麻豆约拍

As much of Italy goes into self-imposed quarantine, what can the authorities do to stop empty shops and restaurants going bust?

It's an urgent question for Marco d'Arrigo, who runs the California Bakery chain in Milan, who has spent his day reassuring nervous staff at their eerily empty branches.

Nations facing spiralling coronavirus cases and to need to lock down entire cities, do have macroeconomic tools at their disposal. But in Italy's case, those tools are not entirely in Rome's hands. Ed Butler speaks to Francesco Giavazzi, economics professor at Bocconi University, and to Ferdinando Giugliano, economics columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, both of whom have confined themselves to their Milanese homes.

Plus what crisis-management lessons can governments draw from the experience of the US during the 2008 financial crisis? Ed speaks to someone who was at the epicentre - former deputy secretary to the US Treasury Sarah Bloom Raskin.

Producer: Laurence Knight

(Picture: An Italian State Police officer and a soldier stand guard at a checkpoint at Milano Centrale train station; Credit: Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images)