COVID-19, recession, and America’s decline, with Angus Deaton, Dani Rodrik, and more

[View this message in a web browser]( [PS Above the Fold]( JUNE 18, 2020 In this week’s Above the Fold, we continue our coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and the protests over racial injustice that are roiling the United States. PS commentators assess the effects of these crises – and America’s failures in managing them – on the global economy, and propose paths toward a better future. Whitney Arana, Editor [United States of Despair]( [United States of Despair]( [Anne Case]( and [Angus Deaton]( show that the COVID-19 crisis will exacerbate pre-existing inequalities, but not always how one might expect. [The Post-Pandemic Social Contract]( [The Post-Pandemic Social Contract]( [Dani Rodrik]( and [Stefanie Stantcheva]( urge policymakers to pursue growth strategies that directly target the creation of good jobs. [The Economic Consequences of Disrupted Global Supply Chains]( [The Economic Consequences of Disrupted Global Supply Chains]( [Dalia Marin]( argues that the only way to spur productivity disrupted by COVID-19 is to stimulate sectors that drive demand. [The World Waits for No Country]( [Richard N. Haass]( laments the absence of US leadership at a time when serious regional and global problems are worsening. [The Messiah of Mar-a-Lago]( [Shlomo Ben-Ami]( warns that another four years of Donald Trump could render his toxic legacy irreversible. [Project Syndicate for universities. Inquire about a free trial for your institution today.]( [The Moment When America Fell Behind]( [Jules Kortenhorst]( thinks that moment is now, when Europe and China, unlike the US, are pouring rescue funds into competitive industries. [What’s in a Recession?]( [Jeffrey Frankel]( defends the flexible but expert-driven approach to marking the US economy's cyclical turning points. [For the rest of our COVID-19 coverage, click here]( Support High-Quality Commentary For more than 25 years, Project Syndicate has been guided by a simple credo: All people deserve access to a broad range of views by the world's foremost leaders and thinkers on the issues, events, and forces shaping their lives. At a time of unprecedented uncertainty, that mission is more important than ever – and we remain committed to fulfilling it. But there is no doubt that we, like so many other media organizations nowadays, are under growing strain. If you are in a position to support us, please [subscribe now](. As a subscriber, you will enjoy unlimited access to our On Point suite of long reads and book reviews, Say More contributor interviews, The Year Ahead magazine, the full PS archive, and much more. You will also directly support our mission of delivering the highest-quality commentary on the world's most pressing issues to as wide an audience as possible. By helping us to build a truly open world of ideas, every PS subscriber makes a real difference. Thank you. [SUBSCRIBE NOW]( Project Syndicate publishes and provides, on a not-for-profit basis, original commentary by the world's leading thinkers to more than 500 media outlets in over 150 countries. This newsletter is a service of [Project Syndicate](. [Change your newsletter preferences](. Follow us on [Facebook]( [Twitter]( and [YouTube](. © Project Syndicate, all rights reserved. [Unsubscribe from all newsletters](.