Commentaries

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2020, Pandemic

COVID-19: Collective Learning from the East

Sumit AGARWAL, Bernard YEUNG, Zhiguo HE
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Senior Fellows/Fellows

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Senior Fellows/Fellows, Pandemic

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May 2020

COVID-19 Shifted Patent Applications toward Technologies that Support Working from Home

Steven J. DAVIS, Nicholas A. BLOOM, Yulia ZHESTKOVA
We examine the text content of U.S. patent applications, identifying those that advance technologies in support of video conferencing, telecommuting, remote interactivity, and working from home (collectively, WFH). The share of new patent applications that advance WFH technologies more than doubles ...
Keywords: directed technical change, patents, COVID-19, Coronavirus, working from home, remote interactivity, text analysis
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Senior Fellows/Fellows

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Senior Fellows/Fellows, Pandemic

COVID-19 Is a Persistent Reallocation Shock

Steven J. DAVIS, Nicholas A. BLOOM, Jose Maria BARRERO
Drawing on firm-level forecasts at a one-year horizon in the Survey of Business Uncertainty (SBU), we construct novel, forward-looking reallocation measures for jobs and sales. These measures rise sharply after February 2020, reaching rates in April that are 2.4 (3.9) times the pre-COVID average for...
Keywords: COVID-19, Coronavirus, reallocation shock, Survey of Business Uncertainty, CARES Act
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Senior Fellows/Fellows

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Senior Fellows/Fellows, Pandemic

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May 2020

COVID-19 Infection Externalities: Trading Off Lives vs. Livelihoods

Anton KORINEK, Zachary BETHUNE
We analyze the externalities that arise when social and economic interactions transmit infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Individually rational agents do not internalize that they impose infection externalities upon. In an SIR model calibrated to capture the main features of COVID-19 in the US ec...
Keywords: cost of disease, COVID-19, infection externalities, Social Distancing
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Commentaries

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2020, Pandemic

COVID-19 in the Global Production Network

Ben CHAROENWONG
Not only do firms around the world rely on many Asian companies for crucial supplies, Asian countries also represent a substantial component of global demand. An October 2019 report by the International Monetary Fund shows Asia represented 70.9% of global economic growth in 2019, with China alone co...
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