Poverty and Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean

This document surveys Bank lending operations designed to fight poverty and enhance social equity, with emphasis on recently approved projects with innovative components. It also surveys a broad range of poverty-related non-lending activities carried out by the Bank over the past two years. It includes a general framework for poverty reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean, specifying a number of areas of emphasis: enhancing opportunities for the poor; assets and markets; contributing to human development; improving the quality of life of the poor; social protection; and good governance and social inclusion.Poverty, Social Policy & Protection, Education, Health, Environmental Policy, poverty; inequality

Lessons from Innovation: Skills Standards and Certification

Working with public, private, and nonprofit sector partners, MIF has invested in the development of skills standards and certification systems with fifteen projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. The goal: to increase the competitiveness and productivity of workers and industries throughout the region.Public Sector, Private Sector, Economic Development & Growth, Financial Sector, public; private; nonprofit; sector partners; MIF development of skills standards; certification systems; Latin America; the Caribbean; competitiveness; productivity; workers; industries

Summit of the Americas: The IDB Agenda to Support the Mandates of the Summits of Quebec and Nuevo León: Activities and Strategic Programs

During the Hemispheric Summit that took place in Quebec, Canada, in April 2001, the Inter-American Development Bank presented a set of 22 strategic programs intended to contribute to meeting the mandates that stem from the Summits of the Americas and the commitments that are part of the Plan of Action adopted in Quebec. Since then, the IDB has carried out intensive and complex financial and technical activities in the context of those 22 strategic programs. The programs fall into five areas that summarize the mandates adopted by the Heads of State and Government of the Americas, namely: democratic governance and political development; integration and economic development; ecology and sustainable development; equity and human development; and connectivity and technological development. During the Special Summit in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico (January 2004), the IDB presented a report summarizing achievements made since 2001 with respect to the programs presented in Quebec. In addition, the Declaration of Nuevo León establishes new mandates.Research & Development, Economic Development & Growth, Democracy, Governance, Mar del Plata Summit, November 2005, SOC2005-15

Cybersecurity: Risks, Progress, and the Way Forward in Latin America and the Caribbean

This report, prepared in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre of the University of Oxford, analyzes the cybersecurity capacity of OAS member states and encourages countries to implement the most up-to-date standards in cybersecurity, while protecting the fundamental rights of their people. As in the previous edition, the study analyzes the cyber maturity of each country in the five dimensions identified in the Cybersecurity Capacity Maturity Model for Nations (CMM): (i) Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy; (ii) Cyberculture and Society; (iii) Cybersecurity Education, Training, and Skills; (iv) Legal and Regulatory Frameworks; and (v) Standards, Organizations, and Technologies. The progress made in the region—much of it with the support of the OAS—is evident. The 2016 report, for example, indicated that four out of five countries lacked cybersecurity strategies or a critical infrastructure protection plan. By the beginning of 2020, 12 countries had approved national cybersecurity strategies, including Colombia (2011 and 2016), Panama (2013), Trinidad and Tobago (2013), Jamaica (2015), Paraguay (2017), Chile (2017), Costa Rica (2017), Mexico (2017), Guatemala (2018), Dominican Republic (2018), Argentina (2019), and Brazil (2020), with several others in progress. With regard to data collection and validation carried out by our member states, the report represents an overview of the complex and changing universe of cyberspace. We hope that this study provides a perspective that allows us to appreciate where we are, that enables us to make decisions based on evidence, and that improves our collective understanding of the challenges and opportunities implied by cybersecurity in our region. The information and analysis in this report will help all stakeholders—governments, private sector, academia, and civil society—to work to build a safer, more resilient, and productive cyberspace in our hemisphere

Opportunities for Stronger and Sustainable Postpademic Growth: 2021 Latin American and Caribbean Macroeconomic Report

The COVID-19 shock was a significant and traumatic crisis for Latin America and the Caribbean. The pandemic dealt the region what I previously described as a unprecedented triple sudden stop, with major simultaneous disruptions in human mobility, trade, and capital flows. This was immensely dangerous. As human mobility was paralyzed by lockdowns and fear of contagion, investments fell, and trade was upended, the triple sudden stop challenged the region like few things in the past. Undoing the damage it has caused will require astute policymaking, as well as discipline and creativity, in the months and years ahead. The 2021 edition of the IDB Latin American and Caribbean Macroeconomic Report identifies opportunities for policymakers to lead their economies out of this crisis and toward stronger, inclusive, and sustainable growth. This crisis began to unfold as countries were already facing a complex set of preexisting conditions, including low levels of productivity and simmering social discontent. Perhaps a fitting analogy to describe the situation would be that, in 2019, the region was flying with one broken engine. In 2020, its other engine also took a hit. The challenge we now face is to fly this aircraft to safety, rescue the passengers, and prepare for the necessary repairs. Getting the region back off the ground will require greater spending on healthcare, government transfers to the poor, and loans to struggling firms. Meanwhile, tax revenues have plummeted due to unemployment and a drop in consumption, and fiscal balances and public debt have deteriorated considerably since the 2008/09 global financial crisis. Against this backdrop, public outlays and stimulus will be extremely difficult to achieve. One lesson from previous crises is that this is not the time to turn inward and erect barriers. Instead, the region must seek greater integration through stronger trade agreements and the removal of obstacles such as excessive customs controls at borders, which harm the free flow of goods and services just when it is most needed. It is time to tap the opportunities provided by a better, smarter integration into global and regional value chains. It is also time to consider how Latin America and the Caribbean can leverage the reallocation of resources across sectors to drive productivity growth, promote formal employment, and achieve a greener future that defies the false dichotomy of economic growth and environmental sustainability. Countries will have to become a lot more efficient, making cuts in public spending and eliminating the inefficiencies that account for an average of more than 4% of GDP in the region. Further down the road, they will have to find ways to increase resilience through wise capital spending that boosts productivity and spurs growth. Governments must implement policies to make the recovery much more inclusive, which will mean raising taxes to improve income distribution through social safety nets and better provision of public services such as education and healthcare. At the same time, many small and medium-sized enterprises that entered hibernation must be supported so they can join the recovery and contribute to stronger growth in the aftermath of the pandemic. This year’s Macroeconomic Report covers more than the standard issues because the dangers of triple sudden stops make it imperative to act on multiple fronts. We are going to emerge from this crisis poorer, more indebted, and with economies that will look very different in terms of their productive structures. Enforcing key health measures is essential to saving lives until vaccines are rolled out to everyone and we can leave the public health crisis in the rearview mirror. But equally important is getting economies back on track to ward off crises and their crippling effects. COVID-19 is a wake-up call to reform and change the status quo so we can arrive not at the old normal, but a new and better normal. I hope this report will help policymakers in this endeavor

Impact of Digital Security Incidents in Colombia 2017

The Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region shows evidence of a broad and growing adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT). More than half of the population connects regularly to the internet, and it is the region with the heaviest use of social networks. Connectivity offers clear economic benefits, by increasing its productivity and offering opportunities for inclusion to all citizens. However, the digital environment carries risks that we cannot afford to ignore: government entities, private companies, organizations, and individuals are exposed to the growing threats of cybercrime. The present instrument, developed by the government of Colombia, through its Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies (MINTIC), the Organization of American States (OAS), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), offers a vision of the level of preparation of Colombian public entities and private companies to face threats to their digital security. It also allows for a deeper awareness of the economic costs of cyber incidents for different sectors of the country\u27s economy, presenting findings in terms of enterprise profiles. This report provides much needed data to quantify the scope of the impact of cyberattacks in LAC, along with recommendations for strengthening the capacity of the public sector and private enterprises to prevent them

From Structures to Services. The Path toBetter Infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean

To close its infrastructure gap, Latin America and the Caribbean needs more than investment in new structures. It needs to become more efficient at investing in infrastructure and regulating a new range of services that have the potential to disrupt the energy, transport, and water sectors. The technological revolution makes a future with quality services possible, but not inevitable. This book offers policy options for countries to improve the access, quality, and affordability of services today, to ensure that they will be sustainable in the future, and to harness emerging technological advances for the benefit of all. This report aims to provoke discussion and further research on those many important issues and mark a path that helps the region move from structures to services and improve infrastructure for all

Cybersecurity: Are we Ready in Latin America and the Caribbean?

This study aims to deepen our understanding of the cybersecurity risks, challenges and opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean. Utilizing surveys and other data provided by experts and officials from 32 OAS Member States, the report examines each country’s cyber maturity in five dimensions: i) Cybersecurity policy and strategy; ii) Cyber culture and society; iii) Cybersecurity education, training and skills; iv) Legal and regulatory frameworks; and v) Standards, organizations, and technologies. It should also be noted that the OAS Cybersecurity Program received generous assistance from Microsoft, which helped identify key areas to be presented in the project’s inception phase. The report’s country-by-country approach should help us to develop a more nuanced understanding of each of our States’ cybersecurity regimes and assist policymakers and technicians to strategically improve existing cybersecurity efforts, and to design and implement new initiatives going forward. It must be acknowledged that these findings merely represent a snapshot in time of an ever changing landscape. Further studies will be necessary to continue to keep abreast of the state of cybersecurity in the Americas and the Caribbean. Nevertheless, we hope that by improving our collective understanding of the cybersecurity challenges and opportunities presently confronting our region, the information and analysis contained in this report will assist stakeholders in all sectors government, private sector, academia, and civil society to better work together to build a more secure, resilient and productive cyberspace in our hemisphere. We look forward to continuing to play a role in this vital mission

Remittances 2005: Transforming Labor Markets and Promoting Financial Democracy: Statistical Comparisons

For generations, millions of migrant workers have been sending billions of dollars back to their home countries to support their families. Remittances are widely recognized as critical to the survival of millions of individual families, and the health of many national economies throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.Population Statistics & Information Systems, Income, Consumption & Saving, Poverty, Labor Markets, Financial Democracy: Statistical Comparisons

Public Investment Profile for Climate Risk Reduction in Barbados: A Macroeconomic Cost-Benefit Analysis for Reducing the Socio-Economic Risk of Coastal Erosion

Through the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) sponsored “Study on Disaster Risk Management – A macro perspective cost-benefit analysis for reducing vulnerability”, a dynamic modelling approach was developed to quantify the macroeconomic costs and benefits of investment in disaster risk reduction. The goal of the developed tool was multifaceted, with emphasis on assessing mixes of disaster risk reduction and financial protection instruments, and with a focus on addressing shortfalls in current disaster risk modelling methods. This work serves as the final report of the project and presents the results of an application of the developed Dynamic Model of Multi-hazard Mitigation Co-benefits (DYNAMMICs) framework to the country case of Barbados, demonstrating the applicability of the approach through empirical assessment of DRR investment options to combat coastal hazards facing the island country. The DYNAMMICs model allows for estimating the long-run benefits of DRR in macroeconomic terms and disentangles the benefits of risk reduction into three pathways (i) the avoidance of direct impacts; (ii) the increased economic potential due to reduction of risk to investments; and (iii) the co-benefits of DRR projects which can provide positive economic effects to the community beyond reduction of risk. With this context, this report aims to address three main policy questions to be addressed by the DYNAMMICs framework. The first relates to the level of public investment needed to reach a desired level of disaster risk reduction. Following this, the model is used to examine the potential optimal mix of resource allocation between DRR investment and risk transfer instruments. Lastly, the report seeks to identify the optimal balance of resources between disaster risk management instruments and other investments, to balance a desire for development with increased resilience. This report examines a number of possible policy pathways for Barbados following calibration of the model using country-specific data, including DRR and hazard mitigation, risk financing, and combinations of such policies, as compared to a reference business-as-usual case. In all scenarios, long-run GDP is higher than in the reference case, and year-on-year changes in GDP are smoothed, compared to more volatile reference cases. However, decomposition of the effects of risk reduction measures find that some policy pathways lead to more positive outcomes than others, and that policies which include a significant fiscal component could lead to reduced total growth effects in the long term as compared to DRR pathways, due to increasing insurance premiums. However, the report emphasizes that these results are reliant on the quality of input data, and there is a strong need for improved national macroeconomic information and hazard modelling