Experts in the News

Energy fellow Mark Finley joined Resources for the Future for a discussion on the implications of the coronavirus pandemic for the global energy system.

“It’s not that easy to reopen and everybody comes back and you just turn on the faucet,” said public finance fellow Joyce Beebe. “I don’t think people are going to rush back.”

Citing modeling showing Houston looks good until mid-August “when the bottom will fall out,” health policy fellow Peter Hotez said the region needs a comprehensive strategy including accurate epidemiological models tailored specifically for Houston; workplace coronavirus testing; at least 10 times the 2,000 contact tracers Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wants; app-based surveillance systems that pick up user’s fever and other respiratory symptoms; and daily communication updates like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo provides. 

Energy fellow Jim Krane discusses the impact of the oil market crash and Covid-19 on Saudi Arabia, one of the richest countries in the world. Among other moves, the country known for its generous energy subsidies and well-paid government jobs has raised taxes at home by 15% and cut benefits for state employees. 

“The key part is to emphasize that they’re not sacrificing safety, things are not being rushed, that no shortcuts are being taken, and that ... they built in elements to ensure the safety of the vaccines,” health policy fellow Peter Hotez said of some Americans' wariness of an eventual Covid-19 vaccine.