Covid and Globalization

Why did the pandemic spare global trade?

Relative to its level in August of 2019, world trade hit bottom in May of 2020, when it had reached a cumulative decline of 17.6%. In the next few months, however, trade flows grew at a fast pace. Already by August, the year-on-year decline had been reduced to 4.4%. In a recent paper, Pol Antràs of Harvard speculates that the reason for the quick recove…