Challenges in social inclusion, education and post-pandemic urban development policies

The third cycle of the Policy Dialogues for Post-Pandemic Recovery series included the analysis of strategies to rethink social policies for the benefit of the region’s most vulnerable.

August 20, 2021

As part of the third installment of Policy Dialogues for Post-Pandemic Recovery, the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) organized the virtual event “Policies for Social Inclusion”, a meeting in which experts reflected on the state of social protection systems, based on the results of studies and success stories in the region during and after the pandemic. The objective is to seek strategies that can ensure access to basic social services.

The first panel, moderated by Julián Suárez, CAF’s Vice President of Social Development, presented the results and recommendations of studies prepared by CAF experts on policies implemented in the region during the pandemic health crisis, as well as the policies’ impact on health, social protection, security, education and urban development.

According to Lucila Berniell, chief economist of CAF’s Socioeconomic Research Department, the region has three key issues in the areas of social protection and health that have intensified with the onset of the pandemic: incomplete, unfair, and often conflictive social protection coverage (that is, conflictive with incentives for labor formality). “The great challenge, aggravated by the pandemic, is to improve the horizontal and vertical coverage of social protection in the region. This implies not only a major budgetary challenge but also a managerial one, and both were very evident by the strain imposed by the pandemic,” said Berniell.

On the subject of education, Ricardo Estrada, chief economist of CAF’s Socioeconomic Research Department, explained that the pandemic has led to a downturn in learning and an increase in school dropout rates, aspects that could have long-term negative effects on the professional careers of the current generation of students.

The pandemic affects educational outcomes mainly due to three factors. First, some vulnerable households affected by the pandemic cannot provide an adequate learning space to the student; for example, to support their family, the student may have to focus on non-educational responsibilities. Second, distance learning has its limitations, and cannot be compared to face-to-face learning. Third, accessing the equipment and services needed to participate in distance learning from home can prove to be challenging. Such factors result in increased dropout rates. “And so it is important to counter the challenges posed by the pandemic with educational system policies,” Estrada stressed.

On the issue of citizen security, Ernesto Schargrodsky, CAF’s Director of Socioeconomic Research, explained that although insecurity indices declined in most countries within the first months, probably as a result of lockdown, such indices could rise in the post-pandemic period. According to Mr. Schargrodsky, among the factors that can raise insecurity indices are, primarily, an increase in poverty indices and, potentially, inequality. Other factors include school closures and the dropping out of school—which lead to a large volume of young people committing crimes—as well as recession and unemployment. “In inclusion policies, we must consider social programs that reduce the issue of insecurity that affects all social strata,” he stated.

According to Pablo López, senior executive of CAF’s Technical Analysis and Evaluation of Sustainable Development Department,

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