The policy of quantitative easing led by advanced economies and the subsequent surge of capital flows to emerging economies (EMEs) after the global financial crisis together with their recent reversal have highlighted the need to tailor a macro approach for EMEs that incorporates financial stability as an explicit policy target. But what should the approach be? Should it take … [Read more...] about Searching for a New Macroprudential Framework
Macroeconomics and Finance
Natural Disaster Insurance: Why Don’t More Countries Have It?
They are whipped by hurricanes, lashed by storms and crippled by earthquakes. A report compiled by the United Nations, taking into account exposure to natural events and a society's response, found four nations of the region (Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua) to be among the world's 15 nations most at risk from natural disasters. Nonetheless, few countries in … [Read more...] about Natural Disaster Insurance: Why Don’t More Countries Have It?
Revisiting Policymaking in a Troubled Region
During much of its recent history, Latin America has alternated between policies that are state-controlled and those that are market-centered. It has swung from the import-substitution model of the post war era to the liberalization of the Washington Consensus of the 1990s with a host of lesser variations in areas ranging from industry to trade. Yet, significant advances … [Read more...] about Revisiting Policymaking in a Troubled Region
Applications Open for the IDB-Columbia Executive Course for Policymakers
Applications are now open for the executive program on macro-financial policymaking in emerging markets, jointly organized by Columbia University and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Policymakers from emerging economies worldwide are welcome to apply to the course that will take place in New York on April 24-28. The IDB will offer tuition waivers to up to 15 … [Read more...] about Applications Open for the IDB-Columbia Executive Course for Policymakers
Reforming Constitutions: A Pandora’s Box
In March 1990, some 2 million Colombians cast a symbolic vote during elections demanding a new constitution. The vote followed a harrowing year of guerrilla, paramilitary and drug trafficking violence. Three presidential candidates had been assassinated, and many people argued that only a new national charter, creating a more inclusive, representative and decentralized … [Read more...] about Reforming Constitutions: A Pandora’s Box