The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic confronted countries with the double challenge of saving lives and then mitigating the adverse economic and societal effects of lockdowns and social distancing requirements. Across the world, a wide range of policies were adopted in response to the pandemic—they were not entirely new, but they were often unprecedented in scale.
This paper reviews key elements of this COVID-19 emergency policymaking, assesses the extent to which some of these interventions are relevant for “normal” times and highlights potential lessons for post-pandemic policies aimed at building more inclusive societies.