Resilient regions in Brazil : unfolding the effects of covid-19 from a socioeconomic perspective.

Abstract

At the beginning of 2020, the world was left in an unprecedented state of shock by the

COVID-19 pandemic. Brazil quickly became the epicenter of new cases of contam- ination, where the propagation of the virus was unrestrained, despite boasting one of

the strongest Universal health coverage systems in Latin America. This paper has at least three empirical contributions to the literature about economic resilience and the COVID-19 pandemic. Firstly it is a critical issue regarding the “economics versus life”

trade-off, which is an essential question for developing countries, given that policy- makers must decide between policies to reduce the number of COVID-19 infections

without damaging the economy. Secondly, our findings suggest that the early adoption of isolation measures applied in 2020, such as the financial aid and the vaccination have been effective in controlling the effects of the pandemic, especially in vulnerable microregions. Furthermore, it was verified that the Emergency financial aid was a fundamental policy in minimizing the economic impacts of the pandemic and allowing people to practice social distancing, contributing positively to the Employment Re- silience Index and negatively related to the growth rate of deaths due to COVID-19.

The contribution of our study is to measure an inverted U-shaped curve to dem- onstrate that policymakers must achieve a minimum of families to decrease the

COVID-19 deaths. These contributions are essential and straightforward findings to lead policymakers’ decisions in developing countries facing financial constraints in the public budget and population reticence about physical distancing, self-quarantine and vaccination.