Housing is more than just basic shelter - it can be a valuable monetary asset, both to households and nations. This book draws on research by experts at the Inter-American Development Bank and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to examine the economic, social and legal...

Housing is more than just basic shelter - it can be a valuable monetary asset, both to households and nations. This book draws on research by experts at the Inter-American Development Bank and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to examine the economic, social and legal...

This document summarizes the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) experience as one of the main sources of multilateral development financing in Latin America and the Caribbean. From 2000 to 2005, total financing for economic, social and institutional development projects amounted to US$38.7...

SMEs are positioning themselves as a strategic branch of banking operations in the region, while banks are increasingly pushing for more active policies when it comes to the financing of SMEs. This is one of the highlighted conclusions from a 2011 joint survey conducted by the Inter-American...

Specialized financial institutions (SFIs) have a clear interest in tapping the small business lending market, but frequently lack the know-how for doing so in a sustainable manner. This guide outlines the key conditions and steps SFIs need to take in order to set up and develop sustainable small...

Remittances, the portion of migrant workers' earnings sent back home to their families, have been a critical means of financial support for generations. But, for the most part, these flows have historically been -hidden in plain view-, often uncounted and even ignored. All that is now changing...

Efforts by transnational families, money transfer and financial institutions, public authorities, civil society, and international organizations to improve regulatory and institutional frameworks are necessary to unleash the full development potential of remittances.

Remittance volumes, transaction costs, profiles of senders and receivers, and recent Latin American project studies show how an international labor market closely connected to the globalization process delivers desperately needed resources to more than one hundred million families worldwide.

The Private Sector Mapping Project takes a closer look at the current motives, strategies, incentives, obstacles, and benefits as perceived by firms to enter untapped majority markets.