La Comisión Interamericana de Mujeres (CIM) de la Organización de los Estados Americanos (OEA), con la cooperación de la Unión Europea a través de su programa EUROsociAL+, presenta y pone a disposición de los Estados Miembros de la OEA, de organizaciones de la sociedad civil y sector privado el documento “COVID-19 en la vida de las mujeres: Emergencia global de los cuidados”, en respuesta a la profundización de la desigualdad en la distribución de las tareas domésticas y de cuidado y al incremento de la carga de trabajo no remunerado que están realizando las mujeres. El texto analiza el rol de las mujeres en el funcionamiento de la vida doméstica y productiva y los impactos en sus vidas y en la economía.

Entre los principales hallazgos destacan que, dentro de la región andina, las empresas de Perú y Colombia se encontraban mejor posicionadas para enfrentar el choque del COVID-19, mientras que las de Ecuador y Bolivia estaban menos preparadas.  En todos los casos, las empresas grandes y medianas son las que tenían mayor preparación, en comparación con las pequeñas y, sobre todo, con las microempresas debido a diferencias importantes en aspectos como el acceso a crédito, el uso de tecnologías, la propiedad del espacio en el que operan, el peso de los costos fijos y la productividad laboral.

El Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) aprobó un préstamo de US$130 millones para apoyar la sostenibilidad financiera de corto plazo de las Micro, Pequeñas y Medianas Empresas (MiPyME) como sostén del empleo en Bolivia frente a la crisis del COVID-19 y sus efectos en el tejido productivo.

El programa espera beneficiar como mínimo a aproximadamente 12.000 MiPyME afectadas por la crisis, mediante créditos que se otorgarán a través de las Instituciones Financieras elegibles, destinándose un monto superior al 30 por ciento del total de los recursos a empresas propiedad de mujeres.

With multilateral cooperation under strain, senior UN officials, Nobel laureates and eminent academic experts, gathered virtually on Wednesday for the launch of a new report recommending “an adjusted approach” to economic development, and a policy dialogue exploring how countries can recover from COVID-19, in ways that lead to real structural transformation.

While data is not yet available to measure the rise of global multidimensional poverty after the pandemic, simulations for 70 countries in the developing world, based on the anticipated impacts of the virus on just two components of the global MPI – nutrition and school attendance – suggests how much impact the crisis could have unless it is addressed.

In the current state of emergency, governments should prioritize transparent public information campaigns, plan strategies that involve marginalized groups in urban areas and indigenous communities, guarantee access to clean water, soap, food, income, and other essential items, ensure internet connectivity, use spaces other than hospitals to isolate COVID-19 patients, and design strategies to safely move patients among medical facilities.

“Productivity levels in emerging markets and developing economies remain less than 20 percent of the average in advanced economies, and only 2 percent in low income countries,” said World Bank Vice President for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu. “A possible silver lining may be that changes in behavior from the pandemic will accelerate the adoption of new technologies, greater efficiencies among businesses, and the pace of scientific innovation. However, it is vital to ensure that these gains are widely distributed and that technology-driven labor market disruptions are well managed.”

A $76.2 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will help finance efforts to contain the pandemic, mitigate its effect on poor households, and promote counter-cyclical policies that will ease the crisis' short-term effect on the economy.

The latest OECD Economic Survey of the United States says that even as some businesses reopen with the lifting of coronavirus confinement measures, hard-hit sectors like hospitality and leisure will continue to need support, as will newly unemployed or displaced workers who may need to look for jobs in different sectors. The recent extension of the US Paycheck Protection Program by five weeks to August 8 is a welcome move to help small businesses struggling with the crisis. Extending exceptional unemployment benefits beyond the end-July cut-off date would offer a similar lifeline to the millions of households at risk of falling into poverty, as would assistance for job search (such as employment placement services) and support for geographic mobility.

The UN’s trade and development body warned that the loss could rise to $2.2 trillion or 2.8% of the world’s GDP if the break in international tourism lasts for eight months, in line with the expected decline in tourism as projected by the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

The report – Extreme Outlier: The Pandemic’s Unprecedented Shock to Tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean – launches a new global Tourism Dependency Index for countries, including 35 Latin American and Caribbean economies. It urges governments to take unprecedented measures to prevent the spread of the virus, and to support citizens and economies through this shock to the most tourism-dependent region in the world. 

The number of working hours lost across the world in the first half of 2020 was significantly worse than previously estimated, while the highly uncertain recovery in the second half of the year will not be enough to go back to pre-pandemic levels, even in the best scenario, and risks seeing continuing large scale job losses, warns the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Within the region, the Caribbean economies are suffering even more due to their high dependence on one of the most dramatically impacted sectors—tourism—which, for some, accounts for 50 to 90 percent of GDP and employment.

Given the scale of the crisis and unprecedented uncertainty, governments have had to also deploy fiscal measures to strengthen the health system, protect the most vulnerable and support employment and otherwise viable businesses.

MSMEs are a key component of Uruguay’s production and employment capabilities, accounting for more than 99 percent of the private sector companies and more than 67 percent of the jobs. Their activities are mostly concentrated on services and commerce – two sectors badly affected by the coronavirus crisis.

The budget-support loan will provide Panama’s government with rapid disbursement funds to finance emergency current expenses and generate a mid-term fiscal policy strategic framework to recover fiscal sustainability and ensure macroeconomic stability.

The project includes the adoption of public policies that promote innovation, entrepreneurship and business productivity, all of which are considered essential to help the country recuperate from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the most severe recession in nearly a century and is causing enormous damage to people’s health, jobs and well-being, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook.

As restrictions begin to ease, the path to economic recovery remains highly uncertain and vulnerable to a second wave of infections. Strengthening healthcare systems and supporting people and businesses to help adapt to a post-COVID-19 world will be crucial, it says.

Economic activity among advanced economies is anticipated to shrink 7% in 2020 as domestic demand and supply, trade, and finance have been severely disrupted. Emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) are expected to shrink by 2.5% this year, their first contraction as a group in at least sixty years. Per capita incomes are expected to decline by 3.6%, which will tip millions of people into extreme poverty this year.

Este artículo de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT) señala que, con independencia de la edad, el nivel de ingresos o el país, la emergencia en torno al COVID-19 está afectando a casi todos los habitantes del planeta. Sin embargo, es probable que la crisis económica golpee con especial dureza a los jóvenes. El artículo expone cinco factores determinantes.