This paper reviews the decline in income inequality that has taken place over 2002-2007 in most Latin American countries against the background of its steady increase over 1980-2002. The paper then analyzes the factors that could explain this trend reversal. It focuses in particular on favorable...

It has long been believed that commodity price variability causes problems for primary producing and dependent countries. This paper tests the effects of price uncertainty (volatility) on economic growth. The model is constructed using a yearly panel data for the ten biggest countries in South...

The “middle-income trap” is the phenomenon of hitherto rapidly growing economies stagnating at middle-income levels and failing to graduate into the ranks of high-income countries. In this study we examine the middle-income trap as a special case of growth slowdowns, which are identified as...

Staff Discussion Notes showcase the latest policy-related analysis and research being developed by individual IMF staff and are published to elicit comment and to further debate. These papers are generally brief and written in nontechnical language, and so are aimed at a broad audience...

Remittances are a transfer from mostly developed countries to less developed countries by the workers that have migrated for work. For some countries the magnitude is huge. In the western hemisphere the remittances flow mostly from the USA to Latin countries. Theoretically, the flow of...