Work

The Challenge of Protecting Informal Households during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Latin America

Year: 2020

Type: report

Abstract: Latin American countries introduced rapid emergency measures to sustain the income of informal workers and their families during shelter-in-place orders to contain COVID-19. The effectiveness of these measures is limited. The coverage and replacement rates of usual labor income are high among the first quintile of the population but fairly low in the second and third quintiles, where a substantial fraction of households are informal and have limited ability to telework. If governments plan to extend lockdown measures or reintroduce them in the future, they might need to consider broader income transfers for the lower-middle class.

DOI: 10.18235/0002388

Authors: Matías Busso, Juanita Camacho, Julián Messina, Guadalupe Montenegro

Institution: Inter-American Development Bank

Language: English

Topic: Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare

Subfield: Safety Research

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: No poverty, Reduced inequalities, Decent work and economic growth, Good health and well-being, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: gold

OpenAlex ID: W3033835334

Cites: 30

Cited by: 26

Related to: 10