Few measures could be more important during the current Covid-19 pandemic than ensuring that the poor and vulnerable can eat, buy medicine and pay for other basic needs as they endure a months-long shutdown essential to protecting public health. But in Latin America where about half the population works in the informal economy, that is no easy feat. Many people in the informal … [Read more...] about Covid-19: The Challenge of Ensuring Assistance to Informal and Vulnerable Workers
Julián Messina
Julián Messina is a Lead Research Economist at the research department of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Prior to joining the IDB, he worked at the World Bank and the European Central Bank, and he has taught at the Universities of Barcelona GSE, Georgetown, Girona, Frankfurt and Mainz. His research interests include labor economics, applied macroeconomics and the economics of education. He is author of three books, including two World Bank Latin American Flagship Reports. His work has been published in academic journals including the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Economic Journal, Journal of the European Economic Association and Labour Economics, and he is often featured in popular blogs and media outlets including The Economist. He has extensive experience advising governments in Latin America, Europe and Asia. Dr. Messina obtained his PhD. in Economics at the European University Institute in 2002.
Social Distancing, Informality, and the Problem of Inequality
With more than a million people infected and tens of thousands of deaths around the world, governments are taking extreme but necessary measures to contain the coronavirus, prioritizing in almost all cases some form of social isolation or distancing. But the economic costs for everyone are not the same. The disease lays bare societies' inequalities, inflicting greater economic … [Read more...] about Social Distancing, Informality, and the Problem of Inequality
Moving Towards Growth and Greater Inclusion in One of the World’s Most Unequal Regions
By Julián Messina, Norbert Schady, and Joana Silva Meager economic growth and high inequality are the twin curses of Latin America. But inclusive growth that fights those curses by encompassing everyone, including marginalized and vulnerable populations, is possible. It just requires the right policies. We know, of course, that this is easier said than done. Economic … [Read more...] about Moving Towards Growth and Greater Inclusion in One of the World’s Most Unequal Regions
Did Changes Among Firms Reduce Wage Inequality in Latin America?
For a long time, economists believed that inequality in the labor market could be explained fundamentally by differences in skills. Workers who were highly educated, experienced and skilled tended to be rewarded better by the labor market than workers who weren't. Firms were essentially irrelevant in this paradigm. Workers were rewarded for their productivity: It didn't matter … [Read more...] about Did Changes Among Firms Reduce Wage Inequality in Latin America?
Did Education and Job Experience Reduce Inequality in Latin America?
As Joana Silva and I document in a recent book, earnings inequality declined in 16 of the 17 countries in Latin America for which consistent statistics can be calculated, although the intensity and turning points diverged across countries. For example, after a decade of stagnant or slowly increasing inequality, the 90th/10th interquantile range of the labor earnings … [Read more...] about Did Education and Job Experience Reduce Inequality in Latin America?