Urban migration is a powerful force in the economic landscape of Latin America and the Caribbean. As we highlight in "Rethinking Urban Migration," urban migrants play an important role in the economic vitality of the cities they move to, contributing productive labor, creating jobs, paying taxes, and stimulating local economic growth. For that reason, understanding how … [Read more...] about How Do Latin American Urban Migrants Fare in their Destination Cities?
Matías Busso
Matias Busso is a Lead Economist in the Research Department at the Inter-American Development Bank. He is also a Research Fellow at the Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS) and a member of the executing committee of the Network of Inequality and Poverty of LACEA. His research uses empirical evidence and theory to inform the design of more effective public policies in areas related to labor, education, and productivity. Matias received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan in 2008. He has published articles in the American Economic Review and The Review of Economics and Statistics, among others.
Easing Housing Constraints to Urban Migration
For six decades, migrants have been pouring into the cities of Latin America and the Caribbean, boosting the percentage of the urban population from 50% to 80%, and delivering large benefits, including greater specialization, competition, innovation and entrepreneurship, to the region's metropolitan centers. But while migration to cities often results in significant gains, … [Read more...] about Easing Housing Constraints to Urban Migration
Internal Migration: The Heartbeat of Urban Expansion in Latin America and the Caribbean
The bold headlines about emigration in Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years have centered mostly on Venezuela and Haiti, as the economic crisis in the first country and an earthquake in the second sent large waves of people into other countries of the region, causing international migration there to soar from 5.7 million to 10.7 million between 2015 and … [Read more...] about Internal Migration: The Heartbeat of Urban Expansion in Latin America and the Caribbean
Signaling Students’ Skills for Greater Fairness and Productivity
A degree from an elite university—like good grades and honors degrees—often serves as a signal of superior talent, a beacon that guides employers through a sea of candidates to the allegedly most desirable hire. Such bias in favor of the elite, however, can disadvantage highly skilled and talented people who attend less renowned schools or groups like migrants, who often … [Read more...] about Signaling Students’ Skills for Greater Fairness and Productivity
Maximizing the Potential of Urban Migration in Latin America and the Caribbean
Over the last six decades, Latin America and the Caribbean has experienced a wave of migration to urban areas that has boosted the percentage of people living in cities from around 50% of the population in 1960 to more than 80% today. Millions of those people have been forcibly displaced, fleeing crime, political conflict, and gang violence. Many others have been uprooted by … [Read more...] about Maximizing the Potential of Urban Migration in Latin America and the Caribbean