Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean has been disappointing. For commodity exporters, the exceptional 2002-2012 boom boosted investment and relaxed fiscal constraints, but many countries made little progress on improving underlying productivity and their medium-term growth potential. In other countries, particularly some in the Caribbean and Central America, negative … [Read more...] about Boosting Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean
Francesca Castellani
Is Chief of the Strategic Planning and Monitoring Division of the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington DC. Before joining the Office of Strategic Planning and Development Effectiveness, she was Principal Economist and Senior Advisor in the Office of the Vice President for Countries, Lead Economist in the Andean Group Department in Washington DC, and Country Economist in the IDB Office in Bogotá. Francesca worked at the OECD in Paris, the World Bank in Washington DC and UNCTAD in Geneva, Switzerland. She is an economist from Bocconi University in Milan with a master's degree and a doctorate in economics from the Graduate Institute of Geneva, Switzerland.
Unemployment among Women: Another Kind of Spell
Men and women are different. That’s a good thing, much of the time, but not in the case of unemployment. A woman may be able to bewitch her partner, but when it comes to being out of work, she’s the one in the deepest spell—an unemployment spell, that is. Recent research in Colombia sheds light on some of the issues surrounding women in and out of the workforce. Let’s set the … [Read more...] about Unemployment among Women: Another Kind of Spell
The Dark Side of Entrepreneurship in Latin America.
An individual’s place on the social ladder is the result of his efforts and achievements rather than his, or his parents’, socioeconomic status—or is it? This idealistic adage is predicated on a society that offers equal opportunity for all, something that is more the exception than the rule in Latin America and the Caribbean. A society offers greater social mobility when … [Read more...] about The Dark Side of Entrepreneurship in Latin America.
A Comparative Disadvantage for Latin American Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship in Latin America bears no resemblance to that of other regions: beginning with size—most businesses are micro or small— and ending with motivation—entrepreneurs are what they are more "by necessity" than "by opportunity." On top of these traits, Latin American entrepreneurs have little appetite for risk and innovation which, together with the limited … [Read more...] about A Comparative Disadvantage for Latin American Entrepreneurs