This paper uses a model of intergenerational accounting to simulate the intergenerational distribution of oil wealth in Venezuela. Venezuelan oil production does not seem to follow an optimal extraction path. Nevertheless, this is true if we do not consider what the government does with the...

Many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are interested in diversifying their energy sources for energy security and in contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gases. Non-traditional renewable energy (NTRE) sources, which include wind, solar, geothermal and small-scale hydropower,...

Behavioral biases often lead to suboptimal decisions, a vulnerability that extends to policymakers who operate under conditions of fatigue, stress, and time constraints and with significant implications for public welfare. While behavioral economics offers strategies like default adjustments to...

Do creative industries have positive spillovers for the local economy in middle-income countries, for instance by attracting creative workers who benefit entrepreneurs and workers in other industries? Creative industries are considered highly innovative and productive and several studies in...

Citizens confront multiple challenges when attempting to access public services. This article focuses on an aspect yet unaddressed by existing literature on administrative burdens: the complexity of the written language used by government agencies in Latin America. It presents an impact...

Citizens confront multiple challenges when attempting to access public services. This article focuses on an aspect yet unaddressed by existing literature on administrative burdens: the complexity of the written language used by government agencies in Latin America. It presents an impact...

The Peruvian economy has exhibited remarkable growth in the past 20 years. Good tax and monetary policies, along with comprehensive structural adjustment, which has attracted substantial foreign investment, are regarded as the pillars of this success. Notwithstanding the advances experienced on...

This paper uses cost accounting to estimate some of the costs associated with criminal activity and violence in Uruguay. Among the costs being considered are those of security and crime prevention; justice; incarceration and rehabilitation of prisoners; stolen goods; health care and loss of life...

This paper surveys selected themes in the political economy of policymaking in Latin America, with an emphasis on recent research focusing on actual decision and implementation processes, and on the political institutions and state and social actors involved in those processes. In particular,...

This paper uses new data on fiscal transparency for a cross-section of countries; these data possess several advantages. First, the data are based on in-depth reports using a standardized methodology and protocol. Second, this study covers 82 countries, more than previous comparable studies....