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
Microeconomics and Competitiveness
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
Leveraging Foreign Remittances for Financial Inclusion
Personal financial transfers made by foreign migrants - known as remittances - are common for countries with high levels of economic migration. Yet, in many cases the transfers occur outside the banking system. This keeps remittance recipients from accessing safe financial services, such as savings, credit, or insurance, that improve their economic condition. Mexico is a … [Read more...] about Leveraging Foreign Remittances for Financial Inclusion
Maximizing the Potential of Urban Migration in Latin America and the Caribbean
Over the last six decades, Latin America and the Caribbean has experienced a wave of migration to urban areas that has boosted the percentage of people living in cities from around 50% of the population in 1960 to more than 80% today. Millions of those people have been forcibly displaced, fleeing crime, political conflict, and gang violence. Many others have been uprooted by … [Read more...] about Maximizing the Potential of Urban Migration in Latin America and the Caribbean