She barrels down the mat like a sprinter, pivots, soars into the air backwards with two somersaults and a half twist, and lands blindly and perfectly on her feet, with arms outstretched and an irrepressible smile. It is an acrobatic feat of such difficulty, grace and poise by the 19-year-old, four feet eight gymnast Simone Biles, that it has come to be known as “the Biles.” And … [Read more...] about Can Good Parenting Make an Olympic Star?
Can Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?
To what extent is economic behavior determined by culture and to what extent by the economic environment? In an extensive IDB study entitled Saving for Development: How Latin America and the Caribbean Can Save More and Better, the authors consider culture as a possible factor in the region’s abysmally low savings rates. They enter, in the process, into a heated debate that has … [Read more...] about Can Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?
Designing Creative Policies to Generate Knowledge Spillover in R+D
Innovation is a driver of productivity and economic growth. Unfortunately, research and development expenditures to develop and adapt innovations in Latin America are very low, especially by its private sector. Rich in natural, human, and productive resources, the region’s potential is enormous, however. This calls for governments to create conditions that boost not only … [Read more...] about Designing Creative Policies to Generate Knowledge Spillover in R+D
Labor Informality and the Pension Disaster
For two decades beginning in the 1990s, Latin American and Caribbean nations became embroiled in a debate over which type of pension system would best provide for retired seniors. Populations were expected to rapidly age. Budgets were tight, and private and national savings rates, low. A way had to be found to guarantee retirements while increasing savings and leaving room for … [Read more...] about Labor Informality and the Pension Disaster
Latin America: Turning the Corner on Corruption?
It has been a good couple of years for those fighting corruption in the Americas. Since May of this year, the leaders of the New York State Senate and Assembly were sentenced to terms ranging from 5-12 years in prison on charges including bribery, extortion and money laundering. A federal congressman from Philadelphia was convicted on more than two dozen charges, including … [Read more...] about Latin America: Turning the Corner on Corruption?