Covid-19 is forcing a reconsideration of social welfare every-where but especially in Latin America, the world’s most unequal continent. In a region where more than half of all workers are in the informal economy, some countries are perforce wondering if they can implement a basic income scheme, whereby citizens receive direct payments from the state. Such schemes are most often discussed in advanced economies. But other nations in the emerging world may find useful lessons from the Latin American experience — as they have in the recent past from Brazil’s famous bolsa familia scheme.
新型冠狀病毒肺炎（COVID-19，即2019冠狀病毒病）正在迫使世界各地重新考慮社會福利問題，尤其是在不平等問題最為嚴重的大洲——拉丁美洲。在拉丁美洲，超半數勞動者都就業于非正規經濟，該地區的一些國家不得不考慮是否可以實施基本收入計劃，由政府直接向居民進行支付。探討此類計劃的多是發達經濟體。但其他新興國家或許可以從拉美地區的經驗中汲取有益的教訓——就像它們最近從巴西著名的“家庭補助金”(bolsa familia)計劃中汲取教訓一樣。