Advancing the Decade of Action for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean

The Hummingbird Vol.7 No.6

Report on the economic impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Latin America and the Caribbean

This study was prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), at the request of the Government of Mexico in its capacity as Pro Tempore Chair of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), at the virtual ministerial meeting on health matters for response and follow-up to the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, held on 26 March 2020. The report addresses three topics: the economic and social impacts of the pandemic in the region, the actions taken by ECLAC in response to the request by CELAC and, on the basis of these, a set …

Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean. Work in times of pandemic: the challenges of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean is a twice-yearly report prepared jointly by the Economic Development Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Office for the Southern Cone of Latin America of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic hit Latin America and the Caribbean in a period of economic weakness and macroeconomic vulnerability. Against this backdrop, the COVID-19 pandemic, which brings with it a combination of external and domestic shocks, will result in the region’s…

Capital Flows to Latin America and the Caribbean: First Quarter 2020 in Times of COVID-19

Highlights • In the first quarter of 2020, the spread of the coronavirus, together with a precipitous decline in commodity prices, radically changed the financial landscape for Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) issuers. After a record breaking issuance of US$ 38 billion worth of bonds in January, bond issuance dried-up in February and March, bringing total quarterly issuance to US$ 45 billion. • On March 26, however, Panama successfully placed a sovereign bond in cross-border markets to secure additional resources to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. It was followed in April by other four soverei…

Food systems and COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean N° 4: Health risks; safety of workers and food safety

In this new issue of the bulletin, we analyse health risks to people involved in the food system value chain – from workers to consumers – due to the COVID-19 crisis. Implementing measures to keep workers and consumers from contracting COVID-19 is not enough. It is also imperative to maintain high safety standards in order to keep the spread of foodborne diseases under control and thus prevent them from becoming yet another public health problem.…

Recommendations for eliminating selection bias in household surveys during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic

In the context of the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is preparing a series of short publications with relevant policy recommendations. A number of recommendations are made in this note to address bias problems that may arise in household surveys carried out during this exceptional period, as a complement to the suggestions made in a previous note on the sample designs for this type of survey.…

COVID-19: Towards an inclusive, resilient and green recovery —building back better through regional cooperation

This document provides key policy messages from the UN regional commissions and highlights the vital role of regional cooperation in an effective recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 crisis has caused untold disruption to lives and economies. As the current patterns of globalization are being questioned, the regional level will become vital in dealing with crossborder problems. It is at this level that reconnecting economies, reversing the disruption of trade and transport links, and addressing transboundary risks offer more immediate benefits. The critical task of strengthening t…

Food systems and COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean N° 3: Risks threatening international trade

This edition addresses the risks threatening international agrifood trade in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the previous issue we reviewed the lessons learned by those who have had to manage disasters. We presented a methodology for analysing and managing the crisis in food systems from a disaster risk reduction perspective.…

The social challenge in times of COVID-19

This Special Report is the third 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. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has severe health effects and serious implications for economic growth and social development. It has arrived in Latin America and the Caribbean in a context of low growth —as analysed in the previous special reports on the subject— and, above all, of marked inequality and vulnerability, with growing poverty and extreme poverty, weakening of social…

Analysis and responses of Latin America and the Caribbean to the effects of COVID-19 on food systems N° 2

The purpose of this bulletin, published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the valuable collaboration of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), is to support member countries in mitigating the various effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural societies, agriculture and food systems. This bulletin provides decision-makers in government, the private sector and civil society with useful information and resources to support the design and implementation of actions to combat the effects of the pandemic in Latin America and the Car…

Restrictions on the export of medical products hamper efforts to contain coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America and the Caribbean is highly dependent on imports of medical products, as less than 4% of these are sourced within the region itself. To date, more than 70 countries —including four of the region’s top five suppliers, of which the first is the United States— have restricted their medical exports in response to COVID-19. Export restrictions are hampering the supply of products essential for fighting the pandemic in the region. Latin America and the Caribbean should make it a strategic objective to strengthen its productive capabilities in the pharmaceutical and medical supplies and…

Analysis and responses of Latin America and the Caribbean to the effects of COVID-19 on food systems N° 1

The Hummingbird Vol.7 No.5

Persons with disabilities and coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Latin America and the Caribbean: status and guidelines

In the context of the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is preparing a series of short publications with relevant policy recommendations for this period. This note offers a number of recommendations to address the impact of COVID-19 on persons with disabilities in the region.…

Producing the consumer price index (CPI) and the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean

In the context of the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is preparing a series of short publications with relevant policy recommendations for this period. This note makes several recommendations for the continued collection of price information from which the consumer price index (CPI) is calculated.…

Measuring the impact of COVID-19 with a view to reactivation

The aim of this second Special Report is to quantify the economic impact of the pandemic in the short and medium term. With regard the short term —during the course of 2020— estimates shed light on the dynamics of production, employment, poverty and income distribution, based on data available at 17 April 2020, for all the subregions of Latin America and the Caribbean and many of their economies. The report also provides details of the main macroeconomic policy measures to tackle the effects of the pandemic that have been announced to date. Quantifying the decline in economic activity enables …

Recommendations for the publication of official statistics from household surveys in the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic

In the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, ECLAC is preparing a series of short publications with relevant policy recommendations. A number of recommendations are made in this note on gathering labour market information through household surveys, paying particular attention to the sample designs required for this purpose.…

Latin America and the Caribbean and the COVID-19 pandemic: Economic and social effects

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 an…

The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating the care crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought to light, in an unprecedented way, the importance of care for the sustainability of life and the low visibility of this sector in the economies of the region, where it is still considered an externality and not a fundamental component of development. The ongoing health crisis highlights the unfair social organization of care work in Latin America and the Caribbean. There is an urgent need to consider responses to care needs from a gender perspective, since, as the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has r…