The initial stages of exchange rate-based stabilizations have been generally characterized by a consumption boom, a deterioration of the trade balance and the current account, and an appreciation of the real exchange rate. It is only at the later stages that the economy falls into recession. Tax...

This paper reviews and contributes to the policy debate on the issue of saving in Latin America, presenting an alternative perspective on the relationship between saving and growth, saving and inflation stabilization and structural reform, and saving and capital flows

This paper reviews the regulations governing hiring, firing, overtime work, social security contributions, minimum wages, and collective bargaining in the region, examining their impact on labor market outcomes

The experience of a large number of countries since the mid-1970s has demonstrated the limited potential for activist monetary and fiscal policies to influence real macroeconomic performance on a sustained basis. Given the central role of the financial sector in pricing and allocating capital...

This work builds on previous research to develop a methodology that simplifies the identification of the best policy options for poverty alleviation in a given country. When a population can be divided into subgroups according to an easily identifiable characteristic, the problem of alleviating...

An undistorted free market economy endowed with perfectly rational and informed agents overborrows, i. e. , borrows beyond the efficient level, because of the agents` failure to internalize credit rationing resulting from sovereign risk. It follows that the elimination of the market...

This paper examines the implications of a North-South trade accord where investments in the Southern partner nation exhibit country risk. Our analysis demonstrates that North-South trade accords can serve as credibility-enhancing mechanisms that induce additional foreign capital inflows into...

Although the region remains highly centralized, the tendency toward decentralization is quite strong. Not only is a larger portion of the general government budget executed from the subnational government level, the autonomy that these governments have in deciding how much to spend and what to...

This paper complements previous studies by arguing that the low private savings ratio in Latin America can be associated with the limited confidence of households and businesses in domestic financial institutions. Previous studies have established a relationship between private savings and...

This paper considers whether institutional factors, in this instance electoral systems and procedures, affect Latin American countries` fiscal performance as measured by the size of the public sector, fiscal deficits, the size of the public debt, and the degree of procyclality of fiscal policy....