The Volcker Alliance and Penn Institute for Urban Research cohosted an online Special Briefing with Timothy J. Bartik, senior economist, Upjohn Institute for Employment Research; Marcia Van Wagner, vice president-senior credit officer, Public Finance Group, States Team, Moody's Investor Service; and Matt Fabian, partner, Municipal Market Analytics.

The panelists discussed the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on unemployment, the deterioration of the finances and credit outlooks of states and localities, and the role of further federal assistance and loans to governments, companies, and individuals.

Moderated by William Glasgall, Volcker Alliance senior vice president and director of state and local initiatives, and Susan Wachter, co-director of Penn IUR, this briefing was the eleventh in a series of sixty-minute online conversations featuring experts from the Volcker Alliance’s national research network and Penn IUR, along with other leading academics, economists, and federal, state, and local leaders from around the US.