Economic Crisis

How 2021 is shaping up

Global inflation is rising rapidly in a year of uneven growth rates, higher than estimated in the US and the European Union (EU), and lower for all but the Asian economies.

The question is why inflation is being discussed when consumer price indices in the US and EU are stable, and what effect these discussions have on international interest rates.

To counteract the inflations produced by these causes, central banks are preparing to readjust interest rates, which are currently at their lowest real levels in decades.

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Coyuntura Laboral en América Latina y el Caribe: trabajo decente para los trabajadores de plataformas en América Latina

La crisis causada por la pandemia de enfermedad por coronavirus (COVID-19) tuvo un gran impacto en la economía y los mercados laborales regionales durante 2020. El año finalizó con una caída del PIB del 7,1%, que se tradujo en una marcada pérdida de empleos y un aumento de la tasa de desocupación, que alcanzó el 10,5%. A diferencia de crisis anteriores, el número de personas que se retiraron del mercado laboral fue elevado, principalmente en el segundo trimestre del año, y la contracción del empleo informal fue mayor que la del empleo formal. A medida que las restricciones a la movilidad se levantan, se observa un retorno de la población activa y una lenta recuperación del empleo, aunque durante 2021 la tasa de desocupación y los niveles de precariedad laboral se mantendrán elevados.
La pandemia puso en evidencia la necesidad de un uso inclusivo de las nuevas tecnologías para generar empleos. En la segunda parte de este informe se analizan las principales características del trabajo en plataformas digitales, la repercusión de la pandemia en esta modalidad de trabajo y algunos aspectos a considerar para el diseño de marcos regulatorios adecuados.

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Overview of US unemployment

The economic outlook during 2020 has been very adverse worldwide, with employment in the US and globally falling more since the confinement than in any other crisis. The economic circumstances are unusual for those who remain in their occupations. Approximately 93% of the world's workers have been affected in some way by full or partial shutdowns of economic activities in an attempt to contain the health crisis.

Unemployment in the US, according to official figures from the US Department of Labor (DOL), reached 15 per cent in April 2020, up from 10 per cent during the 2008 crisis, the worst figure in recent history.

The US economy faces a very adverse employment environment and the challenge of creating conditions conducive to economic recovery. Overall, widespread vaccination may take time, condemning the West to even more prolonged confinement, more prolonged unemployment and more impoverished living conditions.

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Arturo Martínez Paredes

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How the pandemic is going in the world economy: first half of 2020

The first half of 2020 is possibly the worst since economic statistics have been published. We do not have the statistics of the first semester of 1872, but it is worse than the first semester of 1930; and it is much worse than the first semester of 2009 or the last semester of 2008.
The Latin American countries with the greatest fall in production were Peru and Mexico, while Brazil fell less. ECLAC reported that industrial production in April fell 14.1% in Chile, 15.1% in Brazil, 20.1% in Colombia, 26.4% in Argentina, 29.3% in Mexico and 40.5% in Peru.
The Asian countries seem to be recovering from a V-shaped crisis while those in Europe, North and South America are going through a U-shaped crisis or perhaps even one with a slower recovery and not reaching the original pre-Covid-19 level. This will have future implications for global economic leadership.

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Covid-19 in the world economy: momentum and retreat

The growth forecasts for the world economy at the beginning of the year were optimistic. At the end of June, world production is projected to be -4.9% (IMF) -5.2% (World Bank) and -6% (OECD). According to the president of the World Bank, Malpass, the year 2020 is the worst in terms of growth since the crisis of 1929 and possibly since the long depression of 1872.

The impact on growth dynamics has been global. However, the experience of the pandemic in emerging economies is far from that of advanced economies. The question is why Governments with greater fiscal and monetary capacity to implement counter-cyclical policies have similar growth outcomes.

The challenges are to generate an economic renaissance that promotes employment, sustainable agriculture, shortening global value chains, increasing the use of renewable energy and discovering a vaccine and treatment that are universal and free.

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The United States and the finances of the pandemic

During the pandemic, the United States and its institutions have taken measures that have had an impact on providing liquidity to the international system. In Latin America these have come through the IMF but also through agreements with the US central bank (FED).
In the context of the bankruptcy of companies, hotels, restaurant chains and the loss of investment grade, the US has seen a doubling of dividends per share versus earnings per share in banking. In these conditions, stock markets have, on the contrary, shown a strong recovery, even reaching new highs (Nasdaq).
The increase in liquidity by the FED and the central bank has allowed the stock exchanges to recover without a recovery in production, and high levels of unemployment, low levels of consumption and destruction of production, in a contradiction that leads to an increase in the already existing inequality.

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The profitability of the oil industry

The crisis over COVID-19 has hit the world economy as a whole. This note reviews the effects on the oil industry, the fall in the volume of world supply and demand, and the prices of crude oil quoted on international markets.

After the collapse of the oil price, a recovery in the energy sector will depend on the improvement in the price and the speed with which it is achieved. Prices are expected to remain low, and the sector is expected to suffer despite the market recovery.

In view of this negative environment in the industry, the possibility of greater investment in alternative energies and consequently a deepening of the change in the energy matrix must be envisaged.

Autor:

Oscar Ugarteche

Arturo Martínez Paredes

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The financialisation of the covid19 crisis

The economic crisis that accompanies the COVID19 and its health crisis have generated stock market collapses that had never been seen before. The decline has been more marked than that which occurred between 1929-31 and deeper.

Between February 25 and March 23, the financial markets had lost more than 30% of the value of their assets and the outlook was worse. The immediate solution was to inject the financial system in the United States, which was reproduced by the ECB and the Bank of England.

On the contrary, the US economy has accumulated, since February 2020, more than 27 million jobs lost, the highest in its history. The question of the rescue of the stock markets in the face of uncontrollable unemployment raises the question of the importance of the financial sector for decision-makers and policy makers.

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Reunión de Consulta sobre La Crisis Financiera y Comercio: Hacia una Respuesta Integrada en América Latina y el Caribe

El objetivo del encuentro consistió en evaluar los efectos de la crisis económica global sobre la estructura comercial internacional en sus vínculos con el sector financiero mundial, así como las manifestaciones resultantes de esos efectos para América Latina y el Caribe.

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mercados financieros internacionales

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