Ukraine’s economy: Today’s challenges, tomorrow’s needs, and lessons from past reconstruction efforts

Alongside the human toll of Ukraine’s battle against Russia, Ukraine’s economy has suffered significant blows. Infrastructure has been destroyed, electricity supply disrupted, and millions have been displaced. For now, and the foreseeable future, Ukraine will depend on aid from the U.S. and other allies.

On December 15, the Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy and the Center on the U.S. and Europe at Brookings convened a virtual event to examine the current state of Ukraine’s economy, the economic policy choices that Ukraine and its allies confront, and the options for financing and governing the recovery, reconstruction, and modernization of Ukraine. The discussion drew from a new book from the Centre for Economic Policy Research (a London-based network of economists) called “Rebuilding Ukraine: Principles and Policies.” 

Following the discussion with two of the authors, Yuriy Gorodnichenko of the University of California, Berkeley, and Vladyslav Rashkovan of the International Monetary Fund, a panel of experts identified lessons learned from past international efforts at reconstruction—the Marshall Plan, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iraq—and their relevance for Ukraine.

Viewers sent questions to events@brookings.edu, on Twitter using the hashtag #UkraineEconomy or at sli.do using the code #UkraineEconomy.