The Venezuelan experience in the 1980s is a particularly fertile ground for the analysis of negative shocks. Two large shocks took place under very different control regimes, thus highlighting the role the institutional setting plays in determining the response. Moreover, the experience can shed...

What are the reasons for the costs of Latin America's volatility? Because there is no consensus on these fundamental questions, there is no consensus on the appropriate policy response to macroeconomic volatility in Latin America, and other shock-prone countries. This paper provides new evidence...

This paper presents a growth diagnostic exercise for Peru. It notes that although Peru has recently enjoyed high rates of economic growth, this growth is actually a recovery from a significant and sustained growth collapse that began in the 1970s, caused by a decline in export earnings due to...

This paper provides empirical evidence for the importance of institutions in determining the outcome of crises on long-term growth. Once unobserved country-specific effects and other sources of endogeneity are accounted for, political institutions affect growth through their interaction with...

The Mexican oil boom was characterized by a period of high investment, followed by capital flight. The private sector and households responded to the 1977-1981 windfall by attaining high savings rates. On the other hand, the Mexican government, the proprietor of the state oil company and the...

The paper reviews the case for a strong multilateral response to the global crisis in emerging markets (EMs). It discusses modalities and feasibility of intervention and its associated risks, depending on country circumstances of fiscal space and liquidity needs. The specific role of...

This paper is part of the project "Explaining Economic Growth Performance" launched by the Global Development Network. The authors revisit the evidence on growth in Argentina, looking at aggregate data as well as national income data by sector. This paper's primary hypothesis is that government...

This presentation presents an analysis of the Inter-American Development Bank's Liquidity Program for Growth Sustainability, which was launched in October of 2008 to provide liquidity to LAC countries hit by subprime crisis spillovers. It addresses the macroeconomic impact the program had on...

This is the last version available of "Competitiveness and Growth in Argentina: Appropriability, Misallocation or Disengagement?". Argentina is an unfortunate example of vanished growth, as its per capita GDP in 2006 was barely 22% bigger than in 1974. During these past three decades it has...