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Integration Meets Insecurity: How Paraguay is Shaping South America’s Center

Policymakers across the Western Hemisphere often lament Latin America’s lack of regional integration. On average, countries in Latin America and the Caribbean conduct the least international trade as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) in the world. Broadly, this integration deficit results from underinvestment in infrastructure, inefficient trade architectures, and natural obstacles posed by […]

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Governance & Law Regional Security & Conflict South America

The Governance Competition in the Americas: “Criminal Charity” During COVID-19 Will Have Decade-long Consequences

Latin America’s criminal groups have leveraged the coronavirus pandemic to win the goodwill and support of local populations by delivering humanitarian assistance and co-opting public service provision in communities underserved by state institutions. Such levels of “criminal charity” could complicate the future efforts of Latin America’s weakest states to dismantle and defeat organized crime groups, whose power has grown in recent years.

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Economics International Development South America

Too Many Remittances?

At a time where the international flow of remittances has received a great deal of criticisms by those on the political right, Jorge de Leon Miranda, a researcher at the International Monetary Fund, attempts to investigate the magnitude and effects of international remittances. In doing so, he discovered that remittances from the United States make up a great deal of the remittance inflow for at least fifteen countries and that the level of remittance inflow has an appreciable effect level of that country’s development.

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Civil Society Economics International Development North America South America

Empowering the 99%: Technology Upgrades by Small Businesses Can Boost Productivity and Growth in Latin America

Author Valentin Sierra demonstrates how ICT adoption by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can spur long-term gains in firm productivity, competitiveness, and facilitate economic development in Latin America.