Studies in recent years have documented the detrimental effects that low-achieving students can have on the academic performance of their classmates. This is of concern everywhere, but particularly so in Latin America and the Caribbean where test results for reading, math, and science lag considerably behind those of OECD countries and where most students need to improve their … [Read more...] about How Improving the Performance of Weaker Students Benefits All Students
Tackling Informality for Fiscal Health in the Post-Pandemic Period
After significant efforts by Latin American and Caribbean governments to shore up businesses and households during the COVID-19 pandemic, the region in 2021 had a very high average fiscal deficit of 5% of GDP, more than two percentage points higher than before the pandemic. It also had a soaring average debt ratio of 70% of GDP. The IDB’s recently released 2022 Latin … [Read more...] about Tackling Informality for Fiscal Health in the Post-Pandemic Period
Closing Gender Gaps in the Southern Cone: The Path for Growth
As the COVID-19 pandemic struck the Southern Cone countries of Latin America, gender equality gaps, already far too wide, suffered real setbacks, reflecting the fragility of the gains made in recent years. Women took on most of the additional workload at home due to the closure of schools and care facilities, and their participation in the labor market declined sharply. Its … [Read more...] about Closing Gender Gaps in the Southern Cone: The Path for Growth
Face-Ageing Technology to Boost Fitness, Savings, and Other Positive Behaviors
No matter how old we are, it is hard to imagine getting older. We are biased towards our present self and disconnected from our future one, stinting on our pension contributions, underinvesting in our education, and eating and exercising poorly with the mistaken feeling that the future will never catch up with us. This present bias -along with an excess of optimism and … [Read more...] about Face-Ageing Technology to Boost Fitness, Savings, and Other Positive Behaviors
Reactivating the Economy with Better Business and Household Credit
As the economies of Central America, Mexico, Panama and the Dominican Republic contracted steeply in 2020 in the face of COVID-19, their governments and central banks rose to face unprecedented challenges in maintaining liquidity and credit and keeping businesses and households afloat. They set lower policy rates and reserve requirements, devised more flexible regulations for … [Read more...] about Reactivating the Economy with Better Business and Household Credit