Coming Back from Covid-19 : Lessons in Entrepreneurship from Disaster Recovery Research

To date, the discussion about what can be done in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic to blunt the economic, social, and psychological costs has largely focused on government bolstering small businesses through loans and grants, softening the effects of unemployment through unemployment insurance, and stimulating the economy through cash payouts. These policy prescriptions fail to appreciate the potential of businesses and nonprofits to help communities withstand and overcome crises.Our extensive research on community response and recovery after disasters has shown that commercial and social entrepreneurs are key drivers of disaster response and recovery. As with those disasters, responding to and recovering from this pandemic will require a multifaceted set of entrepreneurial ideas and solutions and a policy environment that encourages rather than stifles entrepreneurship. Policymakers should give entrepreneurs the space to act in the midst of crises by expanding the notion of “essential” goods and services, suspending or removing regulations that stand in the way of entrepreneurial efforts, and avoiding confusing or conflicting policies