The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered necessary large scale emergency government support for businesses and industries. The design and implementation of this support is crucial in avoiding domestic and international market distortions in the medium- and long-term. This brief considers ways to...

This brief discusses policies needed to ensure equitable and universal access by all those in need globally to future vaccines for SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and treatments for the disease. It provides a snapshot of the vaccine and drug candidates in the current R&D pipeline. It...

The COVID-19 epidemic is disrupting business activity, causing demand to collapse and straining global supply chains. Based on the OECD Product Market Regulation (PMR) indicators, this note considers the policy challenges raised by government interventions, with a special focus on the governance...

Governments in the MENA region have rapidly reacted to contain the Coronavirus (COVID-19), by developing massive policy and institutional plans to support households and firms. This update includes the latest analysis on the economic and social consequences of the crisis, including new sections...

Although the number of COVID-19 cases and fatalities might still appear comparatively low in Africa than in other world regions, the looming health shock of COVID-19 could have disastrous impacts on the continent’s already strained health systems, and could quickly turn into a social and...

Firm entry has rebounded after the drop experienced during the first COVID-19 lockdowns of early 2020, yet the recovery in entry rates is highly heterogeneous across countries, with possible long-term implications for employment and output growth. Financial support to firms’ liquidity and...