After the 2008 global financial crisis, Latin American and Caribbean governments used booming commodity prices to raise living standards while avoiding the reforms that were needed to lock in long-term growth. Now that the pandemic has revealed the costs of this approach, it must not be repeated.
WASHINGTON, DC – Latin America and the Caribbean need a hard reset. With less than one-tenth of the world’s population, the region has accounted for more than one-quarter of total COVID-19 deaths. The pandemic continues to rage almost unabated in Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, and elsewhere. Worse, owing to its large informal sectors, weak health systems, and fiscal restrictions, the region’s economy has been hit harder than any other, declining by 7% last year – the largest contraction since 1821.
WASHINGTON, DC – Latin America and the Caribbean need a hard reset. With less than one-tenth of the world’s population, the region has accounted for more than one-quarter of total COVID-19 deaths. The pandemic continues to rage almost unabated in Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, and elsewhere. Worse, owing to its large informal sectors, weak health systems, and fiscal restrictions, the region’s economy has been hit harder than any other, declining by 7% last year – the largest contraction since 1821.