El Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) aprobó una operación para Costa Rica por valor de US$265 millones, que busca asegurar los niveles mínimos de ingreso y de empleo para la población más vulnerable del país -en el período inmediato y durante la recuperación económica- frente a la crisis causada por el COVID-19.

Using technology can help in major economic sectors hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as remittances and public finances. As remittances decline, technology applied to international money transfers can generate efficiencies that help maximize the amount of money reaching recipients. As for public finances, the pandemic has made clear the need to be able to identify those most vulnerable and in need of government aid, a task in which technology can be very useful. In addition, as the digital economy becomes more and more important in daily life and public finances need to be strengthened, digital taxation will grow increasingly relevant.

Digi/Gob is an ad-hoc platform that can be rapidly customized to a country’s specific needs within 2-3 weeks to provide a digital government solution. It has been developed by everis in the Microsoft cloud as a means of enabling the electronic processing of public transactions and facilitating the continuity of operations during this drastic interruption of in-person interactions. A key aspect of this partnership is its use of the cloud to enhance effectiveness and accelerate digital transformation processes in the public sector.

The spread of COVID-19 among the elderly of Latin America and the Caribbean has exposed the fragility of the care and support systems for this group. The pandemic reveals a lack of protocols for action and prevention in home care and nursing home settings. It also brings to light the unmet support needs of family and informal caregivers. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) study “Age with Care: Long-Term care in Latin America and the Caribbean” found that 8 million older people in the region (12% of people over 60 and 27% of people over 80) currently depend on some sort of long-term care. This means there is at least one basic activity of daily living—like bathing, eating, or getting out of bed—that they cannot do on their own.

The expanded facility includes both a one-time temporary coverage of COVID-19 given the unprecedented magnitude of the present outbreak, and a longer-term ex ante coverage for future pandemics and epidemics. The expanded facility seeks to improve countries’ public contingent liabilities management. For the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, countries can request up to $90 million or 0.6% of GDP, whichever is less. Beyond the present outbreak, countries can request coverage for future public health emergencies for up to $100 million or 1% of GDP, whichever is less.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a budget support loan to El Salvador of $250 million to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of public policy and fiscal management to address the health and economic crisis caused by COVID-19.

The program supports the introduction of temporary measures to protect the income of vulnerable households and to increase the liquidity of firms during the health and economic crisis, among which the allocation of a monetary contribution to low-income households, suspension temporary payment of domiciliary services, and the postponement of the payment of taxes for certain groups of companies and shops.

The contraction responds to the continuation of a downward trend that began in early 2019, when exports from the region declined by 2.2 percent, and to the first effects of the economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The downturn in global demand hit the region through both the price and volume channels, according to the latest edition of Trade Trend Estimates for Latin America and the Caribbean.

El programa priorizará el apoyo a la sostenibilidad de las MIPYME agropecuarias y su cadena de valor como sostén del empleo frente a la crisis, y con foco en la seguridad alimentaria. De igual forma, el programa también podrá financiar a otros sectores relevantes que hayan sido afectados por la crisis actual.

Coronavirus: What are our experts saying

Crédito de apoyo presupuestario de us$250 millones contribuirá a financiar los esfuerzos del país para hacer frente a los efectos sanitarios y económicos de la pandemia del covid-19.

El crédito también contempla compromisos de las autoridades para reducir el déficit fiscal, focalizar la inversión pública en áreas de alta relevancia para la reactivación económica y mantener una economía competitiva y transparente, una vez que se supere la emergencia sanitaria.

This webinar falls under the cooperation initiatives being pursued by the Summits of the Americas Secretariat within the framework of implementation of the Mechanism for Follow-up and Implementation of the Lima Commitment, with the participating states, Joint Summit Working Group (JSWG) entities, and civil society and social actors.

Towards this end, IDB and AFD have exchanged on the modalities of the support to be brought to Latin American countries both in their immediate to rather short terms responses to COVID-19, and on the medium to long-term recovery plans. These could be developed further, leading to a potential joint-cooperation aligned with climate and SDGs objectives, key drivers of the IDB-AFD partnership.

Tax revenues in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) increased to 23.1% of GDP on average in 2018, according to the new edition of Revenue Statistics in Latin America in the Caribbean published today. However, these gains are now under threat as a result of the region’s deteriorating fiscal outlook, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic crisis.

Los ingresos tributarios en América Latina y el Caribe (ALC) alcanzaron 23.1% del PIB en promedio en 2018, según la nueva edición de Estadísticas Tributarias en América Latina y el Caribe publicada hoy. Sin embargo, el aumento de la carga tributaria se ve amenazado como resultado del deterioro de las perspectivas fiscales de la región, que se ha exacerbado por la pandemia del COVID-19 y la crisis económica mundial.

Para medir el pleno impacto de la crisis y proporcionar la base para las acciones necesarias, los economistas del BID han seguido de cerca los efectos de COVID-19 en la región. El resultado es un informe que arroja luz sobre las implicaciones económicas para seis países del Caribe: Las Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Surinam y Trinidad y Tobago. De este análisis surgen dos desafíos principales que deberán enfrentar los países en esta coyuntura.

2020 Latin American and Caribbean Macroeconomic Report

The unprecedented conditions created by the spread of the coronavirus call for exceptional policy responses from the regional monetary authorities. Besides traditional tools such as interest rate reductions, central banks have been pursuing unconventional measures to avoid permanent consequences from a transitory, but potentially severe, negative shock. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, central banks have developed new tools that they can deploy to help firms and households weather the storm. Not only do central banks find themselves in a different situation than before the previous financial crisis, the shock they are facing is also of a different nature. This article lays out several policies that some central banks may already be implementing and others may want to consider, and explains some of the limitations of other policies.

The coronavirus pandemic has reminded us all of the vital importance of drinking water, sanitation and hygiene conditions, and, above all, to remind us that we have a pending task to ensure that these services reach all of our citizens.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, lockdowns and aggressive social-distancing measures are required to save lives and countries across Latin America and the Caribbean have put them in place.
As a result of the changing macroeconomic conditions, financing costs for emerging markets have risen and commodity prices have fallen.
There will be large drops in GDP, but this is not a normal recession, so typical countercyclical demand management, both fiscal and monetary, is likely inconducive. Policies should be aimed to provide relief, maintain economic stability and the core of the economy intact for the recovery.

El Secretario General de la OEA, en calidad de Presidente del Grupo de Trabajo Conjunto de Cumbres (GTCC), y en coordinación con la OPS, convocó el viernes 3 de abril de 2020 a las altas autoridades de las organizaciones internacionales y regionales que conforman el GTCC, a una reunión virtual para abordar sus esfuerzos frente a la pandemia y discutir una respuesta coordinada y conjunta en apoyo a las necesidades y actuales acciones de los Estados Miembros, así como en el marco de su proceso de recuperación. Los miembros del GTCC acordaron reunirse periódicamente para asegurar una coordinación continua y actualizar la información compartida que muestre un panorama de las acciones de la comunidad interamericana en apoyo a los países de la región. Ver comunicado. Desde la Secretaría de Cumbres, como Secretaría Técnica del Proceso de Cumbres, y del GTCC, se prepara la realización y el seguimiento de las referidas reuniones de las altas autoridades del GTCC.  Además de la OEA y la OPS, integran el GTCC el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID), la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), la OPS, el Banco Mundial, el Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA),  el Banco de Desarrollo de América  Latina (CAF), el Banco de Desarrollo del Caribe (CDB), el Banco Centroamericano para la Integración Económica (CABEI), la Organización Internacional para las Migraciones (OIM), la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT), el Programa de Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) y la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE).