A perfect storm: COVID-19 in emerging economies by Constantino Hevia, Pablo Andrés Neumeyer published by VOXEU (4/2020).
Emerging economies must navigate the COVID-19 pandemic amid collapsing exports, dwindling remittances and tightening international credit conditions. This column argues that developing countries will be harder hit by the pandemic as many policy measures to fight it will be less effective. One important reason is that their governments will have difficulties to issue debt to smooth the COVID-19 shock as they struggle to credibly commit future tax revenues to pay for a fiscal expansion today. Given this, it is vital that economists and epidemiologists work together on coordinated health and economic policy responses to COVID-19 designed for developing countries.
