Flattening Coronavirus Curves - Otaviano Canuto

April 6, 2020

Why every country in the world is facing a challenge of flattening coronavirus curves? Which policies to contain or at least slow the spread of coronavirus have been applied? What must be done to mitigate the recession accompanying containment policies? Is "doing-nothing" economically better?

Speakers
Otaviano Canuto
Senior Fellow
Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, Affiliate Professor at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Brookings Institute. Former Vice President and Executive Director at the World Bank, Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Vice President at the Inter-American Development Bank. ...

RELATED CONTENT

  • September 28, 2026
    This paper was initially published in French on the website of the Fondation Jean-Jaurès. There was a historic decline in Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2025. Foreign aid to developing countries from members of the OECD-DAC fell by some 23%, the largest decline on record and the second consecutive annual decline. Aid to Africa fell by more than 25%. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) described this decline in ODA to Africa as “a shock like no other.” It differ ...
  • Authors
    Hicham Kasraoui
    September 2, 2026
    Dans un contexte marqué par la superposition des crises sanitaires, géopolitiques, économiques, technologiques et climatiques, les jeunesses du Nord et du Sud évoluent dans des environnements distincts mais convergent progressivement vers un ensemble commun de préoccupations. Malgré des niveaux de développement et des trajectoires historiques différents, elles font face à des défis similaires : incertitudes croissantes sur l’avenir, difficultés d’insertion professionnelle, accès com ...
  • Authors
    Hicham Kasraoui
    September 2, 2026
    Amid overlapping health, geopolitical, economic, technological and climate crises, young people in the North and South are evolving in distinct environments that are progressively converging toward a shared set of concerns. Despite differing levels of development and historical trajectories, they face similar challenges: growing uncertainty about the future, difficulties entering the labor market, complex access to housing, fragile mental health, territorial inequalities and ecologi ...
  • April 13, 2026
    This episode delves into Morocco’s healthcare system, tracing strides in maternal and child health, vaccination, and the quest for universal coverage. Morocco’s COVID-19 response, alongside initiatives like TADAMON and telemedicine, showcases innovation and resilience. Yet, gaps remain,...
  • July 18, 2023
    Le secteur informel est une composante essentielle de l'économie marocaine, employant une large partie de la population, mais nuisant à la productivité, aux recettes fiscales de l’État et à la croissance économique à long terme. Sur la base de la définition adoptée dans cette étude et qui définit les travailleurs informels comme étant ceux qui ne sont pas couverts par les régimes contributifs de sécurité sociale de la Caisse nationale de sécurité sociale (CNSS) et d ...
  • October 7, 2022
    “The debate on the viability of industrial policy design based on the fragmentation of global value chains, from a cost optimization perspective, did not arise first in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis but was present long before. This industrial policy design was justified by the great development of logistics and transport across the world’s industrial clusters, which allowed just-in-time manufacturing to become the main adopted production model. However, the disruption of logistic ...