Developing countries must do more to protect their poor

They must borrow to expand their social welfare services and ensure cash benefits for everyone during lockdowns for the coronavirus. They must also safeguard food supplies, say Rema N Hanna and Benjamin A Olken.

WHEN India’s government announced, with four hours’ notice, a nationwide, three-week lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus, millions of the country’s poorest citizens faced the risk of hunger and destitution.