The Bank has prepared a new set of strategies, presented in this volume, for the two overarching objectives established (Sustainable Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction and Promotion of Social Equity) and for each of the four priority areas highlighted in the Institutional Strategy...

Myrdal did not cover China in his Asian Drama. If he did, he would have been most likely pessimistic about China, as he was about other Asian countries in his book. However, China has achieved miraculous growth since the transition from a planned economy to a market economy at the end of 1978....

The 2000-2008 Country Program Evaluation (CPE) for Trinidad and Tobago (RE-353) was conducted by the Office of Evaluation and Oversight to inform the Board's discussion with IDB Management regarding future strategy for each country. It involved three weeks of missions to both Trinidad and...

This paper examines the macroeconomic policies and outcomes experienced by the Latin American economies during the period 1990-2010. Macroeconomic policies refer to exchange rates, monetary and aggregate fiscal policies, while macroeconomic outcomes, on the other hand, refer to the patterns of...

Since the 1970s, Chile has exhibited a highly skewed income distribution accompanied with strong fluctuations over time. Although income distribution worsened notably in the 1970s-80s, a significant improvement was recorded in the first half of the 1990s, resulting from better economic and...

We investigate the relevance of beta (β, absolute and conditional) and sigma (σ) convergence in the economies of the Common Monetary Area of Southern Africa and in the provinces of the Republic of South Africa using panel data, allowing an understanding of growth and inequality in the region....

This paper sums up the experience of a Brazilian cluster of small and medium enterprises in the Sinos Valley. It shows that cooperation amongst local enterprises strengthens their ability to compete globally and that business associations can play an important role in identifying the key...

The presentation gives a brief overview of the most important aspects of adjustment strategies in the ceramic tile cluster in Criciúma and the textiles and clothing cluster in Itajaí Valley, Brazil. It also addresses the question of why industrial district-like structures did not emerge in the...

This publication presents ten case studies to provide a sample of the diversity, innovation, and significance of the projects assisted by the Japanese Funds at the IDB. Among them are projects addressing pressing social issues such as violence and the prevention of HIV/AIDS, projects to improve...

This paper presents an integrated overview of the literature linking institutions, financial development and economic growth. From the large body of research on institutional development, the paper first selects those contributions that make it possible to study the role of institutional...