

10:00 am EDT - 5:00 pm EDT
Past Event
The Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) is a semi-annual academic conference and journal that pairs rigorous research with real-time policy analysis to address the most urgent economic challenges of the day.
On Thursday, September 24, Brookings held its semi-annual academic conference to discuss new research on COVID-19’s current and future impact on the economy. This year’s fall conference covered issues of epidemiology and economics, business effects and job losses in the COVID-19 crisis, state and local public finance, and monetary and international issues. While BPEA conferences are usually small, invitation-only gatherings, Brookings is opening its proceedings to anyone who wishes to observe the vanguard of economic thought around urgent public health and the global economic issues.
10:00 am - 11:30 am
“Business Credit Programs in the Pandemic Era”
Authors: Samuel G. Hanson, Harvard University; Jeremy C. Stein, Harvard University; Adi Sunderam, Harvard University; and Eric Zwick, University of Chicago
“Epidemiological and Economic Effects of Lockdown”
Authors: Alex Arnon, University of Pennsylvania; John Ricco, University of Pennsylvania; and Kent Smetters, University of Pennsylvania
Discussant
11:35 am - 1:05 pm
“Macroeconomic Outcomes and COVID-19: A Progress Report”
Authors: Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, University of Pennsylvania; and Charles I. Jones, Stanford University
“Temporary Unemployment and Labor Market Dynamics During the COVID-19 Recession”
Authors: Jessica Gallant, University of Toronto; Kory Kroft, University of Toronto; Fabian Lange, McGill University; and Matthew J. Notowidigdo, University of Chicago
Discussant
1:55 pm - 3:25 pm
“Fiscal Effects of COVID-19”
Authors: Alan J. Auerbach, University of California, Berkeley; William Gale, Brookings Institution; Byron Lutz, Federal Reserve Board; and Louise Sheiner, Brookings Institution
“Will the Secular Decline in Exchange Rate and Inflation Volatility Survive COVID-19?”
Authors: Ethan Ilzetzki, London School of Economics; Carmen M. Reinhart, The World Bank; and Kenneth S. Rogoff, Harvard University
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
“Has the Paycheck Protection Program Succeeded?”
Authors: Glenn Hubbard, Columbia University; and Michael R. Strain, American Enterprise Institute
“Sizing Up Corporate Restructuring in the COVID Crisis”
Authors: Robin Greenwood, Harvard University; Ben Iverson, Brigham Young University; and David Thesmar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Discussant
Eli Schrag, Aidan T. Kane
April 24, 2025
Wendy Edelberg, Kathryn Dunn Tenpas
April 24, 2025
Hanna Love, Hannah Stephens
April 23, 2025