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
Microeconomics and Competitiveness
How Bank Robberies Stoke Financial Digitalization in Brazil
The bank robberies sweeping the small towns of Brazil are swift and destructive. Teams of ten people or more from sophisticated crime syndicates hit a bank in the middle of the night, blowing open its vaults, seizing its cash, and destroying the rest of its physical infrastructure with explosives. By the time local inhabitants have risen, the criminals are long gone. The … [Read more...] about How Bank Robberies Stoke Financial Digitalization in Brazil
The “Tiendita” and the Survival of Microenterprises Amid Competition from Large Firms
With its bountiful assortments of everything from tomatoes and milk to cigarettes and dog food, the little grocery store or "tiendita" is as ubiquitous and cherished as the bakeries, small liquor stores, and tacos stands that dot nearly every neighborhood in Mexico's cities. But over the last 20 years, tienditas have faced significant competition from convenience chains … [Read more...] about The “Tiendita” and the Survival of Microenterprises Amid Competition from Large Firms
Health 2.0: Digitalization and the Fight Against Non-Communicable Disease
Greater incidences of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mental health disorders; rising costs for treating those and other non-communicable diseases; and a tight fiscal environment after a punishing COVID-19 pandemic. Latin America and the Caribbean face these difficult health challenges in the coming decades. With an aging population and limited resources, the region … [Read more...] about Health 2.0: Digitalization and the Fight Against Non-Communicable Disease
Five Lessons on Strengthening Social Protection from Three Years of Research at the IDB’s Research Department
The events of the past three years have put low- and middle-income countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in a bind. They need to ensure that their citizens can recover from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. But they also need to do it in the most cost-effective way so that public coffers are not drained. With this dilemma in mind, IDB researchers and … [Read more...] about Five Lessons on Strengthening Social Protection from Three Years of Research at the IDB’s Research Department