bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
La economía del cambio climático en el Perú: Impactos en el sector minero
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank,   Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
Published: March 2024

El sector minero es uno de los sectores más importantes de la economía peruana. Genera empleo e ingresos en actividades conexas debido al efecto multiplicador que induce en la economía nacional. Sin embargo este sector es el que más conflictos sociales genera, siendo las disputas por el consumo hídrico y la contaminación ambiental que generan sus operaciones. Dada la importancia de este sector en la económica peruana, es de esperar que elimpacto del cambio climático sea significativo a nivel macroeconómico. Se espera que una menor disponibilidad del recurso hídrico presione a las empresas mineras a incurrir en mayores costos. Por ende, este estudio analiza el efecto que tendrá esta disponibilidad sobre los costos de la actividad minera. El impacto económico es estimado como la variación en los niveles de extracción con/sin cambio climático, valorado por el precio sombra. Los resultados sugieren que los costos del cambio climático sobre el sector no son significativos en comparación al ingreso sectorial. Sin embargo, una significativa merma en el caudal pudiera reducir la disponibilidad hídrica para fines mineros. Es de esperar que el sector minero obtenga cierta ventaja, debido a que la mayor parte de los modelos usados en este estudio sugieren superávit hídrico para el grueso de las cuencas mineras.
Microscopio global 2015: Análisis del entorno para la inclusión financiera
Authors:   Economist Intelligence Unit,   Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
Published: March 2024

El Microscopio global 2015: Análisis del entorno para la inclusión financiera, anteriormente conocido con el nombre de Microscopio global sobre el entorno de negocios para las microfinanzas, evalúa el entorno normativo para la inclusión financiera con base en 12 indicadores en 55 países. El Microscopio fue elaborado originalmente para los países de la región de América Latina y el Caribe en 2007 y fue ampliado hasta convertirlo en un estudio mundial en 2009. La mayor parte de la investigación que se empleó para este informe, que incluye entrevistas y análisis documental, se llevó a cabo entre junio y septiembre de 2015. Este trabajo contó con el apoyo del Fondo Multilateral de Inversiones (FOMIN) miembro Grupo del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID), CAF Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina; el Centro para la Inclusión Financiera en Acción y la Fundación MetLife. Los puntos de vista y las opiniones expresadas en esta publicación son las de The Economist Intelligence Unit y no necesariamente reflejan la posición oficial del FOMIN, de CAF, del Centro para la Inclusión Financiera ni de la Fundación MetLife.
Good Practices for the Collection of Biodiversity Baseline Data
Authors: Gullison Ted , Meyer Mike , Hardner Jared J. , Anstee Stuart
Published: March 2024

This document is produced for corporations, lenders, regulators, and others involved in conducting Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs). It summarizes "good practices" for biodiversity baseline studies that support biodiversity-inclusive impact assessment and management planning in ESIAs. This document is based on a review and synthesis of various reports and guidance documents from multi-lateral financing institutions (MFIs), government regulators, industry associations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). It is not intended to replace ESIA guidance, but rather to supplement it where biodiversity is not adequately covered. This document is a companion to Good Practices for Biodiversity-Inclusive Impact Assessment and Management Planning.
Cybersecurity: Are We Ready in Latin America and the Caribbean?
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank,   Organization of American States
Published: March 2024

The manner in which nation states and regions address cybersecurity capacity is essential for effective, efficient, and sustainable cybersecurity. The 2016 Cybersecurity Report is the result of the collaboration between the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Organization of American States (OAS), and the Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre (GCSCC) at the University of Oxford. The report presents a complete picture and update on the status of cybersecurity (risks, challenges, and opportunities) of Latin America and the Caribbean countries. The first section consists of a series of essays on cybersecurity trends in the region contributed by internationally recognized experts in the field. The second examines the "cyber maturity" of each country through the Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model (CMM), which approaches cybersecurity considerations through five dimensions of capacity and evaluates them along five maturity stages for each of its 49 indicators. The CMM is the first of its kind in terms of the breadth and depth in each aspect of cybersecurity capacity. It is built on a foundation of multi-stakeholder consultation and respect for human rights, carefully balancing the need for security to enable economic growth and sustainability while respecting the right of freedom of expression and the right to privacy.
Making Cities Safer: Citizen Security Innovations from Latin America
Authors: Wang Ruddy , Alvarado Nathalie , Muggah Robert , De Carvalho Ilona Szabó , Marmolejo Lina
Published: March 2024

Cities are where the policy and practice of citizen security are determined. Although national and subnational strategies are essential to scaling-up crime prevention, cities are where they are put into practice. Because of the way they bring opportunities and risks into focus, cities are natural laboratories of policy innovation to prevent and reduce violence. Some of the most remarkable progress in homicide reduction, crime prevention and public safety in recent decades has occurred in large and medium-sized cities, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean. This report explores the evidence of what works, and what does not, when it comes to promoting citizen security in Latin American and Caribbean cities. While not exhaustive, the report features a range of positive and less positive experiences of 10 municipalities and metropolitan areas across the region. The goal is to highlight the change in approach from hardline law and order approaches to ones that emphasize multi-sector and preventive measures. The structure of the report is straightforward. Each case study includes a broad overview of the context and problem, a description of the intervention and how it was implemented, and some reflections on the outcomes and impacts.
Latin America and the Caribbean 2030: Future Scenarios
Authors: Engelke Peter , Bohl David , Saldarriaga Jiménez Andrea , Marczak Jason
Published: March 2024

Strategic foresight is critical to moving a country or region in the right direction. Leaders nearly everywhere in the world are overwhelmed by the crush of events, focusing their attention on the present rather than thelong term. Latin America and the Caribbean is no different. But complacency in thinking and planning for the future can no longer be the status quo. At a moment of profound regional and global transformation, the time is now to seize on policy directions that are most likely to take the region in the right direction. While Latin America and the Caribbean has many challenges, through foresight and strategy it could boost its position in the world -as Asia has done already. This publication makes the case for doing just that. Latin America has made incredible economic and political progress over the past decade. The prolonged commodity boom in the 2000s fueled higher growth rates than the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average and generated a dramatic drop in the poverty rate and a huge explosion of the middle class. Today, 288 million, or one in three people, are considered middle class. At the same time, with a few notable exceptions, democratic institutions are stronger, with universal suffrage and regular elections now largely the norm. The key question for the future is whether the region can maintain momentum, particularly with China's slowing growth. The end of the commodity boom exposed underlying structural problems in Latin America and the Caribbean. Fiscal and institutional concerns, as well as other social and economic questions, were laid bare. Not only do the next nearly fifteen years require us to solve lingering issues that remain from the mid-teens, but a new direction must be charted so the region can maximize its inherent advantages and best compete in a rapidly changing world.
Financial Institutions and the Remittances Market in the Dominican Republic
Authors: Suki Lenora
Published: March 2024

This study focuses on the financial channels and institutions that determine the structure and cost of remittances between the US and the Dominican Republic, where commercial banks have yet to aggressively enter the remittance market.
Improving Access to the U.S. Banking System Among Recent Latin American Immigrants
Authors: Bair Sheila C.
Published: March 2024

US banks and credit unions are determined to have Latin American immigrants as important and permanent members of their customer base. Community groups, government, and US business interests are aligning through the remittance market to the benefit of Latin American immigrants and their families.
Sending Money Home: Worldwide Remittance Flows to Developing Countries
Authors:   International Fund for Agricultural Development,   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

Remittances, the portion of migrant workers' earnings sent back home to their families, have been a critical means of financial support for generations. But, for the most part, these flows have historically been -hidden in plain view-, often uncounted and even ignored. All that is now changing -as the scale of migration increases, the corresponding growth in remittances is gaining widespread attention. This report has been elaborated based on a study commissioned by IFAD to the Inter-American Dialogue in collaboration with the Multilateral Investment Fund of the IDB and contributions from the European Union, Government of Spain, Government of Luxembourg, CGAP and UNCDF.
Clusters, Territorial Competitiveness, Poverty and Social Sector Integration
Authors: Nadvi Khalid
Published: March 2024

Power Point presentation: Clusters, Territorial Competitiveness, Poverty and Social Sector Integration
Competitiveness of Small Enterprises: Clusters, Business Environment and Local Development
Authors: Romis Monica
Published: March 2024

This summary of the presentations and discussions of the participants in the meeting "Competitiveness of Small Enterprises: Clusters, Business Environment and Local Development", aims to find the common thread that ties the themes of the presentations together.
Survey of Latin American Immigrants in the United States
Authors:   Bendixen and Amandi,   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

Results and analysis of a poll of major remittance senders and a geographic map of the origin of remittances by state in the continental United States.
Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Tax Benefits
Authors: Roca Jerónimo
Published: March 2024

This paper analyzes the role of fiscal incentives in developing countries and provides a theoretical evaluation of benefits and costs of certain taxes. It also reviews the most notable characteristics of tax incentives frequently granted in Latin America are revised. Special attention is paid to their effectiveness, administration costs, and distortions in allocating resources.
SME Metasys: A Business Management System for SMEs
Authors: Aguiar Campos Sérgio Vale
Published: March 2024

SME Metasys: A Business Management System for SMEs
Trade and Regionalism: The Links with Development
Authors: Page Sheila
Published: March 2024

Neither regional integration nor trade is a welfare or policy objective in itself. If countries are pursuing policies to promote them, this is as a means to improve their welfare. The ultimate objective need not be under a purely economic definition: there is a long history of seeing integration through trade as a way of preventing conflict among countries.
Chile Solidario System: Comprehensive Social Protection for the Country's Poorest 225,000 Families
Authors:   Government of Chile
Published: March 2024

This presentation was commissioned by the Poverty Reduction and Social Protection Network of the Regional Policy Dialogue for the IV Hemispheric Meeting celebrated on November 11th and 12th, 2002. The country¿s sustained growth from the mid ¿80s up until 1998 made a steady reduction of poverty and indigence possible because of the impact that economic growth had on the labor market. Unemployment rates since 1998 have been significantly higher than those observed before the ¿90s, with the result that the decline in poverty rates has slowed somewhat and the incidence of indigence has risen slightly. Between 1996 and 2000 poverty declined from 23.2% to 20.6%, while indigence rose slightly from 5.6% to 5.7%.
Information and Progress: An Analysis of What is Happening in the Caribbean with Information, Decision-Making and Progress in Education
Authors: Fernández Jorge
Published: March 2024

This presentation was commissioned by the Education Network of the Regional Policy Dialogue for the VIII Hemispheric Meeting celebrated on November 7th and 8th, 2005.
Decision Making and Information
Authors: Kállan Adiel K.
Published: March 2024

This presentation was commissioned by the Education Network of the Regional Policy Dialogue for the Caribbean Subregional Meeting celebrated on September 15th and 16th, 2005 in Barbados. It focuses on the education decision-making process and and information systems in Suriname.
The 1 to 1 Model: Exploring its Potential in a Rural One-Teacher Costa Rican School
Authors: Fonseca Clotilde
Published: March 2024

Esta presentación fue comisionada por la Red de Educación del Diálogo Regional de Política para la IX Reunión Hemisférica celebrada entre los días 8 y 10 de noviembre de 2006.
Case Study: Algarve SCUT - Monoline Insured Shadow Toll Motorway
Authors: Antunes Pedro Eiras
Published: March 2024

Presentation dictated during the event "Experiencias de Provisión y Financiamiento de Infraestructura bajo Alianzas Publico-Privadas", held at the Inter-American Development Bank, Washington D.C., USA, December 8-9, 2005. It describes de project in Portugal involving the design, construction/widening, O&M, and financing (DBFO) over 30 years of 129 Km of motorway and associated infrastructure along the Algarve Coast, from Castro Marim (near the Guadiana River) to the city of Lagos in the West.
"Ingredients" in good PPPs
Authors: Barragán Jaime
Published: March 2024

Presentation delivered during the event "Experiencias de Provisión y Financiamiento de Infraestructura bajo Asociaciones Publico-Privadas", held in the Inter-American Development Bank headquarters, Washington D.C., December 8-9, 2005. It outlines the "ingredients" that are needed in order to develop good and effective Public Private Partnerships. It describes the typical process of project financing, what lenders do not like, the role of the public sector, and lessons learnt from past experiences.
Aid for Trade
Authors: Uribe Claudia
Published: March 2024

This presentation was commissioned by the Trade and Integration Network of the Regional Policy Dialogue for the 7th Hemispheric Meeting held on September 11th and 12th, 2006. This presentation discusses the creation of a task force to provide recommendations on how to operationalize Aid for Trade. The author is Claudia Uribe, the Colombian ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Economic Instruments in Water Management: Global Experience and Relevance for Latin American and Caribbean Countries
Authors: Pielen Britta , Kraemer R. Andreas
Published: March 2024

This presentation was commissioned by the Environment Network of the Regional Policy Dialogue for the 2nd Hemispheric Meeting celebrated on February 25th and 26th, 2003. This presentation discusses functions and typology of economic instruments in water management. This presentation also discusses the new European Water Framework Directive, as well as European Union (EU) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) experience, as it pertains to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Safety Nets for Protecting the Poor: What Can We Learn from International Experience?
Authors: Subbarao K.
Published: March 2024

This presentation discusses universal food subsidies and cash transfers as a tool to reduce poverty in the communities of Uzbekistan and Mexico. In addition, the relation between public works programs and program wage, minimum wage, and market wage are discussed with specific examples from Africa, Chile, and India. It was presented in the Poverty Reduction and Social Protection Network of the Regional Policy Dialogue at the Preparatory Meeting celebrated on October 19th and 20th, 2000 in Washington, D.C
Regional Policy Dialogue Disaster Network
Authors: Arensberg Walter
Published: March 2024

This presentation discusses the creation of the IDB Disaster Network and gives a background on disaster risk management and finance, including a brief description of the various mechanisms available for risk transfer and finance. In addition, this report covers the various IDB activities in the field of natural disaster management, which were implemented as part of the Bank's Action Plan to reduce the impact of disasters. This document was presented by the Natural Disaster Network of the Regional Policy Dialogue for the First Hemispheric Meeting held on November 15th and 16th, 2001.
The OECD/World Bank Budget Database: The Current Database and Plans for the Future
Authors: Anderson Barry
Published: March 2024

This presentation discusses the contents of the current OECD/World Bank Database which consists of the following parts: 1) General Information; 2) Formulation;3) Budget Execution; 4) Accounting, Control & Monitoring Systems; 5) Budget Documentation & Performance Management; 6) Fiscal Relations Among Levels of Government; 7) Special Relationships/Issues. Also discussed are changes planned for the update of the database and next steps. This document was presented by the Public Management and Transparency Network of the Regional Policy Dialogue for the 6th Hemispheric Meeting held on May 23rd and 24th, 2005.
Water Charge Instruments for Environmental Management in Latin America: From Theoretical to Practical Issues: Conclusions and Recommendations
Authors: Seroa da Motta Ronaldo
Published: March 2024

This presentation discusses conclusions of the policy phase and shows a new approach to plan and decentralize water management to accommodate multiple conflicting uses and excess use of water above assimilative and carrying capacities. The design phase and implementation phase are discussed in detail, as well as recommendations for water management policy frameworks. This document was presented by the Environment Network of the Regional Policy Dialogue for the 2nd Hemispheric Meeting held on February 25th and 26th, 2003.
Off-Budget Operations
Authors: Jul Ana María
Published: March 2024

This presentation was commissioned by the Public Management and Transparency Network of the Regional Policy Dialogue for the 7th Hemispheric Meeting celebrated on May 8th and 9th, 2006. The purpose of the study was to assess the planning, implementation, programming, budgeting and evaluation of extra-budgetary and tax expenditures in four countries in the region, and propose recommendations if necessary. The countries chosen were Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Mexico, with Mexico being the country in charge of coordinating the study. Over the past few years, countries have recognized the need to tighten the rules which regulate off-budget operations. Brazil, Chile, and Mexico have made important progress in regularizing these operations, while Ecuador shows less progress experiencing some backpedaling as a result of the 1999-2000 economic crisis and political instability.
Responding to Climate Change: A Proposed Framework for Action
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

For the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean to respond effectively to the Climate Change challenge, they need to be able to understand what the impacts of Climate Change may be for each country and the extent of each country's contribution to the problem before they can define and implement effective strategies to mitigate and adapt to Climate Change. This discussion paper speaks to the contribution of human activities on global warming, the contribution of the region on greenhouse gas emissions, and the potential impact of climate change on development. A framework for regional action is presented including the The United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC), The Conference of the Parties (COP) Framework and the Kyoto Protocol, and the response of the LAC region to the climate framework. These frameworks create discussions in which negotiations can take place among nations about alternative strategies for addressing Climate Change
Issues in Indigenous Poverty and Development
Authors: Plant Roger
Published: March 2024

The first part of this discussion paper attempts, within the inevitable data limitations, to present some picture of patterns of indigenous poverty over time. In addition, the first section examines some of the historical determinants that can explain the disproportionate poverty confronting Latin America's indigenous peoples today and provides an overview of diverse economic and survival strategies of indigenous peoples in Latin America today. The second section of the paper is concerned with measures to combat indigenous poverty through the policies and programs of governments and international actors including the IDB. As will be seen, there has been a tremendous growth in the attention given to issues of indigenous poverty and development over the past decade. Rather than a narrative account of policies and programs, the paper aims mainly to identify the main challenges and dilemmas that are now emerging.
Responding to Global Pressure: The Role of Private Partnership and Public Agencies in the Sinos Valley, Brazil
Authors: Schmitz Hubert
Published: March 2024

This paper sums up the experience of a Brazilian cluster of small and medium enterprises in the Sinos Valley. It shows that cooperation amongst local enterprises strengthens their ability to compete globally and that business associations can play an important role in identifying the key problems and proposing solutions. This paper was prepared for the Inter-American Development Bank's conference, "Building a Modern and Effective Business Development Services Industry in Latin America and the Caribbean", held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on March 3rd-5th, 1999.
Recouping Infrastructure Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean: Selected Papers from the 2004 IDB Infrastructure Conference Series
Authors: Chong Alberto E. ,   Analistas Financieros Internacionales, Percoco Marco , Harris Stephen , Guasch José Luis , Cohen Remy , Benavides Juan , Strong John S. , Vives Antonio
Published: March 2024

The 2004 IDB Infrastructure Conference Series included four major events that took place in Madrid (January 22-23), Washington, D.C. (February 19-20), Lima (March 27, during the Bank's Annual Meeting); and Tokyo (May 13). These events brought together leading specialists and stakeholders including established firms and potential investors in Latin America's infrastructure, representatives of academia and multilateral financial institutions; and banking, industry, and legal experts. Five papers discussed during the conference series are included in this selection because they help depict overall infrastructure investment issues in the region. The papers, which are preceded by an overview of general lessons and challenges, address themes such as the mismatch between public perception and the gains from privatization in Latin America; innovative financial structures; investor perceptions of infrastructure risk; the potential of public-private partnerships; and the fiscal dimension of infrastructure investment.
Development Connections: Unveiling the Impact of New Information Technologies
Authors: Lora Eduardo
Published: March 2024

This presentation, made during the event Development Connections Conference in July 2011 in Kingston, Jamaica asks how well investments in information and communication technology (ICT) work to promote social development, and how far behind Latin America is in terms of access to PCs, the Internet, and mobile devices. It presents the main findings of a study which evaluated 50 ICT projects all over Latin America and highlights three successful projects in Bolivia and Colombia, as well as lessons learned.
ASEAN Open Skies and Its Implications on Airport Development Strategy in Malaysia: Comments
Authors: Findlay Christopher
Published: March 2024

This presentation comments on Tham Siew Yean's paper "ASEAN Open Skies and its Implications on Airport Development Strategy" in Malaysia. It comprises a review of the topics, questions, and analysis in the paper. The presentation puts forward arguments on the two main questions of the paper, namely, the implication of open skies in ASEAN on airport development and of implementing a hub strategy policy. It was presented at the Latin America/Caribbean and Asia/Pacific Economics and Business Association (LAEBA)'s 4th Annual Meeting, held in Lima, Peru on June 17th, 2008.
Prospects for Regional Cooperation between LAC and Asia Pacific: Perspective from East Asia
Authors: Medalla Erlinda , Balboa Jenny
Published: March 2024

This presentation contains: 1) An overview of the evolving global economic architecture; 2) A background on Asian regionalism and factors for success; 3) Prospects for inter-regional cooperation between Asia Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean; and lastly, 4) A conclusion and recommendation to enhance partnership between the two regions. This presentation was presented at the 5th Annual Meeting of the Latin America/Caribbean and Asia/Pacific Economics and Business Association held in Singapore on July 15th, 2009.
Asia's Infrastructure, Trade Costs and Regional Cooperation
Authors: Brooks Douglas H.
Published: March 2024

This presentation discusses topics of trade dynamics within developing Asia. It begins describing the context of Asian trade, particularly, intraregional trade and production fragmentation. Then, it covers what, and how large, are trade costs, and finally it addresses infrastructure's role in reducing trade costs. This document was prepared for the Latin America/Caribbean and Asia/Pacific Economics and Business Association (LAEBA)'s 4th Annual Meeting held in Lima, Peru on June 17th, 2008.
Meeting the MDG Water Target in Asia: The Role of regional co-operation
Authors: Anand Prathivadi Bhayankaram
Published: March 2024

This presentation focuses on access to water and sanitation related to the Millennium Development Goals in Asia. In most Asian countries 60 per cent or more of the population have access to water. The author explores a series of topics that include which is the relationship between income and access to water and to sanitation, which are the strategic imperatives, forecasts on progress with target 10 for countries in the Asian region, and financing issues including a review of aid and loans in Asia between 1990 and 2002. Finally, regional co-operation opportunities are identified. This presentation was created for the 2006 LAEBA Third Annual Meeting, in Seoul, Korea, on November 16-17, 2006.
Regional Integration in LAC
Authors: Estevadeordal Antoni
Published: March 2024

This presentation discusses global regionalism in LAC, taking different perspectives to understand integration. It also deals with integration strategies in a changing environment and how to recalibrate the world trading system. Lastly, it draws a series of conclusions for emerging global and regional dynamics. This presentation was presented at the Latin America/Caribbean and Asia/Pacific Economics and Business Association (LAEBA)'s 5th Annual Meeting held in Singapore on July 15th, 2009.
Towards an Urban Quality of Life Index: Basic Theory & Econometric Methods
Authors: van Praag Bernard M.S. , Ferrer-i-Carbonell Ada
Published: March 2024

This study contains data on the Urban Quality of Life (UqoL) Index. Included is a discussion of what factors determine the UqoL index, the construction and benchmarks as well as the approaches taken in determining the index.
Financial Support to Developing Countries to Face the Challenges Associated with Avian Influenza
Authors: Medici André
Published: March 2024

This presentation discusses financial support mechanisms for developing countries to deal with Avian Influenza consequences. It examines potential impacts of the disease, reasons to offer international financial support, what to finance in the pre-pandemic phase and what to finance in the pandemic phase, mechanisms of financing, and available international resources, including the role of the IDB. This paper was created for the Seminar Los Medios de Comunicación en America Latina frente a la Amenaza de la Gripe Aviar held in Washington D.C., on July 11th, 2006.
The Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty: Some Causes and Policy Implications
Authors: Castañeda Tarsicio , Aldaz-Carroll Enrique
Published: March 2024

The purpose of this report is to investigate the effects of family background factors in determining the intergenerational transmission of poverty in Latin America, drawing on a review of recent studies and empirical work done for this study. Based on the findings of this investigation, the report discusses policy implications and government programs to break the ITP process. The empirical results are based on a sample of Peruvian families that were interviewed in 1985 and 1994 and on the analysis of sixteen countries' cross-sectional data sets obtained from sample surveys in those countries.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship: A Model Based on Entrepreneur Development
Authors: Grullón Sergio , Vicens Lorenzo
Published: March 2024

This article proposes a person-centered model for entrepreneurship, rather than one based on an idea or business plan. It analyzes the characteristics of entrepreneurship development programs worldwide and presents a representative sample of best practices. On the basis of the main findings and lessons learned, this paper defines the characteristics and components of a new model for entrepreneur development and presents recommendations as to how to deploy the model in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Sustainability of Urban Heritage Preservation: The Case of Siracusa, Italia
Authors: Stumpo Sergio
Published: March 2024

This paper analyzes the city of Siracusa, Italy, and in particular the Historic Center of Ortigia. Siracusa and the rocky Necropolis of Pantalica (in the Cassaro, Ferla, and Sortino areas) were inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2005, an event that may be considered the official recognition of the beauty and uniqueness of their historical, artistic, architectonic, and natural patrimony.
The Climate and Development Challenge for Latin America and the Caribbean: Options for Climate Resilient Low Carbon Development (Summary)
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank,   World Wildlife Fund,   Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
Published: March 2024

This document is the executive summary of "The Climate and Development Challenge for Latin America and the Caribbean: Options for climate resilient low carbon development", a joint work with Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), presented in Washington, DC, on June 5th, 2012. The full study will then be launched during the Rio+20 Conference on June 20th.
Risk Management Instruments for Food Price Volatility and Weather Risk in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Use of Risk Management Instruments
Authors: Cárdenas Víctor , Murphy Anne G. , Skees Jerry R. , Hartell Jason
Published: March 2024

This report examines some of the implications of price risk and volatility, and weather risks in the LAC region that are important threats to already vulnerable populations. It considers the advantages and limitations of a set of financial instruments for managing these risks; and identifies potential mechanisms for addressing concerns about the socioeconomic consequences of price and weather volatility. In reviewing the innovations that are being tested in the LAC region and around the world, what is striking is that they appear to be disparate and largely piecemeal solutions to the problems of price and natural disaster risk management - they are not integrated. A more efficient and holistic solution should draw upon the recent efforts of coordination among countries within regions. The importance of risk aggregation and pooling combined with the comparative advantage of International Financial Institutions to access capital and work in a regional context, suggests a strategy to develop a fully multicountry approach to risk management. This strategy calls for establishing a Regional Asset Management Platform (RAMP) that integrates central stakeholders and develops pricing and measurement tools for extreme weather risk management and price volatility in a more efficient fashion. Global drivers of price volatility for major commodities can be managed using international futures exchange markets to some extent. However, regional climate anomalies will also mean that individual countries can suffer price volatility that represents a basis risks when using international futures markets. Thus, combining risk transfer products for regional climate anomalies with the use of careful hedging strategies for global volatility may offer better risk management strategies for either lower than expected prices that adversely affect producers or higher than expected prices that adversely affect consumers.
Latin America's Energy Future
Authors: Tissot Roger
Published: March 2024

This discussion paper presents a survey of the changes in Latin America's energy consumption over the last 30 years, before considering the trends that will affect the region in the coming decades. It highlights several important issues, including the growing demand for oil, which has prompted a resurgence of resource nationalism and the revitalization of national oil companies in the region. Regional oil policy has also been boosted by the growth of China, which is now a major player in the Latin American energy sector, as both consumer and financier. Natural gas consumption has also grown in recent years, and the discovery of large non-conventional gas reserves will also alter the energy landscape. Overall, the paper concludes that Latin America has adequate resources to meet its rising energy needs. The challenge for national governments, however, is to find a balance of sources that best provides energy security, meets growing demand, is environmentally sustainable, and can be developed at a competitive cost. For the region with the cleanest energy matrix in the world, the paper recommends that national governments focus on developing renewable resources in order to avoid a greater reliance on fossil fuels.
Series of Avoidable Hospitalizations and Strengthening Primary Health Care: The Case of Chile
Authors: Arrieta Alejandro , García Prado Ariadna
Published: March 2024

This paper studies the effect of ambulatory and hospital coinsurance rates on HACSC among individuals with private insurance in Chile. During the last decade, Chile's private health sector has experienced a dramatic increase in its hospitalization rates, growing at four times the rate of ambulatory visits (see graph 1). Such evolution has raised concern among policy makers, interested in promoting more preventive services, and a major use of ambulatory care. The growth on the prevalence of chronic diseases has also set up the alarm. A burden disease study made in 2007 shows that 84% of the total diseases in the country were non-communicable diseases (Universidad Católica de Chile, 2008). The 2003 National Health Survey showed that only a small fraction of those affected by a chronic disease had their condition under control (Bitrán et al, 2010). In this context, coinsurance can be a valuable tool for dealing with cost escalating problems in the health system while, at the same time, promoting more ambulatory visits and preventive services and less HCSC.
Innovation and the New Service Economy in Latin America and the Caribbean
Authors: Rubalcaba Luis
Published: March 2024

The service sector has become one of the most important economic activity in the world economy in both developed and developing economies. Services are crucial for further developing the Latin American and Caribbean countries, providing a strong economic dynamism and creating the source for job creation and welfare. Service innovation is incremental for ensuring strong and competitive growth of services in the region. Agriculture and manufacturing industries also need service innovation to become more competitive. Service innovation shows some particuliarities, distinctive from innovation in goods, such as the relatively less importance of R&D and patents. Service innovation policies are justified by a wide range of reasons, including the existence of market and systemic failures. A number of developed and developing countries have recently promoted service innovation policies, following various strategies. Both horizontal and vertical policies need to used, together with systemic policies to fully integrate services in the existing innovation policies. The case studies coordinated by the Inter-American Development Bank study on services and productivity in Latin American and the Caribbean suggest the need for understanding the peculiarities of different subsectors and countries to promote innovation, maximize its impact, and face a wide range of obstacles hampering innovation in services. The first policy priority would be to raise the awareness of the topic in the policy and business agendas.
Is the Anti Money Laundering Compliance Convenient?: International Capital Flows and Stigma Effect in Latin America: The Case of Paraguay
Authors: Masciandaro Donato
Published: March 2024

This study analyzes the international financial flows of Latin America in order to verify existence and direction of the Stigma Effect. Is the AML/CFT financial regulation that addresses the money laundering and terrorism finance phenomena relevant in shaping the pattern of international banking movements? We test if the FAFT listing-delisting events are effective sticks and carrots for the targeted countries in influencing cross-border banking flows. The tests are based on a theoretical framework, where the stigma effect holds if doing business with a listed country produces nonlinear monetary and/or reputational costs. We focus on the 34 Latin American countries in the period 1996-2007 using annual panel data. We find evidence that the list in-list out mechanism can influence the banking inflows, provided that some conditions hold. The relevance of the stigma effect seems to depend on the one side on the efficiency of the international capital markets and on the other side on specific features of the listed/delisted country: regulatory lightness, banking profitability, growth per capita. The empirical specification is applied in evaluating the case of Paraguay using a time series analysis with quarterly data. The study finds that the Paraguayan listing episode was likely to produce perceptible effects on both capital inflows and outflows.
Evaluation of the Structure and Performance of the Brazilian Tax System: White Paper on Taxation in Brazil
Authors: Morais Soares Julia , Pacheco Castro Kleber , Rodrigues Afonso José Roberto
Published: March 2024

This study performs an up-to-date diagnostic of the Brazilian tax system in order to provide a basis for reform discussions among technical analysts, authorities and congressmen. It is based on the analysis and categorization of information on taxation in Brazil. Its focus is on the current characterization of the tax system, rather than its evolution, within the limits of available statistics. Tax revenues, addressed in the first part of the study, are its principal focus. We sought to describe the current tax structure in a detailed manner, identifying every tax and contribution and grouping each tax by the level of government collecting it or using the funds after transfer. For the principal taxes (federal taxes and state VAT), we also classify them by type of collection and by sector of economic activity. In the second part, the study addresses the topics most discussed or cited in the tax debate, such as questions of competitiveness, equity, and division of resources among the different spheres of government. The objective of this study is to consolidate the literature on these subjects, with emphasis on a statistical survey of the available sources.
What does better mean? Perceptions of Electricity and Water Services in Santo Domingo
Authors: Jimenez Mori Raul Alberto , Serebrisky Tomás , Mercado Díaz Jorge Enrique
Published: March 2024

Santo Domingo faces one of the poorest electricity and water services among Latin American cities, a situation which has prevailed for decades despite the significant welfare losses associated with such infrastructure deficiencies. In this context, how do households define these services? What areas of improvement would mean the most to them? This paper takes a consumer's centric-approach to address these questions, identifying specific dimensions of quality and reliability by which households perceptually define what better means. Further, preliminary evidence suggests that, regardless the prices of the services, end-user's satisfaction and disposition to pay would significantly increase with quality improvements.
Bond Finance, Bank Credit, and Aggregate Fluctuations in an Open Economy
Authors: Fernandez Andres , Gulan Adam , Chang Roberto
Published: March 2024

Corporate sectors in emerging market economies have increased noticeably their reliance on foreign financing, presumably reecting low global interest rates. This trend has largely reflected increased bond issuance by emerging economies' firms, in contrast to the bank loans that dominated capital flows in the past. To shed light on these developments, we develop a stochastic dynamic model of an open economy in which the levels of direct versus intermediated finance are determined endogenously. The model embeds the static, partial equilibrium model of Holmström and Tirole (1997) into a dynamic general equilibrium setting. It generates an increase in both bonds and loans following an exogenous drop in world interest rates; also, the ratio of bonds to loans increases because bank credit becomes relatively more expensive, reflecting the scarcity of bank equity. These implications are in line with empirical observations and highlight the role of equity in the adjustment process. More generally, the model is suitable for studying the interaction between modes of finance and the macroeconomy, and is of independent interest.
Varieties of Capital Flows: What Do We Know?
Authors: Levy Yeyati Eduardo , Zúñiga Jimena
Published: March 2024

Capital flows have been the subject of acute policy concern since the Brady plan launched the emerging markets bond asset class. Their massive volume, coupled with their volatile and procyclical nature, is often associated with a variety of financial and real risks, which have changed over time. While emerging market crises in the 1990s and 2000s were inherently driven by financial dollarization and balance sheet effects, financial dollarization has receded in emerging markets and the focus has shifted to the macroeconomic effects of cross-market flows, including extended periods of exchange rate misalignment and the amplification of business cycles in a context of large and persistent terms-of-trade shocks and global liquidity swings. These conditions make it difficult to evaluate capital flows based on data mostly from the 1990s and early 2000s, and recent empirical literature is reviewed that revisits the issue with fresh data and an open mind.
Civil Registration and Vital Statistics as a Tool to Improve Public Management
Authors: Peters B. Guy
Published: March 2024

This paper sets forth a theoretical discussion of a number of specific benefits that can arise through the expansion of civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) as a way to improve public sector management. It posits that CRVS can be the main source of information to improve policy planning and coordination, as well as increasing transparency and preventing corruption and fraud, among other key features of public sector management. CRVS may supplement the census and other conventional instruments for collecting personal and demographic information on society. The paper also discusses practical ways to maximize the benefits of CRVS and the potential value of civil registration by opening a discussion on the costs and benefits of an expanded utilization of CRVS.
Toward a Business Climate Reform Agenda in the Caribbean
Authors: Dohnert Sylvia , Persaud Tara Lisa , Pereira Stefano , Elliott Wayne , Grant Kayla
Published: March 2024

This paper is meant to help national and regional policymakers navigate the complex topic of business climate reform in the Caribbean. It combines the findings of four relatively independent data collection efforts to uncover which aspects of the current business climate most affect the private sector in that region. The analysis from the four sources indicates that the most pressing business climate constraints affecting private sector performance are: (i) an inadequately educated workforce; (ii) the cost of finance, and (iii) access to finance. These issues are discussed in detail along with others that significantly affect private sector development. The paper ends with a regional agenda and country-specific prioritized agendas for business climate reform.
Approaches to Environmental Licensing and Compliance in Caribbean Countries
Authors: Baldwin Gunnar
Published: March 2024

Country safeguard systems are the first line of defense to mitigate the environmental and social impacts of projects that the Inter-American Development Bank finances in the Caribbean. The capacity of authorities to prescribe appropriate environmental and social requirements, and consistently enforce compliance with them, allows countries to control the way human activities impact natural resources, protect public welfare and sustain prosperity. The performance of licensing and compliance functions is increasingly critical in Caribbean countries, as the effects of climate change compound challenges already inherent to the economic growth of small, geographically unique states. Towards building knowledge and promoting shared thinking, this paper presents the IDB's current understanding of the diverse types of environmental licensing and compliance systems found throughout the Caribbean region. The analysis depicts three loosely-defined conceptual models and identifies commonalities and differences in the institutional frameworks and the administration of environmental and social impact assessments (ESIA). The paper briefly illustrates a country system as an example of each model.