Hurricanes Helene and Milton barreled into the southeast of the United States in late September and early October eviscerating towns, destroying homes, and killing scores of people in a challenge for both emergency responders and the ability of political institutions to maintain the trust of their citizens. Research has shown that natural disasters often shake the … [Read more...] about Hurricanes, Trust, and the Role of Aid: Lessons from Mexico City’s 2017 Earthquake
How Do Latin American Urban Migrants Fare in their Destination Cities?
Urban migration is a powerful force in the economic landscape of Latin America and the Caribbean. As we highlight in "Rethinking Urban Migration," urban migrants play an important role in the economic vitality of the cities they move to, contributing productive labor, creating jobs, paying taxes, and stimulating local economic growth. For that reason, understanding how … [Read more...] about How Do Latin American Urban Migrants Fare in their Destination Cities?
Greener Businesses: A Win for Nature and the Economy
As the effects of climate change intensify around the world, companies are under growing pressure from government regulations, as well as investors and consumers, to move towards more sustainable and eco-friendly practices. A classic example is the European Union's (EU's) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which entered into a transitional phase in 2023 and will go into … [Read more...] about Greener Businesses: A Win for Nature and the Economy
Taking the Pulse of Employment in the New World of AI
Aristotle speculated that tools could end human labor if they could be made to work on their own. Centuries later, Keynes warned about the potential job losses from technological advancements. Neither of them, however, could have predicted the potentially massive impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Natural language processing and generative models like Open AI’s ChatGPT … [Read more...] about Taking the Pulse of Employment in the New World of AI
What Happens to Small Firms When Big Banks Go Digital?
In Latin America and the Caribbean, a region historically marked by financial exclusion, a rapid shift to digital banking in the last decade has created new opportunities for credit provision to underserved populations. But the transformation, accompanied by a reduction in traditional banking infrastructure, such as physical branches, is not without its risks and … [Read more...] about What Happens to Small Firms When Big Banks Go Digital?