In recent years, advances in the standardization and statistical treatment of standard variables have allowed greater precision in the reporting of short- and long-term economic activity, including, among others, GDP, inflation, and the unemployment rate. But the application of the complex, technical methodologies required in arriving at those calculations has also delayed the … [Read more...] about How New Predictive Models and Timely Data Lead to Better Public Policy Decisions
Macroeconomics and Finance
A Critical Moment for Central Bank Autonomy
Central banks in Latin America and the Caribbean have undoubtedly been part of the solution to our current crisis. Their prompt and effective reactions were made possible by the hard-won credibility that they gained in recent years. Behind those gains is the autonomy delegated to them to formulate and implement monetary policy to achieve their primary objective of maintaining … [Read more...] about A Critical Moment for Central Bank Autonomy
Boosting Trade in a Postpandemic World
Global value chains (GVCs) are essential to modern trade. Given the separation of production into several stages, carried out in different countries, GVCs allow nations to increase productivity through specialization. Yet Latin America and the Caribbean's participation in GVCs remains low (18%) compared to Asia (28%) and Europe (34%). The paradox of the COVID-19 crisis, … [Read more...] about Boosting Trade in a Postpandemic World
New Report Details the Economic Risks and the Opportunities for Stronger Postpandemic Growth
It has been a traumatic year. As the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world, hundreds of thousands of people in Latin America and the Caribbean died and the economy spun into crisis. About 7.4% of GDP was lost—the single largest recorded fall in output in a single … [Read more...] about New Report Details the Economic Risks and the Opportunities for Stronger Postpandemic Growth
LIBOR Has Been the Magic Number in Finance for A Long Time, until Now
The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is the dominant interest rate benchmark and plays a central role in the daily dynamics of the financial markets. Financial institutions rely on LIBOR to represent their own funding cost and transfer it to the clients. It is used as a reference rate in more than $400 trillion of financial instruments, from retail, like credit … [Read more...] about LIBOR Has Been the Magic Number in Finance for A Long Time, until Now