With over 3.5 million infections and nearly 140,000 deaths, the United States is continuing to struggle with an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Below, our experts asses the local impacts of the virus and provide new data on how states are handling vote-by-mail, the economic downturn, and more.

In addition, we look at some of the ways that COVID-19 is changing America's economy and examine the current situations in India and the Middle East and North Africa region.

COVID-19 at the city and local level

A state-by-state scorecard on mail-in voting. Are U.S. elections pandemic-proof? Elaine Kamarck, Yousef Ibreak, Amanda Powers, and Chris Stewart grade all 50 states and Washington, D.C. on their readiness to vote-by-mail for the general election.

Tracking metropolitan economies through the crisis. The nature of America's economic downturn and the road to recovery will differ widely across the nation's metropolitan areas. Alan Berube discusses findings from a new interactive dataset.

Relief loans are helping some places more than others. The Paycheck Protection Program is Congress's central policy for keeping U.S. workers in their jobs amid widespread small business closures due to COVID-19. Joseph Parilla and Sifan Liu look at disparities in coverage across the country.

The importance of city leadership. In an excerpt from our Reopening the World report, Anthony Pipa emphasizes the critical role that city leaders will play in a successful reopening of the economy. 

The international landscape

Food insecurity in the MENA region. As one of the world's largest food importers, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is particularly vulnerable to a food crisis. Omer Karasapan sheds light on the problem.

India's policy response to COVID-19. The COVID-19 economic plunge has put 400 million of the country's people at risk of falling into poverty. Maurice Kugler and Shakti Sinha discuss policies to combat the crisis and identify areas to shore up.

Ghana's school experiment. Amid COVID-19, finding cost-efficient ways to help aspiring youth enter or finish school is an important task for African countries. Rebecca Winthrop highlights a promising initiative to expand school access in Ghana.

America's changing economy

The implications of the pandemic. New essays from the Hamilton Project at Brookings explore how COVID-19 could fundamentally change the U.S. economy. Read a summary of key findings from Wendy Edelberg and Jay Shambaugh or see the three full essays below.

The nature of work after the crisis. Has the pandemic changed conventional wisdom about automation and inequality in the United States? David Autor and Elisabeth Reynolds make four projections about a rapidly automating post-COVID-19 economy.

Competition and productivity. The economic crisis is changing the business landscape, exacerbating concerns about the state of competition in the U.S. economy. Nancy Rose predicts that with more firm exits and fewer new businesses entrants today, tomorrow's product and labor markets may be less competitive and productive.

Assessing labor market outcomes. Just as the Great Recession disrupted the labor market attachment of millions of workers, a similar phenomenon will likely occur as a result of the current recession. Betsey Stevenson explores the many ways the COVID-19 recession has affected the U.S. labor market.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up to receive this twice-weekly newsletter. For all Brookings research and analysis on COVID-19, see our topic page.

If you no longer want to receive updates on coronavirus/COVID-19 from Brookings, please enter your email on this form. You will still receive any Brookings newsletters that you previously signed up for.