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:
- [21:37] Economic Impact 1
Massive supply-side shock
- [23:50] Economic Impact 2
Normalisation of new trends
Home working - [25:03] Economic Impact 3
Cause a sharp correction in asset values
Destroy a lot of ‘wealth’
Debt forgiveness - [27:35] Economic Impact 4
Reverse economic integration
Reverse globalisation (in economic terms) - [28:44] Political & Public Policy
State economic interventionism & economic nationalism
A revival of state ownership but a decline of regulation
Major welfare reforms - [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/