In a small neighborhood on the outskirts of Santo Domingo, a new grocery quietly opens its doors. Within weeks, prices at nearby shops fall and customers report better service. Far away, in Mexico City’s sprawling suburbs, the arrival of retail chain stores tells a similar story. As convenience-store chains spread from 2,000 to more than 23,000 outlets over two decades, they … [Read more...] about Corner Shops and the Cost of Market Power: Lessons from Latin America
Cezar Santos
Cezar Santos is Senior Research Economist at the Research Department of the Inter-American Development Bank. His research focuses on macroeconomic development, with an emphasis on labor markets, credit markets, family economics, climate change and infectious diseases. His work has appeared in academic journals such as Econometrica, AEJ: Macro, Journal of Development Economics, Economic Journal, among others. Prior to joining the Bank, he was an Associate Professor of Economics at Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV EPGE) and a research economist at the Bank of Portugal. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor at the University of Mannheim. He completed his undergraduate studies in Economics at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), his master's at FGV EPGE and obtained a Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Pennsylvania.
When Market Power Meets the Rainforest
In the depths of the Amazon, market power takes unexpected forms. Far from the corporate boardrooms of São Paulo or New York, economic concentration can determine whether small producers thrive, whether forests stand, and whether communities escape poverty. Two recent studies on the Amazon—one on fishing communities, the other on the cattle industry—show how unequal … [Read more...] about When Market Power Meets the Rainforest
Tackling Informality in Brazil: The Hidden Costs of Labor Inspections
Brazil's Ministry of Labor does not take labor informality lightly, carrying out inspections and cracking down on the many businesses that hire workers “off the books.” While these inspections are often successful in catching and penalizing firms that avoid the costly regulations involved in hiring formal workers, they also come with surprising, not always positive, side … [Read more...] about Tackling Informality in Brazil: The Hidden Costs of Labor Inspections
Where Productivity and Prosperity Meet
Between 1960 and 2019, Latin America and the Caribbean grew faster than advanced economies in terms of labor, years of schooling, and physical capital. Yet, the difference in average annual growth between the two groups of countries was striking, with the advanced economies growing 2.6% versus around 1.8% for Latin America and the Caribbean. The biggest difference between … [Read more...] about Where Productivity and Prosperity Meet
Better Public Policies to Combat Pandemics
After the economic losses, unemployment and mass death of the COVID-19 pandemic, the question of how to effectively manage lockdowns has to be answered. Many experts believe another pandemic is inevitable. If that is true, we have to be ready with empirically tested policies that can maximize economic welfare while preserving life to the maximum extent … [Read more...] about Better Public Policies to Combat Pandemics