Latin America has achieved significant social progress in recent decades. From the 1990s through 2019, poverty fell by almost 50 percent: mortality in children under five was cut by more than half; and primary school education became nearly universal. But while significant investment was made to accomplish those outcomes, much more could have been achieved if it wasn’t for … [Read more...] about Using Social Network Analysis to Identify Decision-Makers and Improve Public Policy
Politics and Institutions
When Inequality is Baked into the System
Hundreds of thousands of protesters have poured into the streets in recent weeks from Chile and Colombia to Lebanon and Iraq. Transport hubs have been destroyed, stores looted, and government institutions attacked. Dozens have been killed. The immediate causes of the protests have been diverse, ranging from price hikes to rumored changes in laws affecting rights and … [Read more...] about When Inequality is Baked into the System
Ensuring that the Gains from Trade are Inclusive and Sustainable
Thirty years ago, as part of their development strategy, and after many years of protectionism, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean embarked on a process of ambitious trade liberalization. This was only one of many different reforms made in the framework of the Washington consensus. But it was without question the most important one. Tariffs were eliminated, … [Read more...] about Ensuring that the Gains from Trade are Inclusive and Sustainable
The Unique and Essential Mission of Multilateral Research Departments
"What keeps you up at night?" That was a question posed to a gathering of leaders from government institutions around Latin America and the Caribbean some 25 years ago. In asking that question, the Research Department at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) laid down a mission that it has zealously pursued ever since. It's not just asking government leaders what worries … [Read more...] about The Unique and Essential Mission of Multilateral Research Departments
The Collapse of Trust and the Rise of Populism
How can we manage Latin America's lackluster economic growth and its problems of inequality? And what are we to make of the lack of trust in institutions and the rise in populism? To answer some of those questions, Andrés Velasco, the Dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, recently spoke at the IDB as part of the Research … [Read more...] about The Collapse of Trust and the Rise of Populism