The COVID-19 pandemic has struck against the backdrop of a preexisting sluggish global growth outlook, with low inflation and nominal int...
The COVID-19 pandemic has struck against the backdrop of a preexisting sluggish global growth outlook, with low inflation and nominal interest rates. The pandemic has elevated the need for fiscal policy action to an unprecedented level. This issue of the Fiscal Monitor discusses the role of fiscal policy to save lives, protect the most-affected people and firms from income losses, unemployment, and bankruptcies, and reduce the likelihood that the pandemic results in a deep, long-lasting slump.