OK, so my technique when asked to write a big piece (like my newly published report on Bailout Policy for the Coronavirus Crisis) is to engage in a constant, mind-wearying conversation with myself over email and sometimes with Twitter on the back of all the stuff I read that may have some tangential relationship with the topic.
Here are some of the links I set aside when writing about bailouts and coronavirus-crisis. They start with news pieces that pertain to the thing, and then a sample of the many blogposts etc that I bookmark on Feedly when doing this work.
Here I am going to post them as an aide memoire, but hey you might find something useful in there too. And also it helps me to reflect on how much I have needed to absorb to develop even half an opinion on this impossible topic.
Enjoy!
Rana Faroohar: we’re subsidizing the US corporations responsible for the hire-and-fire culture we don’t need
Big hedge funds are raising money: there is private sector cash if you look for it (late March)
Equity stakes serve two purposes: they are affordable for the debt-laden, and they give the public a seat at the table
Nick Rowe thinks aloud about having to redistribute between affected and less-affected sectors
The State as Insurer of last resort, and many other ideas
Bailouts get abused: evidence from the FT “UK language trainer to use job scheme for already planned redundancies”-
Not going as fast as people want: “Frustration despite UK coronavirus bailout loans reaching £450m”-
Supply chains are a specific problem and need some love during the coronavirus pandemic –
Serious evidence on Labour Market Scarring from VOX – it is about “matching capital”
The Economist “Unicorn Reality Check” – no, not every hyped up company needs “saving”
Brilliant starting thoughts on Vox on Trying Equity
You cannot bail out Investment bank profits which may be under pressure later – https://www.ft.com/content/43dcabdd-68af-4d9c-83a4-46a74265d4a1?shareType=nongift
A small example of a supply-important sector that may need help – Ferries
News on the financial and other restructuring that companies are doing anyway – THE MYTH OF THE ECONOMY IN DEEP FREEZE
Mohamed El-Erian warning that you cannot rule out a depression
Cash-rich Gulf funds hunt for bargains as asset prices plunge – 16th April. THERE IS MONEY OUT THERE
Even big cinema operators can raise money at some price via @FT
And HMT has a right to be not impressed by Virgin
Jonathan Ford points out the laid back approach to financial risk that went before this
Bloggy things
Sumner on Yellen and Bernanke on monetary policy options https://www.themoneyillusion.com/bernanke-and-yellen-on-monetary-policy-options/
The Resolution Foundation welcomes the JRS et al
Simon Wren Lewis on the economic effects of it
An early assessment of what the stockmarkets were telling us
A smart guy called Zachary Booker thinks about how bridge loans can’t work
Tyler Cowen says minimum wage hikes are a very poor idea right now
and also that wages have become flexible again
“This column argues that in light of already elevated debt burdens, provisions for future debt restructuring should be made as soon as possible.”
Tyler Cowen discusses the idea behind bridge loans
this is a good bit: “you might actually want those resources to be reallocated to good transport, biomedical testing, and so on. If the wartime analogy is apt, you don’t want to freeze the previous capital structure into place, unless of course you get lucky and win the war early”
how the crisis is different from 2008
Iza Kaminska’s idea for a Prudential Authority for the real economy
Greg Mankiw’s future-income contingent idea for social insurance
The “Fix NGDP and the rest follows” view and Lars’ crazy-level optimism
James Bullard’s key early points about the US during the pandemic
John Cochrane thinks moral hazard is still a thing in a pandemic. He also wonders why the landlords need to get off lightly
Freethinking Economist 
Enjoyed your IfG piece. A question: how many individuals are either financially unaffected, or benefiting financially from the crisis? Office workers who can work from home, albeit potentially less productively for their employer, are probably spending a great deal less than usual – no commuting, no eating out, no leisure spending, and are probably deferring spending on basics like home repairs, clothing because no-one will take their money. Any idea what the quantum of that benefit might be, and whether there is a fair way to release it to help meet the cost of the crisis? E.g. I suspect such beneficiaries are overwhelmingly higher rate taxpayers, so should HMT reduce the thresholds for entering higher rate tax, increase the headline rate or do something similar, so that we are all sharing the pain, and not just the lower-paid people whose livelihoods have evaporated? And what about the asset-rich and those who pay themselves dividends rather than income?
I think it’s such an excellent question. Sorry no time right now to reflect but am sure Nick Rowe and Tony Curzon Price have attempted toy models. Going to be a massive question for 1-2 years out