As COVID-19 struck the developing world, governments imposed mobility restrictions to reduce contagion, causing severe disruptions in labor markets. In Latin America and the Caribbean, where 57% of all workers hold informal jobs that often require them to be physically present, nearly half of the labor force was compelled to stop work in the first phases of the … [Read more...] about How the COVID Pandemic Affected Automation and Labor Markets in Peru
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Policy Options for Combating Pandemics in Informal Settlements
Pandemics, while devastating for populations at large, deliver a disproportionate impact when they sweep through the dense informal settlements of developing countries with their narrow alleyways and broken dwellings. Death rates, high everywhere, soared through such places during the COVID-19 crisis. Until recently, however, no research had been conducted on the role of … [Read more...] about Policy Options for Combating Pandemics in Informal Settlements
Why Remittances Soared as the Pandemic Raged
Remittances – money sent from migrants working abroad to families in their home countries – are a major source of income for many in Latin American and the Caribbean, representing as much as 20% of the GDP in nations such as El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, and Jamaica. As occurred after the 2008 global financial crisis, remittances typically dry up in the wake of economic … [Read more...] about Why Remittances Soared as the Pandemic Raged
Behavioral Economics and the Fight against COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an immense impact on people around the world, affecting every aspect of their lives, mostly in a negative way. In Latin America and the Caribbean, most governments have made controlling the spread of the new coronavirus a principal goal. Despite investing immense effort and resources in containing transmission, however, they have been unable to … [Read more...] about Behavioral Economics and the Fight against COVID-19
Boosting Trade to Alleviate Pressures from the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
When war broke out between Russia and Ukraine at the end of February, businesses and governments in Latin America and the Caribbean worried that the war's disruptions would cause significant harm to the region's trade. What now seems clear is that rather than being deeply harmed, Latin America and the Caribbean has a significant opportunity to step in, relieve supply … [Read more...] about Boosting Trade to Alleviate Pressures from the Russia-Ukraine Conflict