Window for Change

IMF Blog, December 1, 2020

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Author: Gita Bhatt
Publication date: December 1, 2020
Theme: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated policy change, technology adoption, and new ways of working and learning, creating an urgent opportunity—a "window for change"—to reshape jobs and economic opportunity.

The pandemic has prompted countries to roll out significant policy changes that might otherwise have taken years.
Remote work adoption increased rapidly: "For many professionals, working from home has become easier."
Deep economic scars affecting many workers already forming, particularly in hospitality and tourism, delivery, retail, and basic care.
Disproportionate impacts on specific groups:
- Women, youth, minorities, and the less skilled are disproportionately affected.
- Workers unlucky enough to start careers in a recession may experience lower earnings for 10 to 15 years after graduation, or longer.
Emerging problems highlighted: lost jobs, a widening skills gap, increasing inequality, and a toll on mental health.

Martin Sandbu: Work must be central because it is where many chronic and pandemic-related economic challenges intersect: inequality, precarity, and the new informality; geographic disparity; and technological change.
Kristalina Georgieva (IMF): Emphasizes investing in women and young people and enhancing education, training, and re-skilling; "People-focused policies can boost productivity, especially if investments enhance the abilities of workers in informal and low-skill job."
Heather Boushey and Lawrence Mishel: Argue for policies that strengthen worker power.
Sabina Dewan and Ekkehard Ernst: Survey economic fallout in developing economies and call for improved social protection and social insurance, especially for gig and informal workers.
Binyamin Appelbaum: Discusses the role of economics in analyzing inequities of distribution and incorporating insights from other disciplines.

Create higher-quality jobs for more people in more places; make work central to policy responses.
Invest in women and young people.
Enhance education, training, and re-skilling to open up opportunities and boost productivity.
Strengthen worker power through policy measures.
Improve social protection and social insurance, with special focus on gig and informal workers.
Increase healthcare and childcare support.
Design better progressive taxation to address income inequality.
Scale up investment in digital access and green technologies to create new jobs.

The pandemic represents a moment where "in the deepest crises are born great opportunities."
This is characterized as "a window for radical change, not to be squandered." Immediate and focused policy action can ensure that "in weeks to come, decades can happen."

Source: Window for Change — Gita Bhatt, December 1, 2020