Government Policies on

Science and Technology

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Quotations are commonly printed as a means of
inspiration and to invoke philosophical thoughts
from the reader.

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 COVID-19 and Government Policies
 The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to wreak more havoc in developing countries than in developed
countries, because of the crumbling healthcare systems and infrastructures in the former, their
inadequate budgetary resources, shallow financial systems, and weak government authority and
capability.

 This impact has not yet shown up in cross-country data, possibly reflecting extensive under-reporting
and/or less testing for COVID-19 done in developing countries.

 Policymakers in these countries must concentrate first on implementing health-related measures, then
focus on economic measures to mitigate the negative economic impacts and support workers.

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 Government Policies for COVID-19
 New demand for COVID-19-
 Health-Related Measures
related medical products
 Helping Vulnerable workers
Cope With the COVID-19
Pandemic

 Economic Measures  Government interventions

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 1.
Health-Related Measures
Because the coronavirus spreads very fast through human contact, and currently
there is no vaccine or cure, countries have relied on lockdowns, social distancing,
quarantine, and isolation to deal with COVID-19.

 These measures aim to ‘flatten the curve’ so that the limited healthcare facilities and resources can
accommodate patients without being overrun, which would result in unnecessary deaths because of
inadequate care.

 In the absence of widespread testing and tracking, these are the best known methods to slow the spread,
but the economic costs of these actions, especially on tourism, trade, and foreign investment, are massive.

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 2.
Economic Measures
The unprecedented deceleration of economic activities has led to significant
economic costs, including rampant unemployment.
The longer the crisis lasts, the more costly will be the damages.

 Normally, countries in crisis could seek help from external resources, such as the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund, but the global nature and magnitude of this crisis are such that these
external resources will be insufficient and need to be supplemented by domestic funding .

 Monetary policy serves to provide an adequate flow of liquidity to businesses and households, and to
ensure the government has adequate financing instruments to mobilize resources.

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 3.
Helping Vulnerable workers Cope With the COVID-19
Pandemic
The pandemic adversely affects both the formal and informal sectors, but the most
vulnerable group seems to consist of workers in the informal sector and/or part-
time workers, unskilled youth, and school dropouts.

 Those in the hospitality and retail trade who have limited or no access to healthcare or social safety nets
will be hit hard, and the sudden and large-scale loss of low paid work could drive a mass exodus of
migrant workers from cities to rural areas. A protracted COVID-19 crisis may also threaten food security,
especially for the most vulnerable group.

 The priority now is to provide safety nets and securing access to food, medical supplies, and necessities for
the most vulnerable group, especially workers who were recently laid-off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 4.
New demand for COVID-19-related medical products

Because of global connectivity, the risk of a resurgence of COVID-19 is high, and

no country can assume immunity.

 As governments adopt pandemic-preparedness strategies for the future, the global demand for medical
products will be sustained at least in the medium-term, creating new opportunities for manufacturing
firms in both low-income (LICs) and lower middle-income countries (LMICs).

 Simple medical gear including facemasks, gloves, gowns, and simple medical equipment can be made by all
developing countries. In order to survive the economic downturn, many SMEs are taking advantage of the
severe shortage of these products by adjusting their factory production lines and retraining their
workforce to produce simple medical products for local hospitals.

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 5.
Government interventions
Part of the government funding for this initiative could come from a thorough
review of the existing public investment programs, leading to a reallocation of
capital to current expenditure—this policy action could also be enhanced with
foreign aid.
 Financial assistance: either in the form of grants or low-interest loans (low interest rates will help some
firms, but access to bank loans might be constrained at this time) to manufacturing firms that retain at
least a part of their workforce during the idle time.

 Technical assistance (especially for SMEs): composed of a toolkit that governments (including health
authorities) could prepare, containing information about: (a) appropriate technologies used to make the
medical products and equipment; and (b) where to purchase raw materials and other intermediate inputs.

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 This is a slide title

▣ Here you have a list of items

▣ And some text
▣ But remember not to overload your slides with content

Your audience will listen to you or read the content, but won’t do
both.

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 The Philippine Government's COVID-19
Response Has Devastated Its Economy
▣ Read the article at
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/09/889307982/the-philippine-governments-covid-
19-response-has-devastated-its-economy
▣ Cite the important highlights in the article.
▣ What are your thoughts on the facts presented in the article?
▣ Critique and inject your opinion related to the article.
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What are the government’s effort in the
fight against covid-19?

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Philippine Government’s effort in fight against covid-19

Look for Cite the Critique the

government important policy made by
policies highlights in the the imposed by
imposed to article. the
contain the
government.
coronavirus.

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