As described in the most recent update to the IDB’s Trade Trend Estimates for Latin America and the Caribbean, the economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic is increasingly affecting trade as 2020 progresses. The region is headed for a record trade shock. Latin American exports contracted by 3.2% in the first quarter of 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019, … [Read more...] about COVID-19 takes a toll on Latin American exports
How can trade policy help avoid a food security crisis during COVID-19?
The COVID-19 pandemic is bringing back the ghost of a food security crisis, similar to the one that swept the world more than a decade ago. One concern is that protectionism magnifies the negative economic effects of the confinement measures implemented to rein in the coronavirus. Although these concerns seem overstated, the agriculture sector in Latin America and the Caribbean … [Read more...] about How can trade policy help avoid a food security crisis during COVID-19?
Recommendations from the Americas Business Dialogue on tackling COVID-19
As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps through the region, hemisphere business leaders grouped in the Americas Business Dialogue (ABD) are working in coordination to bring private sector resources and capabilities to governments to tackle the health and economic emergency. Among the responses put forth by ABD – an initiative led by the private sector and facilitated by the … [Read more...] about Recommendations from the Americas Business Dialogue on tackling COVID-19
Deeper integration of Latin America, essential against COVID-19
Just as the COVID-19 pandemic has no borders, neither must the solutions to address its health and economic consequences. Deepening regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is an essential part of creating collective policies to respond to the direct and indirect impacts of the emergency. Regional integration is not an end but rather a strategic … [Read more...] about Deeper integration of Latin America, essential against COVID-19
Pandemics: the time has come for Latin America to export telemedicine services
One of the problems associated with pandemics, like COVID-19, is that as individuals rush to hospitals, the national health care system can get overloaded beyond its capacity to treat people. A potential way to reduce the strain on the system is through telemedicine, the delivery of health care services from one site to another via electronic communications, often through a … [Read more...] about Pandemics: the time has come for Latin America to export telemedicine services