transparent pandemic policy
Decision rules can help formalize the process by which leaders make choices, says Lars Peter Hansen.

Entrepreneurs should know their options for investment
When COVID-19 hit, there was concern about the impact of scrapping face-to-face meetings on investors in startups. But Ira Weiss says now is a great time to turn to angels or venture capital.

Chapter 7 bankruptcies drag down local economies
The pandemic has unleashed a wave of corporate bankruptcies, and research coauthored by Booth's Emanuele Colonnelli finds that liquidation wreaks more havoc than reorganization.

Financial-risk preferences predict vaccine acceptance
Public-health messages that take risk tolerance into account could encourage vaccine take-up, according to research by professor Abigail Sussman and postdoctoral scholar Daniel O'Leary.

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

Select Thought Leadership in the Media

Hospitals are proving more resilient than you'd think
April 14 |Nasdaq
"The CARES Act kept hospitals afloat at a time when they were struggling, and additional support from Biden's latest relief plans should provide further help," says Booth's Alyssa Rapp.

The other reason the labor force is shrunken: Fear of COVID-19
April 11 |Wall Street Journal
Research from Austan Goolsbee and Chad Syverson shows that voluntary behavior changes drove the collapse in mobility more so than government-mandated shutdown orders.

We've had a really tragic pandemic and yet markets are at an all time high: Chicago Booth professor Raghuram Rajan
April 8 |Yahoo
Professor Rajan joined the Yahoo Finance Live panel for a discussion about the US economy following the pandemic.

People actually want mask mandates, Chicago Booth finds
April 7 |Crain's Chicago Business
Businesses are underestimating the public's desire for stricter public health measures, according to a study from Oleg Urminsky and Abigail Bergman.

One year after the first wave of pandemic jobs losses, US adds nearly a million jobs in March
April 2 |Forbes
Compared to the Great Recession, the unemployment rate today has recovered quite rapidly, says Matthew Notowidigdo.

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

COVID-19 Content Across Campus

Social sector leaders chart post coronavirus path forward
The Rustandy Center shared top takeaways from its 2021 On Board conference, including what nonprofits can learn from this past year.

European economic experts panel: Vaccine development and distribution
In this Initiative on Global Markets survey, Veronica Guerrieri, Christian Leuz, Lubos Pastor, and Canice Prendergast weigh in on intellectual property protections on COVID-19 vaccines.

US economic experts panel: Vaccine development and distribution
For IGM's US panel, Marianne Bertrand, Austan Goolsbee, Steve Kaplan, and Richard Thaler share their perspective on intellectual property protections on COVID-19 vaccines.

Why UChicago business students are learning about global health
UChicago News adapted an article from Booth Stories on the school's new Healthcare Initiative and its efforts to make a positive impact in the healthcare industry during COVID and beyond.

Customers rate businesses that require masks as more caring, competent
UChicago News adapted CBR's article about Oleg Urminsky and Abigail Bergman's research on mask mandates.

How COVID-19 and trade tensions have affected the US and China
Adapted from Booth Stories, this UChicago article highlights the recent Meeting of the Minds event with Austan Goolsbee focused on divergent responses to COVID-19.

Big investments in vaccine capacity can help governments save lives and boost economies
Adapted from CBR, this UChicago News story covers Eric Budish and Canice Prendergast's research on vaccine capacity.

Virtual Events

Management Conference
April 30, 9 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.
This year's virtual conference features panels with numerous Booth faculty experts on lessons from the pandemic, COVID-19 vaccines, and more.

Care After COVID: What the pandemic revealed is broken in healthcare and how to reinvent it
May 12, 5 p.m.
In this event from the Davis Center, Stigler Center, and Healthcare Initiative, professor Matt Notowidigdo will speak with Shantanu Nundy, ’13, about Nundy's plan for reinventing healthcare.