Finance, Law, and the Crisis of COVID-19

Book excerpt: This book analyzes the impact of Covid-19 in different areas such as corporate social responsibility and legislation in SMEs, insolvency law, behavioral finance, government interventions in markets, financial disclosure, the emergence of unregulated financial sectors, the increase of coronavirus-related crimes, and the development of banking regulations in the Covid-19 pandemic, among others. The coronavirus epidemic, which has spread throughout the world, has highlighted the inadequacies of the health and social systems of all states, even the most advanced. The health emergency has required extraordinary measures, especially at the level of laws that are essential for the preservation of lives, health, and livelihoods. The priority for governments and even the international community was, from the outset, to prevent infections and care for those affected. Such a strategy required an unusual increase in health spending, even though it exceeded the State's financial capacity and lacked fiscal space. In addition to this challenge, which has not yet been overcome, there is another, that of redressing the consequences of the measures taken (general containment). It should be pointed out that during health crises, the state may have to review the requirement for transparency because of the emergency, but not free itself from it. The urgency could never be an alibi for a violation of citizens' rights and freedoms. With urgency, financial management systems must be flexible and responsive to all occurrences, while ensuring optimal use of resources and minimizing the risks of fraud and corruption.