On Tuesday (12 May 2020) the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced an extension to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which covers 80% of employees’ usual salaries, up to a cap of £2,500 a month, while they are furloughed.
The coronavirus outbreak and associated containment measures have caused huge economic fallout across the world. The sharp decline in economic activity that is now occurring will depress government revenues and push up public spending. In addition, governments have, appropriately, responded with packages of fiscal measures that will help support households, businesses and public services through these challenging times and limit the long-run damage done by the crisis. But these measures will also have the direct impact of adding considerably more to government borrowing.
This report looks at normal (pre-lockdown) commuting patterns, what they tell us about who would be affected by continued social distancing on public transport, and what they tell us about how policy can ease public transport congestion in a world of continued social distancing.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented social distancing measures around the world to contain the spread of the virus. The UK has, like many countries, effectively closed down entire sectors of its economy and severely limited activity in many other sectors. This curtailing of activity is likely to lead to a sharp recession.
UK households hold around £230bn of unsecured or consumer debt – including loans, credit card debt, hire purchase agreements and overdrafts. This equates to an average £8,000 per household. The bulk of that debt is held by those on relatively high incomes and in normal times its repayment tends not to cause financial difficulties. But in a minority of cases, debts can put stress on households’ budgets with consequences for living standards and mental health.
The coronavirus pandemic, and the measures put in place to combat it, have changed almost everything about how people live their day-to-day lives. More than ever before, life today is being conducted behind the nation’s front doors.
Whether population health improves or worsens with changes in macroeconomic conditions is a long-standing question. Despite a substantial literature there is no clear consensus on the answer. Some studies find evidence that recessions are good for population health (i.e. poor health is pro-cyclical), while other studies find that health worsens in response to bad economic times (i.e. poor health is counter-cyclical). In addition, results for various health outcomes differ.
