Personal remittances from migrant workers are disproportionately important to the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean. Home to only 8% of the global population, the region receives 18% of global remittances, and since 2020 remittances there have grown more than twice as fast as remittances globally. In some of the region’s poorest countries, remittance receipts amount … [Read more...] about Why Are Remittance Costs Still High?
Wielding Better Information and Policies to Curb the Prison Crisis in Latin America
The recent revolts, escapes and killings in Latin American prisons seem all too familiar in a region with an incarceration rate twice that of the European Union and some of the highest homicide rates in the world. But an article in the New York Times describing the wholesale takeover of prison systems by criminal groups has brought broader attention to a regional crisis in … [Read more...] about Wielding Better Information and Policies to Curb the Prison Crisis in Latin America
Can Digital Payments Boost the Impact of Social Programs?
With tens of millions of citizens receiving cash transfers from social programs each month, Latin America and Caribbean governments have long sought ways to improve payment delivery and boost financial inclusion to improve savings, access to credit, and overall welfare. One attempted solution is encouraging recipients to open bank accounts to receive digital cash transfer … [Read more...] about Can Digital Payments Boost the Impact of Social Programs?
What are the Welfare Tradeoffs When Convenience Chains Replace Neighborhood Shops?
In the bustling markets of Mexico, a subtle yet significant revolution is underway. It isn’t a political or social upheaval. It's a transformation in the retail sector. Traditional neighborhood shops, once the heart of local communities, are now competing at a considerable disadvantage with giant convenience chains like 7-Eleven and Oxxo. This revolution, fueled by the entry … [Read more...] about What are the Welfare Tradeoffs When Convenience Chains Replace Neighborhood Shops?
Improving Road Safety with Behavioral Economics
We speed and drive aggressively out of overconfidence, and we disregard commonsense safety measures from too much optimism. We may even use a mobile phone while driving, preferring the short-term convenience of using the phone over greater long-term rewards like safety. We engage, in other words, in time discounting, the tendency to assign a lower value to future rewards than … [Read more...] about Improving Road Safety with Behavioral Economics