Jean Monnet, among the founders of the European Union, said that “Europe will be forged in crises, and will be the sum of the solutions adopted for those crises.” 1 European Union and EMU decision-makers have made similar statements in each of their crises, including the present one.
And when talking about the present situation, they often conclude by saying “And we will emerge stronger this time too.” Policy economists seek to learn from crises, so that they can do better next time.