Rising prices for food, fuel and other household necessities are rattling people throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and hitting poor families already affected by the pandemic especially hard. But if inflation is again haunting the region, and policymakers are worried, it is important to keep the new developments in context. Inflation is far from a regional … [Read more...] about Inflation in Latin America and the Caribbean Needs to be Seen in Context
Is There a Future for Digital Currencies Issued by Central Banks in Latin America and the Caribbean?
Boosting financial inclusion has long been essential in Latin America and the Caribbean, where more than 200 million people lack access to financial services and large numbers of citizens are unable to open a bank account because of poverty, geography, discrimination, and lack of proper identification. Alternative systems, however, could be transformative. They could be … [Read more...] about Is There a Future for Digital Currencies Issued by Central Banks in Latin America and the Caribbean?
How Improving the Performance of Weaker Students Benefits All Students
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