Caribbean Quarterly Bulletin: Volume 9: Issue 2, July 2020
Governments in the Caribbean region have been relatively successful in flattening the infection curve of the coronavirus in their countries. Geographical isolation is a contributing factor, but decisive and determined government action has been effective in reducing community transmission. Many potential deaths have been avoided. Yet this accomplishment has yet to be compensated with an economic reward. As these countries begin to open their domestic economies, they are still battered by external shocks. This is particularly the case for the tourism-dependent economies that experienced a virtual shutdown of the sector during the second quarter of the year. The natural-resource-based economies are also suffering from the lingering effects of the decline in commodity prices and related external demand. This second special edition of the IDB Caribbean Quarterly Bulletin provides an update of economic conditions in the region. It also focuses on important evolving issues, including the potential impact of the corona virus crisis on countries balance of payments, and on new data from the IDB on the real-time social effects of the crisis.
| Summary: | Governments in the Caribbean region have been relatively successful in flattening the infection curve of the coronavirus in their countries. Geographical isolation is a contributing factor, but decisive and determined government action has been effective in reducing community transmission. Many potential deaths have been avoided. Yet this accomplishment has yet to be compensated with an economic reward. As these countries begin to open their domestic economies, they are still battered by external shocks. This is particularly the case for the tourism-dependent economies that experienced a virtual shutdown of the sector during the second quarter of the year. The natural-resource-based economies are also suffering from the lingering effects of the decline in commodity prices and related external demand. This second special edition of the IDB Caribbean Quarterly Bulletin provides an update of economic conditions in the region. It also focuses on important evolving issues, including the potential impact of the corona virus crisis on countries balance of payments, and on new data from the IDB on the real-time social effects of the crisis. |
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