Shielding the Poor presents a group of studies on social protection in the developing world from leading researchers. These studies address the issue of vulnerability of the poor to adverse shocks and propose policies to increase their protection and coping capacity. The studies emphasize the...

This article, which serves as an introduction to a group of studies prepared by the IDB Office of the Chief Economist, presents the perceptions of Latin American citizens and employers concerning the employment problem. It compares them to the conditions in the labor markets of the region.

The adoption of emergency employment and short-term training programs to provide income support to the population affected by the episodes of economic volatility since 1995 reveals the failure of the traditional, labor law-based income support mechanisms in the region. These emergency programs...

Between 2000 and 2013, Latin America has considerably reduced poverty (from 46.3% to 29.7% of the population). In this paper, we use synthetic panels to show that, despite progress, the region remains characterized by substantial vulnerability that also affects the rising middle-class. More...

Shelter is a basic need for human beings. As with food, humans need a constant supply of the services provided by a house to survive. However not everybody have access to adequate shelter, especially low income households in developing countries. This study reviews the housing conditions of...

This study analyzes the evolution of the housing sector and the public interventions in low-income housing in three countries (Argentina, Chile and Colombia) selected for the different approaches adopted by their governments to the solution of the problem. The report is divided in three parts....

The purpose of this paper is to describe the performance of the Venezuelan labor market in the period between 1982 and 1995, and to analyze its impact on the evolution of poverty. This period analyzed is a convulsed one, one within Venezuela that suffered from the consequences of both changes in...

This paper discusses poverty and unemployment in Argentina, beginning with the turbulent years since 1980. Argentina suffered a 25 percent reduction in per capita income, two bouts of hyperinflation and a sharp rise in poverty during the 1980s. In 1990, the Menem government began a profound...

This paper discusses the evolution of housing conditions in urban areas of Latin America and the Caribbean from 1995 to 2006 based on data from household surveys done in 18 countries that comprise 95 percent of the urban population of the region. The results indicate that, on average, the...

Results and analysis of a poll on the remittance senders (Mexico and Central America)