The Commercial Determinants of Three Contemporary National Crises: How Corporate Practices Intersect With the COVID-19 Pandemic, Economic Downturn, and Racial Inequity

Policy Points The United States finds itself in the middle of an unprecedented combination of crises: a global pandemic, economic crisis, and unprecedented civic responses to structural racism. While public sector responses to these crises have faced much justified criticism, the commercial determinants of these crises have not been sufficiently examined. In this commentary we examine the nature of the contributions of such actors to the conditions that underpin these crises in the United States through their market and nonmarket activities. On the basis of this analysis, we make recommendations on the role of governance and civil society in relation to such commercial actors in a post-COVID-19 world.

Automated summary

This commentary highlights the unprecedented crises the United States is facing, attributing some of the causes to commercial determinants and providing recommendations on the role of governance and civil society in the post-COVID-19 world in relation to these commercial actors.