Latin America and the Caribbean can look back on the economic management of the post-pandemic period with some pride. Central banks acted decisively, raising interest rates before other regions and successfully curbing inflation faster. Fiscal balances were consolidated, contributing to lower sovereign debt spreads. Financial markets showed they could withstand shifts in global … [Read more...] about Regional Opportunities Amid Global Shifts
Macroeconomics and Finance
How Barriers to Trade Shape Knowledge Transfer Across Borders
Despite comprising less than 1% of all firms worldwide, multinational firms, companies that operate across multiple countries, drive roughly half of all international trade, contribute one-third of global output and GDP, and provide a quarter of global employment. Their role is particularly crucial in regions like Latin America and the Caribbean, where they have … [Read more...] about How Barriers to Trade Shape Knowledge Transfer Across Borders
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
The Hidden Costs of Non-Tariff Barriers
Since the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the conclusion of the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), countries around the world have steadily reduced their import tariffs, which fell from a global average of 8.6% in 1994 to just 2.6% in 2017. At the same time, non-tariff barriers (NTBs), including import licenses, quotas and technical … [Read more...] about The Hidden Costs of Non-Tariff Barriers
How Inequality is Inherited in Latin America and the Caribbean
Despite meaningful progress in the first two decades of this century, Latin America and the Caribbean remains one of the world’s most unequal regions, with gaping disparities in income that most analysts agree puts it in the position of competing with sub-Saharan Africa—with its outliers like Namibia and South Africa—for the unenviable title of the world's most unequal region. … [Read more...] about How Inequality is Inherited in Latin America and the Caribbean