Semiannual report

Latin America and Caribbean regionSpring 2020

Available at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/han

dle/10986/33555

From lackluster to calamitous

• Decelerating economic growth

• Emerging social unrest

• A new oil shock

• The Covid-19 outbreak

A different type of crisis

• A sharp decline in foreign demand

• Tightening financial conditions

• A domestic supply shock

• New lockdowns cannot be ruled out

Transmission channels affecting countries differently

Economic growth: actual and forecasted

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

8

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Real GDP growth (percent)

Given the uncertainties, real-time assessments are needed

Our preferred approach: nitrogen dioxide emissions

Containment policies and the spread of the epidemic

Containment policies and economic activity

The readiness of the region to face the crisis

A policy response constrained by fiscal space

A range of policy measures

Facing the economic crisis

• Supporting the poorest and the most vulnerable

• Protecting jobs and firms

• Averting a financial crisis

• How (not) to socialize the losses