Celebrated by academics, multilateral organizations, policy-makers and the media, Mexico's Progresa/Oportunidades conditional cash transfers program (CCT) is constantly used as a model of a successful anti-poverty program. Here I argue that the transformation of well-trained scholars into...

Poverty and wellbeing are multi-dimensional. Nobody questions that deprivations and achievements go beyond income. There is, however, sharp disagreement on whether the various dimensions of poverty and wellbeing can be aggregated into a single, multi-dimensional index in a meaningful way. Is...

Fiscal policy can change poverty and inequality substantially or slightly depending on the government's redistributive effort. We develop a diagnostic framework to assess how aligned fiscal policies are with supporting a minimum living standard and human capital accumulation, as well as with...

Conventional wisdom states that fiscal policy redistributes little in Latin America. Lower tax revenues and – above all – lower and less progressive transfers have been identified as the main cause. Existing studies show that, while in Europe the distribution of all transfers combined (cash...

This discussusion paper deciphers how poverty and income distribution were affected by economic shocks in the Latin American region. Empirical evidence suggests that macroeconomic shocks can result in substantial increases in inequality and poverty. Latin America has experienced two major crises...

En el presente documento se ofrece una visión general de la forma en que las actividades crediticias y no crediticias del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo pueden contribuir a reducir la pobreza en América Latina y el Caribe, y se hacen sugerencias para las actividades futuras del Banco en...

Poverty and well-being are multidimensional. Nobody questions that deprivations and achievements go beyond income. There is, however, sharp disagreement on whether the various dimensions of poverty and well-being can be aggregated into a single, multidimensional index in a meaningful way. Is...

Este trabajo fue preparado para el proyecto "Los determinantes de la pobreza en América Latina" patrocinado por el PNUD, el BID y la CEPAL. El trabajo presenta un perfil de la evolución económica, pobreza y desigualdad en México durante las últimas décadas, de 1950-1995. Se incluyen...