Tax policy is among the most common and relevant instruments in the toolkit of policy-makers when thinking about promoting growth, yet there is not compelling evidence regarding its effect in Latin American countries. Using a variety of approaches, we estimate the effects on growth of the most...

This paper empirically explores the effects of payroll taxes, value-added taxes and corporate income taxes on a variety of labor market outcomes such as employment, unemployment, informality, and wages. Using national-level data on labor variables for 15 Latin American countries, the results...

This report was commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank's Fiscal and Municipal Management Division of the Institutional Capacity and Finance Sector within the framework of the project Tax Expenditures: Reducing Abuse and Increasing Effectiveness. It tackles controversial questions...

This report was commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank's Fiscal and Municipal Management Division of the Institutional Capacity and Finance Sector within the framework of the project Tax Expenditures: Reducing Abuse and Increasing Effectiveness. It tackles controversial questions...

This paper discusses the reform of institutions of justice as a way to eradicate violence in society. The use of violence has long been the method by which numerous societies have resolved disputes. However, the resort to violence only tends to engender more violence. Democratic values and the...

This paper focuses on a rather unexplored dimension to date of the HIV/AIDS epidemic: the resulting stigma and discrimination and its impact on the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS programs. It presents a conceptual framework that explains the interplay between stigma, discrimination and human rights....

This report examines the resource needs for mounting a comprehensive HIV/AIDS program in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and provides information on estimated changes in the cost of selected prevention, treatment and care interventions. In addition, it gives an estimate of the annual...

Failure to register births and lack of legal identity are considered to have a direct effect on possibilities and opportunities for full participation in social, political, and economic life. In order to understand the characteristics, numbers, and location of the economically, culturally, and...

Analysis of the portfolio related to indigenous peoples in the context of the Indigenous Development Strategy (IDS) approved in 2006, shows that: (i) indigenous issues are less prevalent in Country Strategies from 2006 onward; (ii) the instrument most used to address indigenous issues is...

This paper discusses the reform of institutions of justice as a way to eradicate violence in society. The use of violence has long been the method by which numerous societies have resolved disputes. However, the resort to violence only tends to engender more violence. Democratic values and the...