The COVID-19 pandemic unleashed an economic downturn on the United States, forcing workers and businesses to adapt. Now that Americans are getting vaccinated and the country is opening up, what is the state of the US economy? How has the pandemic — and our public policy responses to it — affected the labor market? Has the pandemic brought about new opportunities and entrepreneurship that will boost productivity going forward? Today, Michael Strain returns to the Political Economy podcast to discuss.

Mike is the Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy and the Director of Economic Policy Studies at AEI.