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Publication - Working Paper
Tracking the economic consequences of COVID-19
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Publication - Policy Brief
How COVID-19 has affected Lagos traders: Findings from high frequency phone surveys
Traders had virtually zero revenue during Lagos State’s month-long lockdown. Since Lagos partially re-opened on 4 May 2020, most traders have returned to their markets. Sales have rebounded more than employment. Compliance with public health measures has been high. Traders closed their shops during the lockdown. Since the lockdown was eased, market regulations...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Water, sanitation, and hygiene policy in the time of COVID-19
Investing in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) is a no-regret policy for developing countries in the fight against COVID-19. According to numerous studies, for every $1 invested, the return in terms of healthcare savings, reduced time off work, and increased national productivity is between $2-4 for water and $5-9 for sanitation. This is particularly true for...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Protecting lives and livelihoods during the COVID-19 pandemic by shielding elderly populations
Blanket lockdowns have proven to be unsustainable, particularly in developing countries. This brief examines how age-targeted policy measures could keep economies largely open while shielding the elderly and others with underlying health conditions. We find that in the presence of large informal sectors, limited fiscal space, and large numbers of households living...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Remittances in the time of COVID-19: Challenges and opportunities for growth in developing countries
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented restrictions on travel, trade, and economic activity, triggering a global economic crisis. Remittances to developing countries are falling sharply as a result. Migrant workers and their families, many dependent on the remittance flows sent from abroad, are expected to suffer acutely. This brief underscores the importance...
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Publication - Policy Brief
R&D, Manufacturing and Delivery of Vaccines: A Global Deal in the Fight Against COVID-19
Given the massive uncertainty surrounding how COVID-19 will play out in terms of health outcomes as well as economic and social outcomes, policymaking is as hard as it can possibly be. Measures that are sensible at the time they are taken may prove highly costly and ineffective in retrospect. No-regret policies are those that are worth doing now regardless of which...
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Publication - Policy paper
Note d'orientation COVID-19 d'IGC: Stratégies de confinement et soutien aux foyers vulnérables
Dans tous les pays en développement, les décideurs politiques sont confrontés à la nécessité de prendre des décisions rapides pour répondre à la crise liée au COVID-19, avec peu de données ou de conseil à leur disposition. L'IGC s'efforce d'accompagner ces processus de prise de décision en augmentant l'apport de données et en distillant des orientations...
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Publication - Policy Brief
La prise de décisions politiques en période d'incertitude : le confinement intelligent avec apprentissage actif
La pandémie de COVID-19 entraîne une crise sanitaire et économique d'une ampleur sans précédent pour cette génération. Avec des preuves limitées sur lesquelles s'appuyer, il est difficile de comprendre quelles politiques utiliser. Face à cette incertitude, des fermetures généralisées ont été imposées dans de nombreux pays développés et en...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Smart containment: How low-income countries can tailor their COVID-19 response
Low-income countries will have a much harder time putting their economies in a “medically induced coma” in response to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). They are home to many of the extreme poor, who, for the most part, have no option but to live in overcrowded conditions with limited access to clean water and sanitation. They work in the informal sector, often for a...
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Publication - Policy Brief
Social protection in fragile states
Despite various challenges, social protection is more important than ever right now for fragile countries that already house a large share of the world’s poor. The World Bank is estimating that the COVID-19 crisis has the potential to push about 40-60 million more people into extreme poverty, erasing decades of anti-poverty efforts. The World Bank has documented that...
Publication - Miscellaneous
Little Book of Growth Ideas
Between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of the world living in extreme poverty more than halved as economic growth lifted millions of people out of poverty. Building on this progress, the UN Global Goals ambitiously aim to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030. The International Growth Centre (IGC) believes that inclusive economic growth is the only route to achieving...