Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is raging, lockdown measures are still in place, and the main focus of countries worldwide is on short-term recovery plans to keep their economies alive. The time has come to think how to move forward. The Biden Administration has approved a 1,900 billion dollar stimulus package, but questions are raised on what comes next. Will the economies of most of the industrialized countries be able to recover? In late 2019 the world economy was facing a challenging scenario, with slow growth despite the quantitative easing by Central Banks. While struggling with the COVID challenge, undercurrent trends are shaping the next new normal. Political economics should consider this new scenario against its conventional tools.