People and their jobs: What could be more basic to a person's well being? Where people work determines how they live, how their families live, and how economies perform. The quantity and quality of jobs available has implications for individuals and countries alike. That is why the problems with...

Credit supplied by the banking sector is the most important funding source for firms and households in Latin America and the Caribbean. Unfortunately, credit is scarce, costly and volatile. Without deep and stable credit markets, the region will be hard pressed to achieve high and sustainable...

Much has been written recently about the problems for emerging markets that might result from a mismatch between foreign-currency denominated liabilities and assets (or income flows) denominated in local currency. In particular, several models, developed in the aftermath of financial crises of...

Using a new database on the currency composition of assets and liabilities, this paper explores the determinants and consequences of currency mismatches in Chilean non-financial firms. As in previous firm level studies for Chile, we find that in periods following a depreciation firms with higher...

Substantial attention has been paid in recent years to the risk of maturity mismatch in emerging markets. Although this risk is microeconomic in nature, the evidence advanced thus far has taken the form of macro correlations. This paper empirically evaluates this mechanism at the micro level by...

(Disponible en idioma inglés únicamente) En este trabajo se emplea una nueva base de datos de la composición cambiaria de activos y pasivos para analizar los factores determinantes y las consecuencias de los descalces cambiarios en empresas no financieras chilenas. Al igual que en estudios...

The paper presents a new database on sovereign debt in the Americas, describing the sources used and briefly discussing several methodological issues. The paper also highlights major trends in level and composition of public debt in the Americas, discussing debt dollarization in detail.

En este artículo, documentamos los cambios en la tasa de desempleo distinguiendo entre movimientos en la demanda y oferta de trabajo. Para ello, primero investigamos si existe evidencia de cambios en la elasticidad empleo producto. En segundo lugar, se analiza si el fuerte crecimiento de los...

A pesar de un crecimiento promedio del 2.7 %, entre el año 2000 y el año 2004, la tasa de desempleo promedio en Chile permaneció relativamente alta. La lenta respuesta del desempleo a la recuperación económica ha propiciado un intenso debate sobre las causas de este fenómeno. Este estudio...

Latin American economies are exposed to substantial external vulnerability. Domestic imbalances and terms of trade shocks are often exacerbated by sudden financial distress. This paper explores ways of overcoming external vulnerability, drawing lessons from a detailed comparison of the response...