Bolivia faces high levels of persistent poverty and inequality. In 2002, 65 percent of the population was living in poverty and, of that, nearly 40 percent in extreme poverty. There was a decline in poverty in the mid-1990s, however, the rate today remains close to the level of the early 1990s....

This book presents qualitative and quantitative analyses on Bolivia's informal sector, the reasons why firms are informal, and the impact of normalization on their profitability. The analysis finds that the impact of tax registration on profitability depends on firm size and the ability to issue...

Bolivia's informal economic sector is the largest in Latin America, and women-owned businesses tend to be overrepresented in the informal sector and to be less profitable than firms in the formal sector. This study seeks to better understand gender-based differences in firms' tendencies toward...

Malnutrition is crippling Bolivia, and the country must now face the political, and bureaucratic failure in addressing malnutrition. This study defines the nature, and extent of the malnutrition problem in the country, identifies the underlying reasons for the failed response, and outlines...