
Harvard’s Reinhart and Rogoff Say This Time Is Different - vanderburgt
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-05-18/harvard-s-financial-crisis-experts-this-time-really-is-different
======
blendo
Their conclusion:

“We’re going to see a lot of risk aversion. We’ll be more inward-looking,
self-sufficient in medical supplies, self-sufficient in food. If you look at
some of the legacies of the big crises, those have all seen fixed investment
ratchet down and often stay down.”

So, more localization, less globalization?

~~~
pmiller2
That sounds an awful lot like the attitude of someone who lived through the
Great Depression. So much for this time being different.

------
chmaynard
I don't like reading transcripts of interviews. I would much rather the author
took the time to digest the material and present a summary. That said, this
statement caught my eye:

"It’s been a very intense period partly because I was teaching a lot. And
there was the shift to Zoom, which created more work because you’re trying to
prepare differently and do your lectures differently. It’s obviously a surreal
experience overall."

So why didn't Rogoff refuse to teach that way? Probably because cancelling his
classes would have obligated Harvard to refund the tuition. So he went along
with the school and provided a degraded learning experience to his students,
all so Harvard didn't have to dip into its massive endowment and do the right
thing.

~~~
chrisabrams
As a student at Harvard, cancelling classes means you lose progress that you
would have to repeat. Maybe Zoom is not ideal for certain classes, but it’s
better than no class. Not sure what the endowment has to do with anything
other than to give you something to whine about?

~~~
ornornor
You’re probably answering in bad faith but here goes: parent’s point about the
endowment is that Harvard is filthy rich and could easily afford refunding
tuition for that semester without putting its business in jeopardy. Parent
suggests that Harvard chose not to do it out of greed rather than necessity to
avoid financial collapse.

~~~
chmaynard
Good summary, thanks. It's tragic that this pandemic has forced schools to
close in the middle of the academic year. My point is that university students
are paying a premium for an on-campus experience and that's not possible right
now. I think it would be best for schools to simply cancel classes, partially
refund tuition, and make provisions for students to finish their work later
when campuses re-open.

