As Joana Silva and I document in a recent book, earnings inequality declined in 16 of the 17 countries in Latin America for which consistent statistics can be calculated, although the intensity and turning points diverged across countries. For example, after a decade of stagnant or slowly increasing inequality, the 90th/10th interquantile range of the labor earnings … [Read more...] about Did Education and Job Experience Reduce Inequality in Latin America?
Greater Efficiency and the Path to a Prosperous Future for Latin America and the Caribbean
Latin America and the Caribbean has a difficult puzzle to solve. Growing national income is feeding demands for more and better government services. At the same time, because many governments increased expenditure during the years of the commodity boom and now face less favorable external conditions, they will need to adjust. In a context of external headwinds there is … [Read more...] about Greater Efficiency and the Path to a Prosperous Future for Latin America and the Caribbean
Reforming Regulations that Harm Productivity and Worker Welfare
An uncomfortable reality lies behind Latin America’s poor growth performance: gains in productivity have been anemic over the last three decades. The costs in long-term GDP growth, as well as higher wages and living standards for Latin America's people, are steep. Over the last decades most Latin American nations adopted a broad agenda of economic liberalization and … [Read more...] about Reforming Regulations that Harm Productivity and Worker Welfare
Will Robots Really Harm Employment?
In science fiction films, artificial intelligence and robots are the bogeymen of the future, replacing us and rendering us useless as they impose their mechanical will upon us. Economists, though less apocalyptic, are sounding alarms too. In a study, economist Carl Benedikt Frey and machine learning expert Michael Osborne examine more than 700 occupations in the United States. … [Read more...] about Will Robots Really Harm Employment?
How Latin America Can Be Smarter on Crime
Latin America and the Caribbean confronts a paradox when it comes to guaranteeing the lives of its citizens. The region is wracked by organized crime, gangs, and street violence. It suffers a homicide rate (24 per 100,000) that is four times the world's average and spends a considerable portion of its total budget (5.4%) on citizen security. Yet, it continues to employ … [Read more...] about How Latin America Can Be Smarter on Crime