The center of the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted to the emerging markets. As of August 5, the countries with the most cases of COVID-19 after the US were Brazil, India, Russia, and South Africa, which along with China, where the pandemic started, form the BRICS, an acronym coined in the early...

This paper documents stylized facts on rates of returns to education during economic crises. It shows from three middle-income countries - Indonesia, Pakistan, and South Africa - that the rate of return to university education (versus secondary education) has increased during economic crises....