Reopening America & The World

The coronavirus has imposed a heavy toll on people’s lives, livelihoods, and connections with one another. As America and the world reopen from this devastating pandemic, it is important to examine how the process is taking place, its impact on individual lives and livelihoods, and learn from the experiences of other nations. In this report, we look at the experiences of the United States and other countries to see what we can derive about the reopening and its human impact. We present the insights and observations of three dozen Brookings scholars who look at reopening from many different angles and offer their thoughts and recommendations.

The first volume focuses on the American experience while the second one examines the experiences of other nations and lessons for the United States. Brookings President John Allen’s essay presents an overview of the pandemic and the serious questions it has raised for the world. Our goals in this project are to inform the public conversation about COVID, help business, government, and civic leaders take their next steps, and think about the immediate and longer-term consequences of the virus. We must learn as much as possible about this pandemic in order to address its overall ramifications.

If framed and initiated properly, reopening efforts can set the conditions for a more fair, just, and comprehensive recovery that embraces real reform and engenders a visionary re-imagining of America and global society. –John R. Allen

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A Way Forward from the Brookings Institution

Report Authors

Madiha Afzal

Bill Antholis

Dany Bahar

Victoria Bassetti

Célia Belin

Amar Bhattacharya

Sarah Binder

Agneska Bloch

Stuart Butler

Josh Carpenter

Giovanna De Maio

Sam Denney

David Dollar

Norm Eisen

Marcela Escobari

Vanda Felbab-Brown

William A. Galston

Geoff Gertz

Annelies Goger

James Goldgeier

Carol Graham

Shadi Hamid

Ross A. Hammond

Michael Hansen

Ryan Hass

Bonnie Jenkins

Chen Jian

Bruce Jones

Elaine C. Kamarck

Molly Kinder

Kemal Kirişci

Filippos Letsas

Cheng Li

Tracy Hadden Loh

Suzanne Maloney

Mark Muro

Michael E. O’Hanlon

Steven Pifer

Sergio Pinto

Tony Pipa

Rashawn Ray

Martha Ross

Isabel V. Sawhill

Ian Seyal

Seong-ho Sheen

Amanda Sloat

Constanze Stelzenmüller

Mallika Thomas

Emiliana Vegas

Morgan Welch

Darrell M. West

Russell Wheeler

Thu Sep 17

Upcoming Event / Online Only

Small Businesses & COVID-19: Supporting Firms at Risk of Failure

2:30 PM - 3:45 PM EDT

Mon Jun 29

Upcoming Event / Online Only

Ongoing uncertainty in the hospitality industry

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM EDT

Fri Jun 19

Upcoming Event / Online Only

Webinar: Reopening the world – How to save lives and livelihoods

9:30 AM - 11:00 AM EDT

Tue Jun 2

Upcoming Event / Online Only

Webinar: A roadmap for re-opening America: How to save lives and livelihoods

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT

Wed May 27

Upcoming Event / Online Only

Webinar: Containing COVID-19 — Greece’s successes and challenges ahead

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EDT

Thu May 21

Past Event / Online Only

Webinar: Reopening schools in the fall amid the COVID-19 pandemic

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT

Fri May 15
Tue May 12