The path from agriculture to manufacturing and other high-productivity sectors was long considered the true way to structural transformation and development. By contrast, agriculture was viewed as a technologically backwards sector, with minimal innovation and little capacity to grow national income. That view, however, no longer holds. While there is still plenty of … [Read more...] about The Promise of Modern Agriculture for Faster and More Inclusive Growth
Social Issues
Building Trust for Social Cohesion and Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean
It would always get a laugh from readers of Peanuts. Lucy would hold the football for Charlie Brown to kick. Then she would pull it back at the last minute and send him flying onto his back. The gag, repeated over and over throughout the years, was funny because of Charlie's absurdly trusting behavior. Having been tricked so many times by Lucy, didn't he realize she would trick … [Read more...] about Building Trust for Social Cohesion and Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean
Amidst the Pandemic, A Battle for Inclusion
The year 2019 was the year anger over social issues took to the streets in Latin America and the Caribbean. Poverty and inequality in the region had fallen following the commodity boom of the 2000s, but more recent years of low growth brought that progress to a standstill. Mass frustration erupted. Amidst high youth unemployment and government-imposed adjustment programs, … [Read more...] about Amidst the Pandemic, A Battle for Inclusion
Baker or Brady: Lessons of Past Financial Crises for the Pandemic Recovery
The Covid-19 pandemic is different both in nature and in magnitude from the financial crises that have afflicted the region repeatedly in the past. However, the experience of previous crises can provide lessons to help make the recovery from the pandemic more vigorous. Specifically, we should learn from the successes of the Brady Plan of the 1990s, while avoiding the errors of … [Read more...] about Baker or Brady: Lessons of Past Financial Crises for the Pandemic Recovery