Providing better relief to citizens

Stimulus checks need to arrive faster. Millions of Americans are still waiting for their stimulus checks. Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez, Bibi Hidalgo, and Aaron Klein say swift action from leaders in Washington is needed now to fix the problem.

We can afford more stimulus. "Being timid in our policy solutions during this crisis would be a mistake." William Gale says that federal stimulus can strengthen America's long-term economic and budget prospects even as it increases the current deficit.

The Paycheck Protection Program. Though well-intentioned and important, America's small-business program has been troubled from the start. Without some important changes, many small businesses will continue to fall through the cracks, Aaron Klein writes.

Separately, Joshua Gotbaum argues that the U.S. Treasury and Small Business Administration seem to have forgotten why Congress enacted the Paycheck Protection Program in the first place: so businesses would keep people on payroll instead of laying them off.

America's economic recovery

The ABCs of the recovery. Analysts are using shorthand when discussing the shape of the economic recovery: Z-shaped, V-shaped, U-shaped, W-shaped, L-shaped, and even the Nike Swoosh. Louise Sheiner and Kadija Yilla explain what these mean and which one appears most likely.

How did COVID-19 disrupt the market for U.S. Treasury debt? For a while in March, the $18 trillion market was surprisingly dysfunctional. Jeffrey Cheng, David Wessel, and Joshua Younger discuss what happened and examine the broader implications for the U.S. economy.

The effects of suspending immigration. "The thought that America without immigrants would be on a faster path to economic recovery is absurd and a very dangerous myth to propagate," writes Dany Bahar in the Washington Post.

Managing future fiscal and economic threats. In conjunction with necessary emergency action on COVID-19, Stuart Butler and Timothy Higashi say it is crucial to adopt budget process tools that can help Congress deal with the likely fiscal aftermath.

The international landscape

Pakistan's capitulation to the religious right. In Pakistan, the religious right has functioned as a potent pressure force on the country's government since its inception. It continues to do so amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Madiha Afzal writes.

Women's important role in Jordan. Jordan's quick response to the COVID-19 outbreak has been commended globally. But the accolades have been primarily focused on the government's men, erasing the vital role that Jordanian women have played, Mayyada Abu Jaber contends.

China's relations with India. China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic has reinforced public skepticism among India's citizens. Tanvi Madan examines the situation.

Lessons from Germany. In Europe, the most successful policy response to the pandemic has been by Germany. Shamika Ravi and Mudit Kapoor shed light on what the country's systematic reporting reveals about the pandemic's impact across gender and age.

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.