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  Andrew Linden, RMIT University and Warren Staples, RMIT University The economic heart attack induced by COVID-19 has revealed an ugly truth – many very large companies have too little cash to ride out sharp downturns. Cash flow variability, and the inability to retain earnings to buffer that variability, is one of the most common reasons small businesses fail. Because …

Emil Temnyalov, University of Technology Sydney and Peter Siminski, University of Technology Sydney   COVID-19’s impact on the Australian labour market has been dramatic and multifaceted. Some sectors of the economy have been almost completely shut down by government order. The demand in many industries has collapsed, while a few others have seen an increase. As many as one million …

Dougal Sutherland, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington The COVID-19 pandemic has forced millions of people to live under strict lockdown conditions, but the psychology of human behaviour predicts they will find it harder to stick to the rules the longer the situation continues. New Zealand has now reached a midway point of a comprehensive four-week lockdown and …

 The COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan was a devastating blow to China, leading to a global health and economic crisis which is a long way from over. Businesses across New Zealand face the collapse of trade with China, business that has sustained and grown their enterprises over many years. Graeme Acton talks to crayfish industry leader Campbell Gin, about the impact here, and …

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland gives shares her views on why she believes businesses shouldn’t go back to normal after the Coronavirus pandemic. Today there is an eerie silence across the globe. Bustling cities have gone quiet and highways that were once jammed with bumper to bumper traffic, are empty. In homes, thousands of families are anxiously awaiting a phone call …

Alexander Saeri, Monash University; Emily Grundy, Deakin University; Liam Smith, Monash University; Michael Noetel, Australian Catholic University, and Peter Slattery, Monash University More Australians are worried about the longer-lasting, societal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic – specifically that the health system could be overburdened and the country could enter a recession – than they are about the more immediate changes …

Scott Morrison indicates ‘eliminating’ COVID-19 would come at too high a cost Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra Scott Morrison has made clear his view that any attempt to eliminate COVID-19 entirely in Australia would carry too high an economic cost, while Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy says such an aim would require “very aggressive” long-term border control. The national cabinet …

Ilan Noy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Governments across the world have rolled out extensive financial packages to support individuals, businesses and large corporations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Equally, central banks have decreased their lending rates to almost zero, and have announced extensive and previously untested direct lending to private corporations and financial companies. In many …

Massey University’s Suze Wilson explains why she believes Jacinda Ardern’s coronavirus response has been a masterclass in crisis leadership Imagine, if you can, what it’s like to make decisions on which the lives of tens of thousands of other people depend. If you get things wrong, or delay deciding, they die. Your decisions affect the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands …

There is an ongoing debate amongst experts about how effective masks are when used by the general public – particularly those that are not of surgical grade. This has been accelerated by cases demonstrated internationally where healthcare workers have been infected with the virus due to asymptomatic patients in the GP waiting room. The US Centers for Disease Control and …