How best to fight the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic

Tax relief and help with borrowing for firms is needed but for workers Germany's short-time work allowance should be copied

The fight against Covid-19 is a full-on war. China seems to have won the first battle. Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan have also chalked up visible successes in mitigating the outbreak, no doubt owing to their experiences in dealing with the 2003 Sars epidemic. Europe and the US, on the other hand, are only just awakening from their illusions of invulnerability. As a result, the epidemic is now raging across the west.

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