In 1991, Brazil passed a landmark Quota Law intended to promote the hiring of people with disabilities and overcome some of the obstacles they face in the labor market. But the law, calling on companies employing more than 100 workers to allocate at least 2% of jobs to people with disabilities, came up short. It lacked compliance or enforcement, and by 2009 less than one-third … [Read more...] about The Unexpected Ripple Effects of Disability Employment Quotas
Microeconomics and Competitiveness
Can AI Technologies Help Expand Credit Access?
Despite the proliferation of digital technologies in daily market transactions, about 45% of Latin America's population do not use bank accounts, and credit access for individuals and firms is limited. Technologies based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help change that. AI can efficiently incorporate big data into credit risk assessments, allowing financial institutions … [Read more...] about Can AI Technologies Help Expand Credit Access?
Hurricanes, Trust, and the Role of Aid: Lessons from Mexico City’s 2017 Earthquake
Hurricanes Helene and Milton barreled into the southeast of the United States in late September and early October eviscerating towns, destroying homes, and killing scores of people in a challenge for both emergency responders and the ability of political institutions to maintain the trust of their citizens. Research has shown that natural disasters often shake the … [Read more...] about Hurricanes, Trust, and the Role of Aid: Lessons from Mexico City’s 2017 Earthquake
What Happens to Small Firms When Big Banks Go Digital?
In Latin America and the Caribbean, a region historically marked by financial exclusion, a rapid shift to digital banking in the last decade has created new opportunities for credit provision to underserved populations. But the transformation, accompanied by a reduction in traditional banking infrastructure, such as physical branches, is not without its risks and … [Read more...] about What Happens to Small Firms When Big Banks Go Digital?
From Empowerment to Inequality: The Tradeoffs of Community-Based Targeting
Local leaders know a lot about the people in their communities, including their level of wealth and need. That can often allow them to distribute resources, like anti-poverty funds, more effectively than far away bureaucracies. But where community members must decide on the basis of multiple, difficult-to-verify criteria, things get murky. How should loans, for example, be … [Read more...] about From Empowerment to Inequality: The Tradeoffs of Community-Based Targeting