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Showing all Blog Posts in Covid 19
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Impact of COVID-19: Firms, jobs, and women’s employment
Many businesses in the developing world have reopened following the end of lockdown restrictions. However, low demand is dragging on revenues and profitability, slowing any corresponding recovery in labour activity and employment. The nature of the shock means women’s employment is likely to be disproportionately affected, threatening to reverse progress in gender...
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Impact of COVID-19: Poverty and livelihoods
The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are stretching far beyond the spread of the disease. Efforts to contain transmission have triggered the worst global economic crisis in a century, devastating the livelihoods of millions. In the developing world, reduced incomes, food insecurity, inadequate education, and increased domestic violence, are all contributing to a...
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Impact of COVID-19: Health and community
COVID-19 has upended healthcare systems and derailed non-COVID-19 related treatments. Facing this, traditional and religious leaders, as well as community health workers, are playing a pivotal role. The COVID-19 pandemic is testing healthcare capacity the world over. With poorer facilities and fewer resources across the developing world, public health measures remain...
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COVID-19 funding in federal systems: Lessons from Nepal
With COVID-19, the federal governments of many developing countries are grappling with a crisis that requires both a central and local response. Coordinating across spheres can be tough, especially when the effects of the disease are amplified by other emergencies. Our survey of local governments in Nepal shows how mismatches between COVID-19 caseloads and funding can...
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Reopening schools too early could spread COVID-19 even faster – especially in the developing world
Low-income countries face a very different set of circumstances to high-income countries when it comes to reopening schools after lockdown. In developing countries, adults and the elderly generally have more contact with children than those in advanced economies. A new study predicts that delaying school openings could save lives. According to the latest UNESCO...
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Property taxes in a pandemic world
While increasing demands are being placed on cities to address the current crisis and plan for resilience in the future, key sources of city government revenues are drying up. Taxes based on the value of land and/or property offer extraordinary potential for cities in financing urban recovery, but crucial to this is raising tax morale through visible investments in...
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Impact of COVID-19 on public transport
Public transport has been hit hard by COVID-19. With ridership significantly down, operators in developing cities will have to face difficult questions for their future viability. The appropriate response must plan for contingencies, but never forget the value of shared transit in the process of economic development. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, cities across...
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COVID-19 and the willingness to vaccinate: Evidence from India
Vaccination is one of the success stories in modern day medicine and seen by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a key element of the response to the current pandemic. While billions are poured into a vaccine’s development and tackling supply difficulties, policymakers should prepare for the next challenges: compliance and ability to pay. One of the most, if not the...
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Why COVID-19 offers the perfect opportunity to remove fuel subsidies
April 2020 recorded the lowest oil price (USD 21/barrel of oil) in 18 years. This was driven by a lack of demand due to low economic activity worldwide. This temporary season of low oil prices presents an opportune moment for countries to remove inefficient fuel subsidies and reduce the knock-on effect to citizens. This reform also provides developing country governments...
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Rethinking regulations: Informal settlements in the time of COVID-19
Informal settlements, given their high densities and lacking water and sanitation infrastructure, are potential hotspots for the spread of pandemics like COVID-19. To remedy this, upgrading informal settlements will be essential. However, for long term resilience, we need to tackle the regulatory challenges that keep formal housing prices unattainable for the urban...