Mind the Gap : How COVID-19 is Increasing Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean

Mind the Gap : How COVID-19 is Increasing Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean

The most vulnerable households in Latin America and the Caribbean have been disproportionately affected by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, endangering the region’s inclusive development path. High-Frequency Phone Surveys show that two months i...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Clavijo, Irene, Mejía-Mantilla, Carolina, Olivieri, Sergio, Lara-Ibarra, Gabriel, Romero, Javier
Other Authors: Balch, Oliver
Format: Policy Note
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2021
Subjects:
CORONAVIRUS
COVID-19
PANDEMIC IMPACT
POVERTY
INEQUALITY
INCOME LOSS
FOOD SECURITY
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES
ACCESS TO EDUCATION
SCHOOL CLOSURE
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/946431626680572263/Mind-the-Gap-How-COVID-19-is-Increasing-Inequality-in-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36025
id okr-10986-36025
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-360252021-07-29T05:10:44Z Mind the Gap : How COVID-19 is Increasing Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean Clavijo, Irene Mejía-Mantilla, Carolina Olivieri, Sergio Lara-Ibarra, Gabriel Romero, Javier Balch, Oliver CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 PANDEMIC IMPACT POVERTY INEQUALITY INCOME LOSS FOOD SECURITY HOUSEHOLD SURVEY ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES ACCESS TO EDUCATION SCHOOL CLOSURE The most vulnerable households in Latin America and the Caribbean have been disproportionately affected by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, endangering the region’s inclusive development path. High-Frequency Phone Surveys show that two months into the pandemic, in May 2020, the gaps between the most vulnerable and the least vulnerable households in terms of job loss and income loss. The uneven impacts went beyond monetary indicators, as disadvantaged households suffered from higher levels of food insecurity and had lower access to good quality health and education services, such as online sessions with a teacher. To prevent the pandemic from erasing years of progress against inequality, the most vulnerable households require short-term support to overcome their liquidity constraints via safety net transfers, thus guaranteeing that their basic needs are met. In the medium term, government efforts should be focused on the recovery of households’ primary source of income through labor market policies that actively support the placement of the less advantaged groups and improve their employability. Equally important, it is necessary to curb losses related to human capital accumulation, given the long-term consequences that this entails. The return to in-person schooling, under strict bio-security protocols, is encouraged. When not possible, schools and parents should be provided with better tools to support distance learning. 2021-07-28T14:40:17Z 2021-07-28T14:40:17Z 2021-07 Policy Note http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/946431626680572263/Mind-the-Gap-How-COVID-19-is-Increasing-Inequality-in-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36025 English CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Economic & Sector Work Economic & Sector Work :: Policy Note Latin America & Caribbean Caribbean Latin America
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic CORONAVIRUS
COVID-19
PANDEMIC IMPACT
POVERTY
INEQUALITY
INCOME LOSS
FOOD SECURITY
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES
ACCESS TO EDUCATION
SCHOOL CLOSURE
spellingShingle CORONAVIRUS
COVID-19
PANDEMIC IMPACT
POVERTY
INEQUALITY
INCOME LOSS
FOOD SECURITY
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES
ACCESS TO EDUCATION
SCHOOL CLOSURE
Clavijo, Irene
Mejía-Mantilla, Carolina
Olivieri, Sergio
Lara-Ibarra, Gabriel
Romero, Javier
Mind the Gap : How COVID-19 is Increasing Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean
geographic_facet Latin America & Caribbean
Caribbean
Latin America
description The most vulnerable households in Latin America and the Caribbean have been disproportionately affected by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, endangering the region’s inclusive development path. High-Frequency Phone Surveys show that two months into the pandemic, in May 2020, the gaps between the most vulnerable and the least vulnerable households in terms of job loss and income loss. The uneven impacts went beyond monetary indicators, as disadvantaged households suffered from higher levels of food insecurity and had lower access to good quality health and education services, such as online sessions with a teacher. To prevent the pandemic from erasing years of progress against inequality, the most vulnerable households require short-term support to overcome their liquidity constraints via safety net transfers, thus guaranteeing that their basic needs are met. In the medium term, government efforts should be focused on the recovery of households’ primary source of income through labor market policies that actively support the placement of the less advantaged groups and improve their employability. Equally important, it is necessary to curb losses related to human capital accumulation, given the long-term consequences that this entails. The return to in-person schooling, under strict bio-security protocols, is encouraged. When not possible, schools and parents should be provided with better tools to support distance learning.
author2 Balch, Oliver
author_facet Balch, Oliver
Clavijo, Irene
Mejía-Mantilla, Carolina
Olivieri, Sergio
Lara-Ibarra, Gabriel
Romero, Javier
format Policy Note
author Clavijo, Irene
Mejía-Mantilla, Carolina
Olivieri, Sergio
Lara-Ibarra, Gabriel
Romero, Javier
author_sort Clavijo, Irene
title Mind the Gap : How COVID-19 is Increasing Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean
title_short Mind the Gap : How COVID-19 is Increasing Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean
title_full Mind the Gap : How COVID-19 is Increasing Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean
title_fullStr Mind the Gap : How COVID-19 is Increasing Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean
title_full_unstemmed Mind the Gap : How COVID-19 is Increasing Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean
title_sort mind the gap : how covid-19 is increasing inequality in latin america and the caribbean
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2021
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/946431626680572263/Mind-the-Gap-How-COVID-19-is-Increasing-Inequality-in-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36025
_version_ 1764484271849865216

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