There is widespread concern that recent increases in international food prices may have significant effects on domestic food prices and inflation. This note assesses the impact of the recent food price shock on food, non-food and consumer inflation in the countries of Latin American and the...

This paper examines how social exclusion contributes to violence in communities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Residents in socially excluded communities cannot depend on those institutions designed to protect them, and violence becomes an instrument to achieve certain outcomes,...

This paper analyzes the evolution of gender differences in school attendance and attainment in Latin America and the Caribbean, for both adults who left the educational system and children in school. For individuals 21 years old and above the paper uses a cohort analysis of school attainment....

An examination of several case studies in the region suggests that the ability to sustain a credible monetary policy depends on how vulnerable countries are to the impacts of sudden stops. In this respect, four aspects are of vital importance to ameliorate such impacts. Opening up the economy so...

According to recent research, external factors and political governance considerations are key determinants of capital flows in Latin America. We postulate that corporate governance is a crucial determinant as well. We show that while the region is characterized by relatively low levels of...

While Mexico has potential to grow rapidly, its economic growth has remained low for the past three decades. There is no consensus on the countrys development path or on how to achieve specific goals. Since the policy debate remains ideological and lacks pragmatism, productive development...

This paper combines development and growth accounting exercises with economic theory to estimate the relative importance of total factor productivity and the accumulation of factors of production in the economic development performance of Latin America. The region's development performance is...