Columbia University and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) are offering the next edition of their popular executive course on macro-financial policymaking in emerging markets from April 23-27 in New York. Open to policymakers from developing world governments, as well as economists working in international financial institutions and investment bankers, the intensive … [Read more...] about IDB-Columbia Course for Policymakers Opens for Applications
Curing Education’s Ills With Lessons From Medicine
Latin America's educational systems are failing their students. Despite steady advances in enrollment, students in the region perform considerably worse on standardized tests than their counterparts in advanced economies. They even trail students from developing economies with similar levels of development. The problem is not lack of spending. The average country in the region … [Read more...] about Curing Education’s Ills With Lessons From Medicine
The Big Adjustment: Fiscal Challenges for Latin America and the Caribbean
An old Irish joke has a tourist in the rural west of Ireland asking a local if he knows how to get to Dublin. After a long pause and considerable thought, the local replies, “yes, but I wouldn’t start from here.” Unfortunately, with the highest overall fiscal deficit of any region of the world in 2017 (over 6% of GDP) this is a bit how it feels in Latin America and the … [Read more...] about The Big Adjustment: Fiscal Challenges for Latin America and the Caribbean
Can Small Farmers Adapt to Climate Change Shocks?
When researchers consider the economic costs of climate change, they often estimate models based on historical temperature and economic data. But it can be difficult to account for adaptation. Typically, these models estimate an upper bound of the economic costs of climate change. Future adaptation, it is assumed, will reduce those costs. But adaptation could play a more … [Read more...] about Can Small Farmers Adapt to Climate Change Shocks?
How Political Polarization Holds Latin America Back
There are countries where there is a great deal of consensus on issues of national importance, and countries where that consensus is lacking, where the population is divided, distrustful of political opponents, and unwilling to compromise. The latter are polarized societies, and their cleavages lead to worse outcomes in a whole gamut of areas, ranging from greater insecurity … [Read more...] about How Political Polarization Holds Latin America Back