Photo credit: Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels Authors: Amanina Abdur Rahman, Achim Schmillen, and Alyssa Farha Jasmin The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a jobs crisis in developing countries in East Asia. The International Labour Organization estimates that in the second quarter of 2020 working hours across East Asia will decline by around 8.4 percent…
Details
People take precautions in Mali against COVID-19 (coronavirus). Photo credit: Ousmnane Traore/World Bank Authors: Puja Vasudeva Dutta, Colin Andrews, Aude de Montesquiou, Timothy Clay, and Sarang Chaudhary This blog post is based on the forthcoming Partnership for Economic Inclusion Policy Note Series: Economic Inclusion for the Poorest & COVID-19: Adaptation and Early Priorities for Medium-…
Details
Local farmers in Kenya. Photo: © Ujuzi Kilimo Solutions Authors:KAVELL JOSEPH Original post As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic unfolds, disruptions in domestic food supply chains and other shocks affecting food production have created food security risks in many countries. The latest estimates by the UN’s World Food Programme show that 265 million people could be…
Details
Governments of developing countries should consider WFH as a crucial part of the new digital economy when they invest in broadband infrastructure. Photo credit: World Bank Authors: Maho Hatayama, Mariana Viollaz, and Hernan Winkler The coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis and implementation of social distancing policies around the world has raised the question of how many jobs…
Details
A construction worker in Barcelona, Spain returns to work in April 2020, wearing a mask to be protected from COVID-19. Photo: © Daniel Ferrer Paez/Shutterstock Authors: Indhira Santos and Michael Weber After several weeks of lockdowns and strict social distancing, some countries are starting to open for business. This process, however, is bound to be…
Details
Social Distancing in a market in Kenya/Photo credit: World Bank/Sambrian Mbaabu Authors: Isis Gaddis and Kathleen Beegle Over the past months, the new coronavirus, or COVID-19, has upended the world of work as we know it. Jobs are disappearing at a breathtaking speed. According to a recent ILO report, 81 percent of employers and 66…
Details
Nurses listen during a training program to learn more about child and adolescent mental health in Monrovia, Liberia/Photo credit: World Bank Authors: Margo Hoftijzer, Victoria Levin, Indhira Santos and Michael Weber Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs are well-placed to play an important role in the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. They have significant…
Details
A photogrid of young people working remotely/from home. Credit to image source available below Author: Michael Weber I argue in this blog that public works can be modernized using digital technology to leverage access for low-income households and communities. This complements previous blogs in this series about how public works can generate incomes and work…
Details
Eastern DRC earlier this year – with appropriate safeguards (individual protective equipment, physical distance between workers, etc.)/Photo credit: Paul Bance Authors: Paul Bance and Ugo Gentilini What is happening to public works during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis so far? In a previous blog, we argued that public works will be important in supporting informal workers…
Details
Author: Michael Weber
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has caused record levels of unemployment benefits claims. In the US, new claims reached an historic high of 6.9 million in the week ending March 28. The following week another 6.6 million filed claims, the peak of the 2008/2009 financial crisis.