High government debts, weak economic growth, vulnerability to external shocks and the design of sound fiscal consolidation strategies are among the most critical issues that some of the Caribbean countries have currently to deal with. Stabilization programs may harm economic growth but, under...

This paper contributes to the analysis of the Caribbean's growth performance by setting out a framework for benchmarking indicators of key micro drivers and related structural policies that help explain differentials in productivity and real GDP per capita across the region, and relative to...

A paper commissioned by the IDB sees trade openness to generate economic growth and help reduce poverty. The study, written by aColumbia University economics professor Xavier Sala-i-Martin, takes a close look at the impact of regional trade agreements, finding benefits to outweigh the potential...

In this paper we argue that recent trade policy in Mexico, despite some of its accomplishments in boosting Mexican exports over the last decade, might have distracted the country's attention from looking at the root causes that underlie Mexico's mixed manufacturing performance.

This paper investigates the impact of cross-border road infrastructure on trade and foreign direct investment in the Greater Mekong Subregion using panel data from 1981 to 2003. Empirical analysis based on a gravity-model approach suggests that the development of cross-border road infrastructure...

Understanding the complex relations between trade integration and poverty reduction is now a priority for Latin American policymakers. The chapters of this book, penned by eminent authors with a long-standing record in the field, represent the current state of knowledge about trade and poverty...

This book analyzes the role of trade as a central pillar of the structural reform process and a bridge to capturing the dynamic development forces of an increasingly globalized world economy.

This book assesses the impact and design of optimal strategies to implement existing agreements. It deals with issues such as removing the remaining barriers to trade, improving the institutional, regional, and global trade architecture, and promoting convergence and accumulation among the...

This paper outlines the steps that the Government of Cyprus took to transform its tax system between 1990 and 2001 in order to prepare itself for admission into the European Union. Cyprus has many of the same economic features as the countries of the Caribbean and Central American regions. In...

A paper commissioned by the IDB sees trade openness to generate economic growth and help reduce poverty. The study, written by aColumbia University economics professor Xavier Sala-i-Martin, takes a close look at the impact of regional trade agreements, finding benefits to outweigh the potential...