The pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) continues to severely impact countries around the world. More than 4.5 million people have been confirmed infected, and the death count is now in the hundreds of thousands, although stringent restrictions on mobility have prevented a greater public health disaster. However, economic stagnation and fatigue among the … [Read more...] about A Conversation with Cass Sunstein on Behavioral Science and Using Nudges: Recommendations for Overcoming Covid-19
How the Public Sector Can Coordinate Increasing Domestic Production of the Supplies Crucial for Handling Covid-19
One of the biggest problems faced by developing countries in handling the pandemic has been shortages of equipment and supplies for diagnostic testing of the population suspected of infection; for treating patients with the most severe infections; and for protecting healthcare workers. As the number of Covid-19 cases has increased, countries are demanding more medical equipment … [Read more...] about How the Public Sector Can Coordinate Increasing Domestic Production of the Supplies Crucial for Handling Covid-19
How Can Behavioral Economics Improve Our Decision-Making during the Pandemic?
Over the last few months, most Latin American and Caribbean countries have been able to flatten the curve of infections thanks to severe restrictions on mobility. The Human Mobility Map for Latin America and the Caribbean shows that the restrictions have worked and citizens are limiting their movements. Argentina saw a decline of almost 54% in the number of people who travel … [Read more...] about How Can Behavioral Economics Improve Our Decision-Making during the Pandemic?
Climate Change is a Threat to Economic Growth and to Reducing Income Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean
A silver lining that has emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic is that CO2 emissions have decreased dramatically during the lockdowns. But that this is not necessarily good news for climate change. Emission levels are likely to return to previous levels once the lockdowns are lifted because there have not been any structural changes in climate-related policies that will lock in … [Read more...] about Climate Change is a Threat to Economic Growth and to Reducing Income Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean
Coronavirus Survey Results Show Big Impacts, Linkages between Labor Markets and Inequality
To get a better grasp of how the coronavirus pandemic is upending lives and livelihoods, we teamed up with Cornell University to carry out an online survey to measure the economic impacts of the pandemic on households in seventeen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. We found that the impacts were staggering, are closely linked to the composition of the region’s labor … [Read more...] about Coronavirus Survey Results Show Big Impacts, Linkages between Labor Markets and Inequality