The recent wave of terrorist attacks has increased the attention paid to money laundering activities. Using several methodologies, this paper investigates empirically the determinants of money laundering and its regulation in over 80 countries by assembling a cross-country dataset on proxies for...

This paper focuses on public utilities (telecommunications, electricity, gas, water, transportation (roads, railways, buses, ports, airports), and postal service, which are sometimes referred to as economic infrastructures. The paper summarizes the desirable departures from the practices of...

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the issues involved when introducing consumer choice into the power sector. Section 1 describes the approaches used by several countries to introduce tetail competition. Section 2 describes the forces that are pushing consumer choice and retail...

"Gas Market Integration in the Southern Cone" is part of a larger effort by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to promote integration of energy markets in South America's Southern Cone region. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the gas industry's evolution in the region,...

During the last decade, Latin American countries have brought about important reforms in infrastructure services based both on private sector participation for enhancing internal efficiency and competition for increasing consumer welfare. Infrastructure services have evolved from monopoly and...

This book provides a detailed microeconomic analysis of the impact of various privatizations in different countries in the region. Its central message is that in many cases, contrary to popular belief, society as a whole and in particular the poor have benefited from privatization. The book...

The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have shown interest in recent years in promoting private-sector participation in infrastructure projects. This trend has permitted budget consolidation, improved efficiency, and reduction of state participation in productive activities. The book...

This papers model suggests that a strong leader, sometimes with little legislative oversight, may nevertheless benefit from public support. The argument is that this support is induced as an attempt by the poor to counter the subversion of public protection of property rights by the rich, and to...

Pricing policy recommendations infrastructure services are based on two principles. One is that prices should cover the total cost of the service. The other is that cross subsidy schemes should be avoided. This technical paper explores the economic literature for rules on applying these...

"Gas Market Integration in the Southern Cone" is part of a larger effort by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to promote integration of energy markets in South America's Southern Cone region. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the gas industry's evolution in the region,...