Development bank financing in the context of the COVID-19 crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

The world’s financing needs multiplied rapidly from 2020 onward owing to the effects of a systemic crisis considered to have been the worst global crisis since the Second World War: that unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, flows from China, FDI and other inflows of international cooperation and multilateral resources which had been the largest in the region for some years fell back from their pre-pandemic levels. In this context, the debate about the fundamental role of development banks in alleviating market constraints in a crisis has come to the fore. The present study seeks to contribute to that debate by analysing information compiled in a database of multilateral, regional, subregional and national development bank financing measures, priorities and amounts in Latin America and the Caribbean for the specific purpose of addressing the needs of the countries given the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2021.