The global recession brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic is almost certain to be far deeper and more protracted than the one that followed the 2008 global financial crisis. While many governments have pledged to bolster their economies with unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimulus – despite holding already-massive public debt – the best they can probably hope for is to stave off economic collapse. If they insist on turning inward – pointing fingers and erecting barriers, instead of upholding international cooperation and economic engagement – even that may become impossible.

The coronavirus pandemic has sent firms into a frenzied dash to raise cash, a somber sign that the worst of the coronavirus is still ahead of us. Central banks may be called on yet again to prevent a global funding crisis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused global production to come to a grinding halt, and the economic fallout is far more abysmal than economists and leaders seem to recognize. The plan for recovery that is currently being enacted will do little to mitigate the inevitable devastation in our near future.

Global financial conditions, including heavy debt, are nearing a tipping point that could lead to protracted trouble. Protectionism and other factors risk disrupting the world’s fragile supply chains and driving the world into a 1930s-grade catastrophe.

The shock of the combined global public health, economic and financial crises has far exceeded that of the world financial crisis in 2008 its subsequent economi

The pandemic will drive major changes in global supply chains and in relations between China and the United States. The anti-globalists will spare no effort to use the ongoing health crisis to drive further wedges.

The two countries followed dramatically different paths in managing the pandemic, inviting comparisons of their governance models. Certainly, this is a test of leadership. The country that drives the international response will be in the driver’s seat in reshaping globalization.

The COVID-19 pandemic could ignite economic calamity in the foreseeable future. It will require policymakers around the globe to engage in cooperation to halt a crisis before it is too late.

Back in January, I predicted that the spread of the new COVID-19 coronavirus in China would reach a turning point by the second or third week of February.

A major test of the global governance system and the governance systems and capacities of individual countries is unfolding before our eyes as the coronavirus pandemic envelops the globe.