How coronavirus infected the global economy – podcast

The Guardian's economics editor, Larry Elliott, says the global economy was already in poor shape when the coronavirus crisis struck. Now governments have stepped in with stimulus packages designed to bail out individuals and small businesses - but will that be enough to stave off a recession?

The global shutdown brought about by the coronavirus pandemic has sent the world's economy into a tailspin as workers and customers stay at home. What began as a crisis in China now spans the world, sending chills through stock markets. Fears of the virus have been matched by anxiety about job losses and business failures.

The Guardian's economics editor, Larry Elliott, lays out how a weakened global governance system and failures of cooperation has hindered the kind of joined-up response that helped dampen the effects of the 2008 financial crisis. But this week, the US government promised close to $1tn of stimulus followed in the UK with a support package worth 300bn for small and large businesses.