Latin America and the Caribbean faces a punishing economic landscape. Fiscal deficits and debt levels have risen as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and with monetary policy tightening in the United States and Europe, the era of cheap and easy financing is over. In this ever more thorny environment, the region needs to urgently … [Read more...] about Persistent Fiscal Deficits May Lead to Disaster for Latin America and the Caribbean
Eduardo Cavallo
Eduardo Cavallo is Principal Economist at the Research Department of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington DC. Prior to joining the IDB, Eduardo was a Vice-President and Senior Latin American Economist for Goldman Sachs in New York. Eduardo had already worked at the IDB as a Research Economist between 2006 and 2010. Before that he served as a research fellow at the Center for International Development (CID), a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and a member of the faculty at the Kennedy School of Government's Summer Program. In Argentina he co-founded Fundación Grupo Innova. Eduardo’s research interests are in the fields of international finance and macroeconomics with a focus on Latin America. He has published in several academic journals, and is the co-editor of the books “Building Opportunities for Growth in a Challenging World” (IDB, 2019); “A Mandate to Grow” (IDB, 2018); “Saving for Development: how Latin America and the Caribbean can save more and better” (Palgrave, 2016) and “Dealing with an International Credit Crunch: Policy Responses to Sudden Stops in Latin America” (IDB, 2009). He holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and an MPP from Harvard University, and a B.A. in Economics from Universidad de San Andres (UdeSA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Tackling Informality for Fiscal Health in the Post-Pandemic Period
After significant efforts by Latin American and Caribbean governments to shore up businesses and households during the COVID-19 pandemic, the region in 2021 had a very high average fiscal deficit of 5% of GDP, more than two percentage points higher than before the pandemic. It also had a soaring average debt ratio of 70% of GDP. The IDB’s recently released 2022 Latin … [Read more...] about Tackling Informality for Fiscal Health in the Post-Pandemic Period
From Pandemic to Inflation and War: Challenges for Policymakers in Latin America and the Caribbean
After a robust economic recovery last year from the lows of the pandemic, Latin America and the Caribbean faces strong headwinds from potential new coronavirus variants, inflation-fighting efforts in advanced economies, and the war between Russia and Ukraine that could depress world growth and even push the region into recession by 2023. Riding a wave of strong growth … [Read more...] about From Pandemic to Inflation and War: Challenges for Policymakers in Latin America and the Caribbean
Preserving Public Investment During Fiscal Adjustments
As COVID-19 struck in early 2020, governments across Latin America and the Caribbean moved decisively through transfers, credits and other means to shore up their economies and support families and firms. That swift governmental action did much to alleviate suffering. But in the midst of falling revenues, fiscal deficits increased substantially, rising on average from 3.4% of … [Read more...] about Preserving Public Investment During Fiscal Adjustments
Estimating the Potential Economic Impact of Haiti’s 2021 Earthquake
On August 14, 2021, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, gravely affecting the Departments of Sud, Grand'Anse, and Nippes. More than 2,200 people were killed, and houses, healthcare facilities and schools were destroyed. Rescue and relief responses were hampered by blocked roads, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the same area the very next day and subsequent aftershocks. … [Read more...] about Estimating the Potential Economic Impact of Haiti’s 2021 Earthquake