Global Economics and COVID-19: Researcher Andrea Ferrero Discusses Possible Directions

Andrea Ferrero studies monetary economics and international macroeconomics. In this podcast he discusses what has and may happen to the economy under government-imposed shutdowns. He shares with listeners his thoughts on

• How the collapse of 2007 set us up with low interest rates at the outset of the pandemic and why that's important,
• The difference between how monetary and fiscal policy are playing out, and
• What he projects under a substantial second wave and how health and political policies will ultimately determine economic policy.

Andrea Ferrero is an associate professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Oxford and the Levine Fellow of Economics at Trinity College, Oxford. He begins the podcast summarizing how he fell into the academic sector of macroeconomics and monetary policy. His first job after his Ph.D. was actually with the Federal Reserve Bank in New York in their research department after the economic collapse of 2007. In addition to his teaching and research, he serves as an academic consultant to the Bank of England.

He connects today's situation with the financial crisis of 2007 and distinguishes how we face a whole new set of questions as economics and policy makers under the COVID-19 pandemic. He points out governments have been extremely aggressive with fiscal policy as determinants of monetary policy didn't have a lot of room to respond; interest rates were already low and several places didn't have room to lower them. He discusses complications of current and future responses, the shocks of supply and demand, and other elements of baseline responses to the economic effects of a second wave of COVID-19. He notes that the quick rebound of the stock market has been a surprise though speaks to a cautious view of the future. He also addresses the ways health policies and political processes effect this future in macroeconomics and to what extent governments should be planning now for long-term objectives. Listen in for more details on his expert opinion. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK