Latin America and the Caribbean is in the midst of a "Fourth Industrial Revolution" of technological innovation which requires enhancing the productivity of the services sector, investing in human capital and rethinking labor regulations and social protection policies, according to a new World Bank report. These policy priorities have become all the more urgent now that the COVID-19 pandemic is fueling the biggest contraction in economic activity since the great depression. Digitization has become more important to support economic activity at a time of social distancing and is accelerating this technological transformation, potentially putting jobs at risk across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). According to Going Viral: COVID-19 and the Accelerated Transformation of Jobs in Latin America and the Caribbean employment transformations that were already apparent in the last few decades are bound to deepen, and the question in this context is how to recover from the crisis and build back better.
At this online seminar, the report’s lead author Guillermo Beylis, Research Economist in the World Bank's Office of the Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, presented the main points.
Date/time:
8am-9am Friday February 26, 2021 (Japan Standard Time)
Speaker
 Research Economist, Office of the Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank Guillermo Beylis is a Research Economist in the World Bank's Office of the Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean. He obtained a Ph.D. in Economics from UCLA in 2013. His research focuses on topics regarding labor markets, poverty, and inequality. Currently his research is focused on the effects of educational mismatch in labor markets and the effects on poverty and inequality, the lighthouse effect of minimum wages, selection into self-employment, and the impact of automation in developing countries. |
Presentation material: Going Viral COVID-19 and the accelerated transformation of jobs in LAC (PDF)