This paper was prepared for the 1998 IDB/IIC Annual Meeting entitled: "The Employment in Latin America: What is the Problem and Should it be Addressed?" held in Cartagena, Colombia in March 1998. Despite macroeconomic stabilization and structural reforms, employment problems have persisted in...

This paper studies the empirical links among factor endowments, trade, and personal income distribution. The motivation is that many developing countries have implemented radical trade reforms in recent years. These reforms have changed relative prices, induced a reallocation of resources, and...

This paper presents a conceptual framework for explaining credit union (CU) loan delinquency and profitability in developing countries. It also offers an empirical estimation for a unique sample of Latin American CUs

This paper examines the effect of elections on fiscal policies in 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean from 1983 to 1996. The budget surplus proves to be lower than normal in the preelectoral and higher in the postelectoral years. Both the expenditure and revenue sides contribute to...

This study is designed to help practitioners prepare and evaluate institutional reforms for education and health programs. It provides an analytic framework for use by public officials and researchers, with case studies that illustrate a wide range of actual practice, and a set of lessons...

This paper addresses the adequacy of post-reform growth in Latin America in the 1990s on the basis of international comparison and other relevant standards. It analytically explores and empirically tests a number of hypotheses to explain the perceived dissatisfaction with growth performance

This paper investigates the effects of short-run economic shocks on children`s progress through school in urban Brazil using a unique panel data set. The severe problem of grade repetition in Brazil contributes to overall low education levels. Of children ages 10-15 who are enrolled in school,...

In the continuing debate over how to improve education systems, many people argue that teachers` salaries need to be increased. This paper seeks to establish a reliable method for analyzing the issue using household survey data from Bolivia

This paper shows that the factors affecting labor supply have been key determinants of the changes in employment, unemployment, and income differentials in Latin America in the 1990s. The two main forces driving labor supply in the region have been demographics and education

Banks' market or 'trading' risks have increased noticeably over the past years, largely as a result of the growth of liquid assets on banks' balance sheets and the increase in banks' off-balance sheet activities. Well-publicized bank failures and significant capital losses have focussed further...