People with disabilities (PwD) continue to face barriers to employment worldwide, with large gaps in employment between those with disabilities and those without. In Latin America and the Caribbean, for example, 24-35 year-old men with disabilities have a 24% lower employment rate than their non-disabled counterparts, and there’s a 12% disparity for similarly aged women. This … [Read more...] about Do Disability Employment Quotas Work?
Microeconomics and Competitiveness
True or False? Putting to the Test Our Knowledge of Disability
In Latin America and the Caribbean, one in seven people has a disability. Clearly, having a disability is not unusual, but part of human diversity, and as with characteristics such as race or gender, should not be cause for exclusion. That means that governments in the region should ensure the economic and social inclusion of people with disabilities so that they can … [Read more...] about True or False? Putting to the Test Our Knowledge of Disability
Boosting Financial Inclusion Among the Vulnerable
By 2021, only 31% of Chile's country's population over 15 had saved in a financial institution, with especially low rates among the very poor, depriving them of the benefits of a range of financial services, including savings accounts, credit, and insurance products. The issue of how to increase financial inclusion and, in the process, boost savings in in Latin … [Read more...] about Boosting Financial Inclusion Among the Vulnerable
Better Public Policies to Combat Pandemics
After the economic losses, unemployment and mass death of the COVID-19 pandemic, the question of how to effectively manage lockdowns has to be answered. Many experts believe another pandemic is inevitable. If that is true, we have to be ready with empirically tested policies that can maximize economic welfare while preserving life to the maximum extent … [Read more...] about Better Public Policies to Combat Pandemics
A New Miracle? The Promises of Digitalization and Financial Inclusion in Latin America
Latin America and the Caribbean has made a big leap towards using digital technologies to expand financial inclusion, and there are reasons to be hopeful: Several initiatives in the region have expanded the supply of innovative digital financial products which, in theory, should untap inclusive growth by enabling millions of micro and small firms and households to integrate … [Read more...] about A New Miracle? The Promises of Digitalization and Financial Inclusion in Latin America