In the great majority of Latin American countries in the 2000s, economic growth took place and brought about improvements in almost all labour market indicators and consequent reductions in poverty rates. Across countries, economic growth was not all that mattered; external factors were...

During the 2000s Chile achieved rapid economic growth and improved most labour market indicators: the unemployment rate fell; the mix of employment by occupational position and sector improved; the educational level of the employed population, the percentage of registered workers, and labour...

During the 2000s, El Salvador experienced slow economic growth for Latin American standards. The country underwent a recession during the international crisis of 2008, but returned to pre-recession output level in 2011. Changes in labour market conditions were mixed. The unemployment rate fell,...

The Uruguayan story was one of declines in the early years of the 2000s in most indicators, followed by improvements in all of them. Economic growth was negative in the early years due to a severe economic crisis, positive and rapid thereafter except during the international crisis of 2008. Most...

This paper begins by noting that Uganda has been a public sector reform leader in Africa. It has pursued reforms actively and consistently for three decades now, and has produced many laws, processes and structures that are 'best in class' in Africa (and beyond). The problem is that many of the...

This paper provides a broad picture of national, regional and global trends of inequality in length of life over the period 1950-2015. We use data on life tables from World Population Prospects to develop a comprehensive database of a battery of inequality measures for 201 countries at five-year...

This paper presents the first global and regional estimates of polarization and bipolarization spanning the period 1960-2020. The study relies on group data to implement a flexible parametric model to obtain the global income distribution and polarization estimates. The study introduces a...

Monitoring health is key for identifying priorities in public health planning and improving healthcare services. Life expectancy has conventionally been regarded as a valuable indicator to compare the health status of different populations. However, this measure is simply the mean of the...

Argentina experienced a decline in the early years of the 2000s, from 2000 to 2002, in GDP and in most labour market indicators, followed by improvements in nearly all of them, tracing out a U-shaped pattern. The international crisis of 2008 impacted negatively only on the unemployment rate and...

Between 2000 and 2013, Colombia experienced rapid economic growth. The country suffered a slowdown at the beginning of the period and during the international crisis of 2008, but during both slowdowns, the growth rate never turned negative. Most labour market indicators improved and followed the...