Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser for Allianz, said Sunday on “Face the Nation” that reopening businesses won’t be enough to bring the American economy back to pre-pandemic levels. According to El-Erian, what matters most is that people feel safe engaging in the economy.

“There’s a difference between ability to work — reopening the economy, and willingness to work — willing to go in and engage in the economy,” El-Erian explained. “And until you improve both the ability and willingness, we’re not going to get back to where we were.”

According to El-Erian, the difference between ability and willingness is known as “counterparty risk,” but is more commonly referred to as “trust.”

“In order for us to engage in economic activity, I have to trust that you’re healthy, you have to trust that I’m healthy,” he said. “And, until we have a clear way of doing that, people …continued .
[Source: CBS News]