The Rise in Debt Total debt in Latin America and the Caribbean has risen to 5.8 trillion US dollars from under 3 trillion in 2008, or to 117% from around 60% of GDP. Total debt in the five largest economies is around 140% of GDP. While this is lower than in many advanced economies, emerging economies face higher interest rates, greater risks and a larger drag on growth from … [Read more...] about Dealing with Debt
Macroeconomics and Finance
The Universal Factors Behind Inflation in Latin America and the Caribbean
With inflation in Latin America and the Caribbean running at its hottest in two decades, the issue of where that inflation comes from and what the region's central banks might do differently has taken on great urgency. Our newly released study arrives at a hugely important conclusion: the overwhelming bulk of inflation in the region today comes not from factors that are … [Read more...] about The Universal Factors Behind Inflation in Latin America and the Caribbean
US Interest Rates and the Cost of Borrowing for Emerging Economies
With the first signs of decelerating inflation in the United States, countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are probably asking themselves when borrowing costs will fall again. Lower inflation rates in the US, after all, could allow the Federal Reserve to end its cycle of rising interest rates sooner than expected and start eventually reducing the Fed Funds Rate (its … [Read more...] about US Interest Rates and the Cost of Borrowing for Emerging Economies
Implications of a New Global Financial Landscape for the Southern Cone
Global financial markets are at a crossroads, subject to increased short-term uncertainty as well as structural shifts, both of which pose risks to the macroeconomic and development outlook of emerging economies. To start with, central banks around the world are aggressively tightening monetary policy to fight inflation. This has complex ramifications for exchange rate … [Read more...] about Implications of a New Global Financial Landscape for the Southern Cone
Foreign Investment Drops and Concerns Rise in Latin America and the Caribbean
As the COVID-19 pandemic faded in 2021, markets expressed optimism in the worldwide economic outlook and capital flows to emerging markets recovered. It was not to last. The central banks of developed economies are now mopping up the abundant liquidity they had in place since the Great Financial Crisis to fight inflation in their own countries. Geopolitical risks in 2022 have … [Read more...] about Foreign Investment Drops and Concerns Rise in Latin America and the Caribbean