Beyond bailouts

In March 2020, Mark Blyth co-wrote "Beyond bailouts" with Eric Lonergan. This piece focuses on providing rapid analysis and expertise to the UK government in hopes of protecting livelihoods and ensuring long-term economic recovery in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The survival of large parts of our capital base will now depend on significant government support. This paper written by Mark Blyth and economist and writer Eric Lonergan outlines how such support can be delivered. The authors focus on the possibility of a large government intervention in the airline industry, which has experienced a collapse of revenues close to zero in the wake of COVID-19. If such low revenues persist for more than several months, it is likely the sector will fail. The model of support outlined in this paper does not just pertain to airlines; it could be rolled out across the travel and leisure sector, or more broadly across the economy, including the retail and manufacturing sectors. This idea, along with other support package models, stand as main objectives in a plan for long-term economic recovery and prosperity.