The coronavirus crisis is a crisis like no other, and for emerging market and developing economies (EMDE), it has triggered a policy response like no other, both in scope and magnitude. Despite their diversity, and in some cases, strained resources, this large group of countries—consisting of emerging markets and low-income countries—have bolstered the provision of...Read more »
COVID-19 Recovery: A game-changer for sustainable urban mobility?
Opportunities for Non-Motorized Transport Infrastructure The COVID-19 lockdowns had an immediate and drastic impact on transport systems and mobility, in particular on the mobility patterns of people. Strict regulations imposed by governments around the world have affected the delivery of and demand for public transport services in and across many cities and countries, as highlighted...Read more »
Financing COVID-19 Stimulus: Will high levels of public debt come back to haunt us?
As the Task Force for a Resilient Recovery begins work on low-carbon, resilient pathways for post-COVID-19 recovery, it’s worth taking a step back to examine how stimulus spending is actually financed and what patterns are emerging from the design and implementation of such packages in Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Australia. The majority of COVID-related stimulus financing...Read more »
Debt-To-Health Swaps: Financing health system resilience beyond the COVID-19 pandemic
On April 13, 2020, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved immediate debt relief to 25 of its member countries under the adapted Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT). The debt relief is one of several measures to alleviate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and supports, especially vulnerable and indebted countries for an initial phase...Read more »
Environmental, Social, and Governance Targets of the March 2020 Economic Stimulus
Examples of economic stimulus packages announced in March 2020 The United States announced USD 2 trillion on March 30.The European Union announced EUR 759 billion on March 13.Canada announced CAD 150 billion and a supplementary CAD 52 billion on March 25.France announced EUR 45 billion positioned to provide relief for small business and unemployment benefits...Read more »