This semiannual report examines the short and medium-term challenges for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) as the external factors that were instrumental in the region???s recent performance recede. In particular, we address the role of the exchange rate as a counter-cyclical policy tool to...

This paper analyzes competition in the retail banking markets in Latin America. Retail banking services, that is banking products and services for consumers and small businesses, including deposit accounts and related services such as ATMs, direct debit and credit transfers, and credit lines,...

This book proposes a renewal of 'Open Regionalism' in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) aimed at achieving the region's goals of high growth with stability. The LAC region experienced a growth spurt with equity during the first decade of the 21st Century. It is well understood that an...

Policy makers in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) often complain that poor fiscal performance in their countries is a result of a high degree of spending rigidity. Despite being a common complaint, the issue has remained largely ignored by the literature because of the lack of adequate...

Social safety nets (SSNs) are increasingly relevant to helping households prepare, cope, and adapt to shocks in a climate of increased frequency and severity of disasters. Disasters can impact the income, consumption, and human capital of households. While disasters caused by natural hazards can...

Why are carefully designed, sensible policies too often not adopted or implemented? When they are, why do they often fail to generate development outcomes such as security, growth, and equity? And why do some bad policies endure? World Development Report 2017: Governance and the Law addresses...

The Annual Report is prepared by the Executive Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA)--collectively known as the World Bank--in accordance with the by-laws of the two institutions. The President of the...

More than four years after the global financial crisis hit, high-income countries struggle to restructure their economies and regain fiscal sustainability. Developing countries, where growth is 1-2 percentage points below what it was during the pre-crisis period, have been affected by the...