As Hurricane Irma ripped through the Caribbean and the United States, leveling homes, crippling energy and water systems, and putting ports and airports out of commission, government officials looked ahead to the immense relief challenges that lay in store. First, they had to take stock: What sectors of the economy were most devastated? And where should relief aid go to satisfy … [Read more...] about Big Data and the Pursuit of Better Disaster Relief
Macroeconomics and Finance
Bracing for Impact: Preparing Nations for Natural Disasters
The lashing rains and 185-mile-per-hour winds pounding the Caribbean from Hurricane Irma; the toppled homes and flooded streets in Texas and Louisiana from Hurricane Harvey, with its tens of thousands of people made homeless and billions of dollars in property losses: it's hard to imagine things getting much worse. Unfortunately, they almost surely will. If scientists agree … [Read more...] about Bracing for Impact: Preparing Nations for Natural Disasters
Can Latin America’s Engagement with China Deepen?
In November 2016, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a white paper to guide its relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean through the end of 2019. The paper, encompassing the full spectrum of relationships between the two regions, emphasized that China had entered a "new phase of comprehensive collaboration" with Latin America and the Caribbean and sought to … [Read more...] about Can Latin America’s Engagement with China Deepen?
Modeling Tradeoffs in the Fight Against Climate Change
Mexico was the world's first developing nation to commit. The rest of Latin America and the Caribbean followed. Taking stock of climate change’s effects on sea rise, extreme weather, crop failures and disease, the region united at the 2015 United Nations climate summit in Paris to pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lay out paths for doing so. Now, governments face … [Read more...] about Modeling Tradeoffs in the Fight Against Climate Change
IDB Offers MOOC on Social Policy
The Inter-American Development Bank is offering a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on social policy in Latin America and the Caribbean, including poverty and inequality, early childhood development, education, health, social protection and employment. Entitled Latin American Social Reality, the free, seven-week, introductory course is intended to give journalists, … [Read more...] about IDB Offers MOOC on Social Policy