Question

Discuss some of the alternative policies that could have been employed for COVID-19.

Answer 1

It is now known that the economic impact because of COVID-19 will be far worse than the Great Depression or Global Financial Crisis. Since there is no cure and the only way to avoid the spread of this virus is by shutting the economy and social distancing. This means that policies have to be adopted to ensure that the damage to the economies is not worse. The policies that could be employed are:

1. The focus of governments should not be on bringing the economy up but instead on cushioning the blow of the lockdown. The policies should first target those who have lost jobs or have had to stay home without any income because of the lockdown. It should be remembered that the governments should focus on those who are most vulnerable.

2. At present, the governments should also target as increasing the spending on healthcare infrastructure as the number of cases are increasing. This is crucial because the economies will bounce back once the virus is dealt with.

3. The governments should also focus on businesses and firms because if the government is able to bring them back to their feet, then the benefits will trickle down to the employees as well.

Many economists across the globe have one thing to say in common that is that the governments should not worry about figures like GDP or fiscal deficit. They should help those who are vulnerable, bring in packages for the people and businesses in need.