COVID-19 Exposes Vulture Capitalism, Africa Needs Debt Relief, and More

April 13, 2020

The CARES Act marks the first time in many years that lawmakers have taken steps to curb the effects of income inequality. Elaine Kamarck argues that there are important lessons from some of the provisions in the bill that can continue to rein in an out-of-control capitalist system.

With more than 7,000 confirmed cases, COVID-19 is beginning to spread rapidly throughout Africa. In a new op-ed, Brahima S. Coulibaly, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Vera Songwe and their co-authors call for immediate debt relief for African countries in order to create the fiscal space governments need to respond.

Infrastructure workers were essential long before COVID-19, but their economic importance has come into greater focus during the crisis. With nearly 3 million infrastructure workers expected to retire or permanently leave their jobs in the next decade, Joseph Kane argues that policymakers should take steps to support the next generation of workers that will take their place.

A note on the Brookings response to COVID-19

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