"The authors examine the empirical evidence in support of the poverty trap view of underdevelopment. They calibrate simple aggregate growth models in which poverty traps can arise due to either low saving or low technology at low levels of development. They then use these models to assess the...

This policy note is based on a project on financial services and trade agreements in the Latin America and Caribbean Region. It emphasizes that the liberalization of trade in financial services is helpful to, but is not a panacea for, domestic financial system modernization. It adds that the...

Important findings of recent studies based on a macroeconomic perspective include the need to take actions aimed at further increasing the region's integration into the global economy while at the same time deepening Latin America's relatively shallow financial markets. This study complements...

Important findings of recent studies based on a macroeconomic perspective include the need to take actions aimed at further increasing the region's integration into the global economy while at the same time deepening Latin America's relatively shallow financial markets. This study complements...

The global crisis is now in the rear view mirror and world growth is being restored. In sharp contrast with past episodes of global turmoil, this time the recovery is led by the periphery, specifically by the larger and more dynamic emerging markets (Brazil, China, India, South Korea, Malaysia,...

This semiannual report examines short-run and long-run challenges for economic growth for the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region in the aftermath of the 2008-09 global financial crisis. The first part of this report provides an overview of recent economic developments, including an...

Economic growth in Latin America and the rise of material welfare has lagged behind that of more dynamic areas of the world economy. In a region prone to policy experiments, the policies of the Washington Consensus applied since the 1990s failed to bring sustained growth to most of Latin...

Since the late 1980s, almost all Latin American countries have undergone a series of far-reaching economic reforms, particularly in the areas of financial and capital account liberalization and trade. This book provides a comparative and analytical framework for assessing the impact of these...