This report takes stock of the emergency tax and fiscal policy measures introduced by countries worldwide in response to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. It discusses how tax and fiscal policy can cushion the impact of continued containment and mitigation policies and subsequently support economic recovery. It also outlines the major policy reforms that will be needed to prepare for restoration of public finances.

The Organization of American States (OAS) together with Cisco, announced today the opening of a fund of US$150,000 to finance innovation projects in Latin America. The fund seeks to foster creativity and innovation in the execution of cybersecurity projects in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The process and requirements to submit projects will be announced soon.

Mantener el funcionamiento de los sistemas de justicia en tiempos de Coronavirus, tiene relevancia y carga con este peso: que incluso en medio de una crisis sanitaria de proporciones y consecuencias como la actual, y en medio de medidas extremas y limitaciones a nuestros derechos y garantías; no sólo en teoría, sino materialmente -en la realidad-, debe haber acceso a mecanismos de solución de conflictos y de amparo de garantías y derechos, y estos mecanismos operar, incluso frente a la autoridad investida de facultades extraordinarias, y por cierto frente a otros particulares que abusen de sus libertades o derechos, de su posición, situación, o lisa y llanamente cometan delito.

In  global  emergencies  like  the  coronavirus  (COVID-19)  pandemic,  open  science  policies  can  remove obstacles to the free flow of research data and ideas, and thus accelerate the pace of research critical to combating the disease.• While global sharing and collaboration of research data has reached unprecedented levels, challenges remain. Trust in at least some of the data is relatively low, and outstanding issues include the lack of specific standards, co-ordination and interoperability, as well as data quality and interpretation. •To strengthen the contribution of open science to the COVID-19 response, policy makers need to ensure adequate data governance models, interoperable standards, sustainable data sharing agreements involving public sector, private sector and civil society, incentives for researchers, sustainable infrastructures, human and institutional capabilities and mechanisms for access to data across borders

“We celebrate the signing of this agreement whose objective is to train and empower women entrepreneurs in Paraguay. The COVID-19 pandemic is hitting our economies hard and this initiative is an opportunity to generate sources of employment," said Secretary General Almagro.

The COVID-19 crisis is severely disrupting youth’s access to education, employment and participation in public life. While it may be too early to fully anticipate the long-term impact of the crisis, increasing levels of youth unemployment and other repercussions may significantly delay their transition to an autonomous life. At the same time, the crisis may encourage unexpected innovation and new opportunities to boost intergenerational solidarity.

“Small businesses across the Hemisphere serve as the lifeblood of our communities. Supporting them is not only about supporting the economy — it’s also about supporting lives. We must help them weather the pandemic and adapt to the new post-pandemic reality. Their success will be our success,” said the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro.

Since  the  start  of  the  COVID-19  crisis,  demand  for  broadband  communication  services  has  soared, with some operators experiencing as much as a 60% increase in Internet traffic compared to before the crisis. •Network  operators  and  content  providers  have  to  date  successfully  maintained  services  and  efficiently utilized pre-existing capacity, and in certain cases expanded this capacity. •Additional short term measures are important to further enhance network stability and resilience, and to reduce the digital divide: for example, ensuring access for network operators and content providers to communication equipment, data centres, and mobility of technicians to customers’ homes. •Policy makers and regulators can alleviate congestion in mobile networks by releasing additional spectrum on a temporary basis, or by approving temporary commercial spectrum transactions between providers that put unused spectrum into service. •In the medium term, regulators could stimulate broadband providers to deploy more deeper into  the  networks  and  gradually  phase  out  xDSL  technologies,  where  possible,  and  alleviate  administrative burdens to ease network deployment. Keeping the Internet up and running in times of crisis

LAC country governments have reacted swiftly and preventatively to protect their citizens and contain COVID-19’s spread, which is likely to face its most difficult period in the region duringthe first weeks of May. Suchapreventative reactionis very important due to a number of particular regional challenges that LAC countries face in response to this pandemic, such as less equippedhealthcare systems and fragmented social safety nets. Yet, the region is alreadyfacingan economic crisis with less fiscal space than in 2008 to mitigate the deeper recession that will result. Focusing on the 15 countries that are a part of the Steering Group of the OECD LAC Regional Programme, this note providesan overview of the measures being enacted to mitigate the public health situation, including its social, economic, and governance dimensions

This policy brief discusses the role of testing for COVID-19 as part of any plan to lift confinement restrictions and prepare for a possible new wave of viral infections. If all confinement restrictions are lifted before a vaccine or effective treatments are developed without other measures to suppress new infections, the infection rate is expected to rebound rapidly. Crucially, quick suppression of infections requires testing more people to identify who is infected; tracking them to make sure they do not spread the disease further; and tracing with whom they have been in contact. This brief discusses how testing strategies can be used to achieve three main goals: 1)suppressing the resurgence of local outbreaks; 2)identifying people who have developed some form of immunity and can safely return to work; and 3)gaining intelligence on the evolution of the epidemic, including on when a threshold for herd immunity has been reached. The brief discusses what testscan be used for each goal, as well as practical implementation issues with testing strategies, including the opportunities and risks of using digital tools in this context.

In response to the emergency caused by COVID-19, the high authorities of the Joint Summit Working Group (JSWG) met this week for the second time to ratify their commitment in support of the member states of the Americas and multilateralism as an instrument to address multiple challenges facing the region in the post-COVID-19 phase.

With this in mind, the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) raised the need to work on a thematic agenda that incorporates the specific demands of regional organizations such as SICA (Central American Integration System) and CARICOM (Caribbean Community).

El IICA elaboró un Índice que permite aproximar el nivel de vulnerabilidad alimentaria de los países de las Américas ante el Covid-19. Tras analizar los posibles canales de trasmisión y capacidad de respuesta de los países de la región a la actual pandemia del coronavirus, se construyó el índice a partir de cuatro variables

La Comisión Interamericana de Telecomunicaciones (CITEL) elaboró un banco de datos que recopila las acciones adelantadas por Estados Miembros de la OEA y el sector productivo en tecnologías de la información y comunicaciones – TICs- en respuesta a la COVID19. Dentro de esta iniciativa, se estableció una serie de recomendaciones, agrupadas en los temas más relevantes.  Adicionalmente, la CITEL ha realizado mesas redondas que han permitido conocer más a fondo las perspectivas de todos los actores, detallar el alcance de algunas de estas experiencias y poder afrontar acciones de la mejor manera. Las acciones se han recopilado y clasificado con base en las siguientes recomendaciones.

This Special Report is the first in a series by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on the evolution and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, and will update the economic and social analysis as the relevant information becomes available. The preparation of the Report will be headed by the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, Alicia Bárcena, with the technical support of the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary, Mario Cimoli, and the substantive divisions responsible for the topics addressed, as well as the subregional headquarters and country offices of ECLAC.

Large-scale, national efforts to utilize technology in support of remote learning, distance education and online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic are emerging and evolving quickly.

UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan

La CAF apoya a la región mediante una serie de instrumentos financieros y técnicos que complementan las medidas aplicadas por los gobiernos. Entre ellos se destaca una línea de crédito regional de emergencia de USD 2.500 millones para reforzar las medidas económicas anticíclicas.

También puso a disposición inmediata recursos de cooperación técnica no reembolsables por hasta USD 400 mil por país; y una línea de crédito contingente hasta por USD 50 millones por país para atención directa de los sistemas de salud pública y la protección de los más vulnerables

Por otra parte, el personal de la CAF junto a expertos en sectores estratégicos como salud, educación, economía, transporte, protección social, tecnología y gobernabilidad, trabajan en el diseño de políticas públicas adaptables a la realidad de cada país, las cuales están disponibles en este espacio en diversos formatos.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing measures taken in response raise the prospect of a steep downturn for numerous economies. A key concern is to prevent this initial shock from turning into an even deeper and prolonged recession. This brief stresses that social dialogue has the capacity to help. For example by shaping compromises whereby employers maintain jobs, workers accept shorter working hours while governments provide compensation, social dialogue functions as a crisis “circuit breaker”. Social dialogue can do so because it has both the capacity to coordinate different actors and because it tends to build trust. The brief illustrates this by referring to several recent cases where social partners, in collaboration with government, have quickly stepped up to the challenge by expanding short time work systems. The Global Deal partnership is pleased to offer its initial contribution to the struggle to address the COVID-19 crisis in the form of this short brief and the best practice examples of social dialogue that it showcases.

Understanding where Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) are, how they operate, and where they pay taxes is crucial for sound policy making and sound macro-economic statistics. However, surprisingly little official statistics are currently available on individual MNEs. To fill this gap the OECD has begun to develop a new database – the Analytical Database on Individual Multinationals and Affiliates (ADIMA) – using a number of open big data sources that can provide new insights on individual MNEs and their global profiles. 

"It is urgent that the needs of women be part of the analyses, assessments and policies that are put in place in the face of the crisis, as a requirement for adequacy, effectiveness and sustainability, and to strengthen women's leadership in times of crisis. Because we cannot allow any backsliding in the rights achieved by women in all areas,” said the Executive Secretary of the CIM, Alejandra Mora Mora.