Abstract
The Fall/Winter 2020 issue looks at the economic effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on society and the economy.
Emine Boz
The IMF Research Department held the 21st Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference on November 5–6, 2020. The event overcame the potential pitfalls of virtual delivery with engaging discussions under the theme of “Living in the Extreme: Economics of Pandemics, Climate Change, and Tail Risks.” Treatments of the theme were revealed in sessions that covered challenges including those arising from the higher frequency of natural disasters and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, such as its effects on global supply chains and international trade, financial markets, cross-border flows, and the macroeconomy.
The Mundell-Fleming lecturer, Carmen Reinhart, laid out the recurring patterns of past debt and financial crises and drew parallels with the ongoing crisis. High-level policy discussions featuring Mark Carney and William Nordhaus (moderated by the IMF Managing Director) and Penny Goldberg and Paul Krugman (moderated by Gita Gopinath) focused on the national and international strategies for climate change mitigation and the international aspects of the COVID-19 policy response, respectively.
