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The COVID Gender Gap: Why Fewer Women Are Dying

by Dina Gerdeman

To promote the greatest safety, public health officials should target their pandemic messaging to men differently than to women. Research by Vincent Pons and colleagues. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Older People Are Less Pessimistic about the Health Risks of COVID-19

by Pedro Bordalo, Katherine B. Coffman, Nicola Gennaioli, and Andrei Shleifer

The pandemic presents a unique opportunity to investigate formation of beliefs about an unprecedented, widespread, and life-threatening event. One finding: COVID-19 makes the prospect of disease and death particularly salient for the young.

Is a Pandemic the Best Time To Try Out a New Idea?

Singapore's new nationwide, Bluetooth-based contact tracing program TraceTogether must overcome privacy issues to be effective. Would Singaporeans adopt TraceTogether? Professor Mitch Weiss discusses his new case study. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Solving COVID'S Mental Health Crisis

by Howard Stevenson and Shirley Spence

COVID-19 affects more than physical health. Howard Stevenson and Shirley Spence describe how the pandemic is causing psychological trauma across a broad swath of society—and innovative methods to treat it. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

COVID-19 and the Workplace: Implications, Issues, and Insights for Future Research and Action

by Ashley Whillans and 28 coauthors

Assembling a large, diverse team of researchers to make sense of COVID-19’s impact on issues of work and organizational psychology, this project explores changes that are unfolding for practitioners and human resources professionals.

Social Interactions in Pandemics: Fear, Altruism, and Reciprocity

by Laura Alfaro, Ester Faia, Nora Lamersdorf, and Farzad Saidi

An analysis of 89 cities worldwide shows that mobility responds to infection risk, altruism, and reciprocity. Correcting the SIR model to account for this behavior shows that a balanced approach involving stringency measures, in respect of human dignity, and responsible social preferences mitigates the pandemic health and economic costs.

Dignity, Inequality, and the Populist Backlash: Lessons from America and Europe for a Sustainable Globalization

by Rawi Abdelal

COVID-19 has enhanced already existing fissures undermining some societies’ commitments to globalization. Governments and firms need to act decisively to make the models of capitalism in the United States and Europe more friendly to small- and medium-sized firms, more equal in opportunity, and more meritocratic.

Aggregate and Firm-Level Stock Returns During Pandemics, in Real Time

by Laura Alfaro, Anusha Chari, Andrew Greenland, and Peter K. Schott

This paper explains the seemingly conflicting narratives from the stock and labor market about the underlying state of the economy. We show that day-to-day changes in the predictions of standard models of infectious disease forecast changes in aggregate stock returns in pandemics.

In a Pandemic, What’s the Best Strategy for the Global Vaccine Alliance?

How should the vaccine alliance Gavi respond to the worldwide need for a cure for the COVID-19 pandemic? Tarun Khanna discusses his case study. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Who Guarantees Your Workplace Is Safe for Return?

by John Macomber and Joseph Allen

Building health is today a top priority for owners and tenants, but how do we know our offices are safe to re-enter? John Macomber and Joseph Allen offer best practices. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

HBS COVID-19 Global Policy Tracker

by Alberto Cavallo and Tannya Cai

The Harvard Business School Covid-19 Global Policy Tracker monitors new developments and changes in government policies throughout this crisis to analyze trends and correlations in countries' responses and economic impact.

Coronavirus Careers: Cloud Kitchens Are Now Serving

by Lena Ye and Geoffrey Jones

Cloud kitchens are restaurants built around food delivery rather than sit-down service, and they are increasing in popularity as COVID-19 disrupts the industry, write Lena Ye and Geoffrey Jones. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Demystifying the Math of the Coronavirus

by Elon Kohlberg and Abraham Neyman

This paper provides a conceptual model for the progression of COVID-19 that is somewhat imprecise but that’s very simple and easy to understand. By relying on this description, one can obtain a rough estimate of the impact of various social distancing measures on the rate of growth of new infections.

How Leaders Are Fighting Food Insecurity on Three Continents

by Howard Stevenson and Shirley Spence

The pandemic could almost double the number of people facing food crises in lower-income populations by the end of 2020. Howard Stevenson and Shirley Spence show how organizations are responding. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

What South Korea Teaches the World About Fighting COVID

by Doug J. Chung

South Korea initially had the largest number of Coronavirus infections outside of China, but new cases have decreased sharply. What is the country doing right? asks Doug Chung. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Post-COVID Health Care: More Screens, Less Red Tape?

by Danielle Kost

The coronavirus pandemic might lead to major changes in patient care, physician compensation, and regulation. Experts from Harvard Business School's Health Care Initiative share their predictions. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Global Behaviors and Perceptions at the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Thiemo Fetzer, Marc Witte, Lucas Hensel, Jon M. Jachimowicz, Johannes Haushofer, Andriy Ivchenko, Stefano Caria, Elena Reutskaja, Christopher Roth, Stefano Fiorin, Margarita Gomez, Gordon Kraft-Todd, Friedrich M. Goetz, and Erez Yoeli

An online survey of more than 110,000 people in 175 countries conducted at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic found that most respondents believe that their governments and fellow citizens are not doing enough, which heightens their worries and depression levels. Decisive actions and strong leadership from policymakers change how people perceive their governments and other citizens, and in turn improve their mental health.

Has COVID-19 Broken the Global Value Chain?

by Sean Silverthorne

4Questions Companies and consumers depend on the global value chain to create and distribute products around the world. What happens when the chain breaks? Insights from Laura Alfaro and Ester Faia. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Strategic Foresight as Dynamic Capability: A New Lens on Knightian Uncertainty

by J. Peter Scoblic

Creating strategy under conditions of uncertainty is not easy, so many managers rely on a single analogy to past experience to guide their decisions. This paper argues, by contrast, that imagining multiple possible futures can be a more useful guide to uncertainty, improving judgment and adaptability in the face of change.

What Are Lessons for Leaders from This Black Swan Crisis?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP: Readers of this month's James Heskett post disagree on whether COVID-19 is a Black Swan event, but most argue that organizations must be better prepared for inevitable downturns. Open for comment; 0 Comments.