This paper brings together the main findings and policy implications of two recent World Bank regional reports on economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean: Araujo, Vostroknutova, Wacker and Clavijo, editions. (2016) and Araujo, Vostroknutova, Brueckner, Clavijo, and Wacker (2016). In...

Caribbean countries share a number of characteristics which make them vulnerable to external threats, including small populations, limited economies of scale, and undiversified economies. The COVID-19 pandemic through 2020has added to the severity of consequences for these countries' disaster...

This report provides guidance to policy and decision makers on holistic approaches to resilient services for water supply and sanitation (WSS) in the Caribbean, a high-risk region that struggles to manage natural disasters and other periodic shocks. WSS services are critical for societies...

Urban Planning is often touted as one of the key actions for achieving sustainable and resilient development, and it is seen as a key element for reducing disaster risks in urban areas. It is especially important for managing urban growth and increasing resilience in already built-up urban...

Natural hazards, including hurricanes, floods and landslides, are a common phenomenon in the Caribbean, affecting both residents and private companies. Researchers estimate probability of Caribbean country to be hit by a natural hazard as 14% in any given year, making it one of the most...

The Caribbean region is highly exposed to different types of shocks, some with devastating effects, ranging from climate change and disasters to external economic stresses and epidemics like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Most Caribbean economies are small and open, and reliant on tourism and...

The Caribbean region suffers major economic losses from natural hazards such as flooding due to storms, cyclones, extreme waves, winds and precipitation, coastal erosion, volcanic eruptions and landslides. Consequently, as typical at most small coastal states, when a disaster strikes, a large...

The private sector in the Caribbean is crucial for economic growth and job creation and economic resilience is thus heavily determined by the shock absorbing capacity of individual firms and households. As the definition of the private sector is generally broad and includes economic agents of...

In recent decades, hurricane frequency and intensity have increased in the Caribbean basin. From 2000 to 2012, more than 100 hurricanes impacted lives, infrastructure, gross domestic product, and natural environments along the coastal shorelines. Recent academic references mention that the dense...

Sustainable management of environment and natural resources is essential for the long-term and sustainable growth of key economic sectors, such as fisheries, forestry or tourism, across the Caribbean. In addition to being important generators of GDP and beneficial to the human well-being...