This paper presents the main issues involved in estimating potential output. The objective is to describe the alternative methods and analyze their application and implications for growth forecasts and macroeconomic policy in Brazil. The text emphasizes the determinants of potential output under...

The paper studies the effects of the real exchange rate (RER) on capital accumulation in Mexico in the period since the late 1980s. By testing for the existence of potential asymmetries, the paper seeks to clarify some of the controversies surrounding the subject. It shows the RER’s long-run...

The economic history of Argentina presents one of the most dramatic examples of divergence in the modern era. What happened and why? This paper reviews the wide range of competing explanations in the literature and argues that, setting aside deeper social and political determinants, the various...

In the struggle between the forces of free trade and the restrictive influence of insularism the latter recently seems to have the upper hand. This is illustrated by the referendum of June 23, 2016 where the United Kingdom (UK) voted to leave the Europea+n Union (EU). In this paper we evaluate...

This paper empirically investigates the causal relationship between financial development and economic growth in Jamaica covering the period 1980-2012. The empirical results suggest there is bi-directional causality between financial development and economic growth in Jamaica. This empirical...

1985 saw the publication of Carlos Díaz-Alejandro's classic article, “Good-Bye Financial Repression, Hello Financial Crash” (1985). Writing in the wake of drastic financial blowups in the Southern Cone, Díaz-Alejandro nonetheless argued that “a believable alternative system could be...

There is a growing literature on nonlinear monetary policy in industrialized countries. These investigations have revealed that the reaction of central banks to economic variables depends on the level of such variables, confirming the nonlinearity of policy in the industrialized world....

El artículo examina las razones por las que la economía mexicana es una de las más gra¬vemente afectadas por la crisis financiera internacional. Para ello identifica los canales principales de transmisión de sus efectos de la crisis internacional y de qué forma inciden en las fortalezas y...

The emerging Latin American corporations come essentially from Brazil and Mexico. Their prime motivation lies in the acquisition of natural resources and the search for market openings. With the exception of Cemex and Embraer who aspire to be global players, the majority of the multilatinas are...

We examine the impact that financial development had on earnings inequality in Brazil in the 1980?s and 90?s. The empirical evidence, based on panel time series and time series data, shows that more broad access to financial and credit markets had a significant and robust effect in reducing...