Episode 11: Economic Policy in the Age of Coronavirus

Co-hosts Arvind Panagariya and Pravin Krishna speak with Sajjid Chinoy, Chief India Economist of JPMorgan, on the economic impact of and policy response to Covid-19.  They ask him: (i) If India should follow the USA and other rich countries and scale up its stimulus package to 10% of GDP as some critics have opined; (ii) Are there policy actions the government should announce during lockdown to help the economy return to its pre-Corona growth path at the earliest; (iii) How can India minimize the risk of the stimulus to address the temporary demand deficiency turning permanent; (iv) What can India do to minimize the pain of and damage from future Corona-like shocks; (v) What kind of external shock from disruption of exports and global recession will India face; and (vi) In the longer run, what can India do to maximize the gains from an accelerated shift in investment and production activity away from China that will inevitably happen in the aftermath of Covid-19? Dr. Chinoy offers pointed answers to each of these questions.