The coronavirus public health crisis has quickly turned into an economic crisis. The necessary social distancing measures have closed down huge swathes of the UK economy, while the Government has committed hundreds of billions of pounds to supporting firms and workers through the downturn. Amid huge uncertainty about the scale and duration of the crisis, it is crucial that the right policy decisions are taken as we wrestle with the huge blows being delivered to both family and public finances. What has the economic impact of the shutdown policies been so far? How might that change depending on the length of the lockdown? Where might this crisis – and our response to it – leave our economy, our labour market, and our public finances? And what does this mean for economic policy making today, and for the rest of the 2020s? The Resolution Foundation is hosting a live online discussion to discuss a new report examining these issues with leading UK economists and policymakers, including Bloomberg’s Stephanie Flanders and former Chairman of the Financial Services Authority, Adair Turner. Viewers will be able to submit questions to the panel.
