ECONOMY AND HEALTH IN TIMES OF PANDEMIC

"It is impossible to talk about economic growth without a good health system," said Pedro Grades, director of the Economics Program at the University of Lima and speaker of the webinar " Health and the economy in times of coronavirus." The virtual conference was organized by the Continuing Education Directorate (DEC) of the University of Lima on May 7.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, a discussion has been generated about whether health is a priority over the economy or if they are two dynamically related aspects that should be analyzed together. Faced with this, Pedro Grades explained the following:

“The objective of the economy is to study the correct distribution of resources in society to satisfy the needs of the human being without neglecting the future. So let's think of economics tuition and health as complementary sciences. Only then will we have an adequate society”.

Peru is an upper-middle-income country. In this sense, the economist analyzed the effects of the pandemic in distant countries and with different economic policies. He spoke of New Zealand, Iceland, Sweden, and the United States. The latter country was quite incredulous in the face of the coronavirus problem in its early days. Regarding our country, he pointed out the following:

Furthermore, adequate protocols were not established to avoid crowding. Everything also happened due to a cultural and social issue”.

Peru has one of the best macroeconomics in the world. This allowed it to apply the strategies of developed countries without major problems. The Government made direct transfers to the population to face unemployment, credit, and guarantee lines were offered to avoid cutting off the chain of payments in general, among other measures, such as the restructuring of bank debts, reduction of interest rates, and special incentives for the first line of human capital facing the pandemic. At the end of the videoconference, the expert answered the questions and questions of the participants.