Deeper financial integration is expected to enable low-saving countries to increase domestic investment but also to increase crisis risks by facilitating the accumulation of risky foreign liabilities. This paper explores the connections between financial integration, investment and crisis risk...

This paper studies the influence of external financial factors on economic activity in emerging economies (EMEs) motivated by a considerable increase in foreign financing by the corporate sector in EMEs since the early 2000s, mainly in the form of bond issuance. A quarterly external financial...

This paper analyzes influences on the credit standing of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), specifically the quality, diversification and single name concentration of their portfolios, and on the market practice known as Preferred Creditor Status (PCS), whereby sovereigns that default on...

This paper follows two strategies to address whether the rich save more. First, the paper implements a two-stage procedure in which the household's lifetime income is instrumented with the education level of the household head and the education level of his/her partner. Second, using information...

This paper analyzes whether Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) signed between the United States and Latin American countries during the last decade produced higher enforcement of labor regulations. The paper computes before-after estimates of the effect of FTAs on labor inspections and exploits...

This paper surveys evidence on discrimination in Latin America and shows that there is a widespread perception of discrimination, especially against the poor, the uneducated and those who lack connections. The channels through which discrimination occurs may be built on the basis of economic...

Information and communication technologies (ICT)--cell phones, computers, Internet--hold great promise but greater access alone cannot bring about economic development. This is a major finding of the IDB`s latest edition of its flagship Development in the Americas series titled Development...

Banking authorities must resolve or otherwise deal with existing banks that are weak or insolvent without imposing costs on consumers or taxpayers. Two aspects of this concern should be delineated. First, how can banking regulations be structured so that the future exit of weak and insolvent...

This paper investigates how changes in trade linkages between China, Latin America, and the rest of the world have altered the transmission of international business cycles to Latin America. Evidence based on a GVAR model for five large Latin American economies shows that the long-term impact of...