This semiannual report produced by the Office of the Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) of the World Bank - analyzes the economic and financial performance of LAC in light of the commodity price cycle. Chapter 1 covers short-term prospects, identifies the external factors...

Este reporte explora la restructuracion de la economia global ocasionada por el ascenso del Sur y destaca la transformacion en los patrones de integracion global de ALC y las consecuencias de esta transformacion en la dinamica del desarrollo de la region. En particular, se analiza de forma...

In this study, the authors analyze where we stand and where we are heading on capital market development. More specifically, this study has three main goals. First, the authors take stock of the state and evolution of Latin American capital markets and related reforms, over time and relative to...

This report, produced by the Office of the Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) of the World Bank, examines LAC's challenges as the global economy settles to an equilibrium with lower growth and lower commodity prices. Chapter 1 gives an overview of the world economy and how...

Este informe semestral, producido por la Oficina del Economista Jefe para America Latina y el Caribe del Banco Mundial, examina los retos a los que America Latina y el Caribe (LAC por sus siglas en ingles, Latin America and the Caribbean) se enfrentan en el corto y medio plazo conforme pierden...

Durante las decadas de 1980 y 1990, el sector financiero constituyo el talon de Aquiles del desarrollo economico en America Latina y el Caribe (ALC). Desde entonces, el sector ha crecido y se ha profundizado, volviendose mas integrado y competitivo, con nuevos actores, mercados e instrumentos y...

Este informe semestral - un producto de la oficina del Economista Jefe para America Latina y el Caribe (LAC) del Banco Mundial-examina los desafios de corto y mediano plazo a los que se enfrenta LAC, a medida que los factores externos que fueron decisivos en el buen desempeno de la region en la...

This paper analyzes the bright and dark sides of the financial development process through the lenses of the four fundamental frictions to which agents are exposed-information asymmetry, enforcement, collective action, and collective cognition. Financial development is shaped by the efforts of...

This paper discusses the theoretical arguments in favor of and against economic globalization and, with a view to ascertaining whether Latin America may be able to capture the globalization upside, examines the trends and salient features of Latin America's globalization as compared with that of...

The "conventional wisdom" in academic and policy circles argues that, while large and foreign banks are generally not interested in serving SMEs, small and niche banks have an advantage in doing so because they can overcome SME opaqueness through relationship lending. This paper shows that there...