Mar 26, 2020

Saving lives and the economy

2018 Nobel laureate Paul Romer has a plan to both keep more people healthy and ramp the economy back up. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

A Nobel laureate offers a prescription for managing COVID-19 while phasing the economy back in. Today's first-time unemployment claims number will be the largest in U.S history.

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EEC: Econ 101

A way to save both lives and the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic

by David Brancaccio , Daniel Shin and Alex Schroeder

Mar 26, 2020

Nobel laureate and NYU professor Paul Romer says there's a path forward that limits the spread of the virus while letting most people get back to work over time.

"If we spent $100 billion right now, on protective gear and testing, we wouldn't be faced with a choice of let hundreds of thousands of people die or kill the economy," Nobel Prize-winner Paul Romer says.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi Radiohead

The team

David Brancaccio Host

Victoria Craig Host, BBC

Stephen Ryan Senior Producer, BBC

Jonathan Frewin Producer, BBC

Daniel Shin Producer

Jay Siebold Technical Director

Brian Allison Engineer

Meredith Garretson Morbey Senior Producer

Erika Soderstrom Producer

Rose Conlon Producer

Alex Schroeder Producer

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