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Corruption in Latin America: A Way Forward

By David Lipton, Alejandro Werner, and S. Pelin Berkmen

September 28, 2017

Versions in Español (Spanish),  Português (Portuguese)

Sustained action on many fronts will be needed to push countries out of the corruption trap (photo: People Images/iStock). 

In our first blog of this two-part series, we noted that, despite recent progress, corruption in Latin America is still high. In this second blog, we look at measures to fight corruption that have worked well in other countries. Learning about these policies can provide insights to guide Latin America in the design of their anti-corruption strategies, even if the final shape of these policies will differ depending on country specifics. Continue reading “Corruption in Latin America: A Way Forward” »

By | September 28th, 2017|corruption, Economic research, Fiscal policy, Globalization, Government, International Monetary Fund, Investment, Latin America, Politics, South America, taxation|
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Corruption in Latin America: Taking Stock

By  David Lipton, Alejandro Werner, Carlos Gonçalves

September 21, 2017 

Versions in Español (Spanish)  Português (Portuguese)

Systemic corruption drains public resources and drags down economic growth (photo: People Images/iStock).

Corruption continues to make headlines in Latin America. From a scheme to shelter assets leaked by documents in Panama, to the Petrobras and Odebrecht scandals that have spread beyond Brazil, to eight former Mexican state governors facing charges or being convicted, the region has seen its share of economic and political fallout from corruption. Latin Americans are showing increasing signs of discontent and demanding that their governments tackle corruption more aggressively.

Continue reading “Corruption in Latin America: Taking Stock” »

By | September 21st, 2017|capital markets, commodities, Corporate Risk, corruption, developing countries, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Global Governance, Government, inclusive growth, International Monetary Fund, Investment, Latin America, Politics|
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A Big Step Forward for Bolstering Financial Inclusion

By David Marston, Era Dabla-Norris, and D. Filiz Unsal

(version in Español)

Economists are paying increasing attention to the link between financial inclusion—greater availability of and access to financial services—and economic development. In a new paper, we take a closer look at exactly how financial inclusion impacts a country’s economy and what policies are most effective in promoting it.

The new framework developed in this paper allows us to identify barriers to financial inclusion and see how lifting these barriers might affect a country’s output and level of inequality.  Because the more you know about what stands in the way of financial inclusion, the better you can be at designing policies that help foster it.

Continue reading “A Big Step Forward for Bolstering Financial Inclusion” »

By | January 28th, 2015|Advanced Economies, Africa, Asia, Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Financial Crisis, Financial regulation, Fiscal policy, growth, IMF, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, Low-income countries, Uncategorized|
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Policy Interest Rates in Latin America: Moving to Neutral?

Using our estimated neutral interest rates we find that current policy rates are close to their neutral level in several countries (Chile, Colombia, and Peru). For Brazil and Mexico we find that monetary policies remain stimulative (with actual interest rates below neutral). For other countries in the region our analysis suggests that Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Uruguay have lower interest rates than their neutral level. However, these results should be viewed with caution given data limitations and weaker monetary policy transmissions.

By | November 19th, 2012|Economic research, Emerging Markets, Employment, Español, Finance, growth, Inequality, Latin America, Low-income countries, Politics, Public debt|
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Regional Spillovers in South America: How “Systemic” is Brazil?

We quantify the spillovers from Brazil to other countries in South America. The results confirm that Brazil has a significant influence on Southern Cone countries, particularly on Mercosur partners (Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay), but not on the Andean economies. For the Southern Cone countries, spillovers from Brazil can take two forms: the transmission of shocks originating in Brazil and the amplification (through Brazil) of global shocks. These two factors explain an important share of the fluctuations in economy activity in the Southern Cone countries.

By | May 29th, 2012|Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Employment, Español, Finance, Globalization, growth, IMF, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, Investment, Latin America, Politics|
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