Dealing with the Covid Debt Overhang
Résumé
As the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic undoubtedly complicates economic forecasting for the eurozone, it is all the more important to try and predict the pace for its recovery: placing the bet right on a v-shaped or a swoosh-shaped recovery will have huge implications for businesses and economic policy actors alike, as well as on companies’ resilience building in the long run. Nevertheless, one specific outcome is bound to emerge as the legacy of the present crisis: a surge in sovereign debt, thus a threat to financial stability. In this chapter, we therefore examine the different policy outcomes and their aftermath, especially concerning risks, opportunities and means for dealing with the Covid-19 legacy within the existing monetary institutions and mechanisms of the European Union.