On 22 April, William White participated in a panel organized by the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. Other participants were Tobias Adrian (IMF), Jeffrey Frankel (Harvard University) and Desmond Lachman (AEI). In addition to responding to various questions posed by the moderator, Alex Pollock, Mr. White led a discussion on how debt accumulation increases the exposure of the economy to exogenous shocks – like the coronavirus. While the current response of monetary and fiscal stimulus is appropriate, both policies serve to raise debt levels even further. Significantly more attention needs to be paid to judicial and administrative procedures for restructuring debt, both private and public, in order to avoid more disorderly and costly outcomes.
https://www.aei.org/events/webinar-coronavirus-and-the-bursting-of-the-everything-bubble/