This paper assesses the vulnerability of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) economies to external crises. It shows that while the average LAC economy has made significant strides to reduce vulnerability to crises to its historical minimum, there is still considerable room for improvement,...

Accurately classifying products is essential in international trade. Virtually all countries categorize products into tariff lines using the Harmonized System (HS) nomenclature for both statistical and duty collection purposes. In this paper, we apply and assess several different algorithms to...

This paper explores the effect of inflation supply and demand shocks on government debt. It identifies the shocks using a sign-restricted Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) model with quarterly data. Estimations of dynamic panel regressions and local projections suggest that supply shocks...

There is a growing wave of concern for the embodied carbon in traded goods. One manifestation of that concern is large economies such as the USA and the European Union enacting climate-related trade measures, including border carbon adjustment. This paper reviews more than ten climate-related...

Hundreds of millions of microenterprises in emerging economies face increased competition from the entry and expansion of large firms that offer similar products. This paper studies how one of the world's most prevalent microenterprises, neighborhood shops, confront competition from convenience...

How can policymakers promote women-led exporting firms? In this paper, we study the role of online business platforms to reduce informational barriers to exporting for women entrepreneurs. We hypothesize that, if the costs associated with accessing digital platforms are more symmetric across...

This analysis applies a regression discontinuity approach combined with remote sensing data to measure the productivity impacts linked to a fruit-fly eradication program, implemented in Peru. For this purpose, satellite imagery was used to estimate a vegetation index over a 10-year span for a...

Latin American and Caribbean countries have historically been known for their rates of land inequality, highest in the world. However, these countries also exhibit a high degree of heterogeneity in their patterns of land concentration and average farm sizes. These cross-country differences play...

This paper introduces a novel monetary policy framework where the exchange rate becomes the central instrument. Using Singapore as a case study, it explores the Monetary Authority's adoption of the exchange rate as the primary tool since 1981, diverging from conventional approaches centered on...

Gaps in child development by socioeconomic status (SES) start early in life, are large and can increase inequalities later in life. We use recent national-level, cross-sectional and longitudinal data to examine inequalities in child development (namely, language, cognition, and socio-emotional...