
COVID-19 & Economic Impact
What the Experts Say: Coronavirus & Children
(Past event)
Event type: Webinar
Related research: Social protection and cash transfers
![]() | 17 September 2020 | ![]() | 15:00 - 16:00 CET |
COVID-19 & Economic Impact on Children - Leading Minds Online - Coronavirus and Children Webinar #6

On Thursday 17 September at 15:00 CET | 09:00 EST, UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti presented its sixth Leading Minds Online webcast ‘What the Experts Say - Coronavirus and Children' on Economic Impact.
Just in Europe and north America alone some 90 million full-time jobs were lost in the second quarter, according to the ILO. The COVID-recession not only threatens to erode global development but is predicted to have a broader and deeper impact than the 2008 financial crisis as it hits both supply and demand chains as well as informal sectors across Africa and South Asia. But does it have to be as bad as it seems? We asked a panel of experts where the economy stands now, what lies ahead and how do we make the best of the worst that is to come for children and young people.
Panelists:
- Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Jayati has consulted for international organizations including ILO, UNDP, UNCTAD, UN-DESA, UNRISD, and UN Women and is a member of several international commissions. She is also a Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA. Jayati has received several prizes, and she is the Executive Secretary of International Development Economics Associates, an international network of heterodox development economists. - Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalisation and Development, Oxford University
Ian is a Professorial Fellow at Balliol College, Oxford University, Director of the Oxford Martin Programme on Technological and Economic Change, and founding Director of the Oxford Martin School. Ian previously was Vice President of the World Bank and the Group’s Director of Policy, after serving as Chief Executive of the Development Bank of Southern Africa and Economic Advisor to President Nelson Mandela. - Sacha Nauta, Editor, Public Policy, The Economist
Sacha writes across the paper about societal change, looking particularly at how issues around gender and diversity are reshaping business, finance, and economics as well as society at large. She previously wrote for the finance, business, international, and Europe sections. Before joining The Economist, she worked at the United Nations in New York and at Her Majesty’s Treasury in London, where she worked on public spending and European budget negotiations.
- Joel Kibazo, Africa analyst, former FTI and African Development Bank
Joel was Managing Director-Africa at international business and communications consultancy FTI Consulting; Director of External Relations & Communications at the African Development Bank, the continent’s premier financial and economic development institution; and Official Spokesperson and Director of Communications & Public Affairs at the Commonwealth Secretariat, the inter-government body serving the 54 nations of the Commonwealth that span the globe.
Experts
Jayati Ghosh
Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Ian Goldin
Professor of Globalization and Development, Oxford University
Professor of Globalization and Development, Oxford University
Sacha Nauta
Public policy editor, The Economist
Public policy editor, The Economist
Joel Kibazo
Africa analyst, former FTI and African Development Bank
Africa analyst, former FTI and African Development Bank
Sarah Crowe
Moderator
Moderator
David Anthony
Moderator
Moderator
Contact
- Leading Minds (leadingminds@unicef.org)