With less than 10 years to go, much still remains to be done in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The present study analyzes the feasibility of reaching the goals in 18 countries in Latin American and Caribbean. The analysis is based on a comparative economy-wide model...

One of the central concerns in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has been the reduction of poverty and inequality so prevalent in the continent. Using large world samples, the literature has found that financial development increases economic growth, increases the income of the poor, and...

This paper investigates the direct and the indirect roles of migrant transfers in the saving behaviors of the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries during the period 1997-2018. Using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) panel estimation technique, the results based on the Pooled Mean...

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been successful in providing credit to millions of low-income borrowers in groups previously excluded from formal financial services, but they often charge interest rates that many claim are excessive. We examine microfinance interest rates and their...

This paper examines the state of financial development in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region as well as potential growth and stability implications from further development. The analysis suggests that access to financial institutions has expanded notably in the past decade, and the...

Central Bank participants at the BIS 2008 Open Economies Meeting in Punta del Este, Uruguay, discussed trends in capital flows since 2003 and their monetary and financial stability implications. Capital flows appear to be more benign today than in the past, partly because of a greater share of...

Within a theoretical framework, the author analyzes the effects that both workers' remittances and financial intermediation have on economic growth. It is found, among other things, that remittances can have significant positive long-run effects on growth. The author confronts the implications...

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) as a member of World Bank Group is the largest multilateral source of loan and equity financing for private sector projects in developing countries. Particular focus of International Finance Corporation is to promote economic development by encouraging...

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of current practice in microfinance guarantees, highlighting some of the lessons learned to date and issues to be addressed in the future. The paper?s annexes provide a partial inventory of guarantee funds operating in Latin America and the...