(QCOSTARICA) The crisis caused by the coronavirus has resulted in 68.2% of households in Costa Rica (680,000) suffering some effect on their economic situation, while 28.5% have not suffered any impact.
This is detailed in the survey Opinions and economic expectations in times of COVID-19, carried out by the School of Statistics of the University of Costa Rica (UCR).
The deterioration in family finances is produced by situations such as the reduction of the working day, suspension of contracts or layoffs.
Johnny Madrigal, the coordinator of the study, commented that the families consulted claim a lack of income at home due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Most households say that the coronavirus has affected the economic situation of the country, out of a total of one million households,” explained the researcher.
Madrigal highlighted that among families facing difficulties, 17% acknowledged that they have great economic difficulties.
“It is suspected that there is an affectation, but the magnitude of the problem is not known. Here we were interested in showing that the majority of households have economic difficulties, but they have also felt harmed by the coronavirus,” said Madrigal.
Costa Rica’s perception of the economy collapses due to a pandemic: 76% say it is the worst time to buy a house
The survey also shows that for 45% of those consulted, the sanitary measures to restrict commerce should be reduced, although 65% estimate that the cases of COVID-19 infections will increase in the country.
Positive outlook
Despite the fact that the survey shows a blow to family finances, half of those consulted believe that their home will recover the economic level prior to the health pandemic in 2021.
Meanwhile, for 23.1% this improvement will occur between 2022 and 2023.
The study also showed that the best rated public institutions, when faced with the health pandemic, were the Ministry of Health and the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS).
The former had a score of 8.8 and the latter, 8.7.
In contrast, the Legislative Assembly and the Presidencyobtained the worst marks with 5.6 and 6, respectively.
0 is considered as bad and 10 as excellent.
