Although the Latin American region's growth rates are at a three decade high, they have been historically disappointing in relative terms, which cannot be dissociated from the microeconomic environment in which firms operate. Policy makers may need to complement their focus on macroeconomic stability with an increased emphasis on microeconomic reforms. By providing empirical evidence linking actual firm performance to shortcomings in Latin America's investment climate, the book discusses policies that could have a significant impact on firm productivity by improving the environment in which firms invest and operate.

Existe un consenso creciente en la comunidad cientifica de que el calentamiento global es una amenaza real y presente. Aunque aun hay una gran incertidumbre sobre la velocidad, magnitud e inclusive sobre la direccion de los cambios climaticos futuros, hay evidencias de que sus impactos fisicos y economicos seran regionalmente diferenciados. Se sabe ademas que los paises en desarrollo y las poblaciones de menores niveles de ingresos presentan un mayor grado de vulnerabilidad. Por estas razones, es fundamental que los paises de America Latina desarrollen sus propias estrategias de adaptacion y participen activamente en los esfuerzos internacionales para mitigar esta amenaza global. 'Desarrollo con Menos Carbono' intenta responder a una serie de interrogantes sobre las causas y consecuencias del cambio climatico en el caso de America Latina. ?Cuales son los impactos probables del cambio climatico sobre los paises de America Latina y el Caribe? ?Que paises, regiones y estratos socio-economicos podrian ser los mas afectados? ?De que manera pueden los gobiernos de la region incorporar el cambio climatico en sus politicas y programas? ?Que papel puede jugar America Latina en la mitigacion de un fenomeno que es de naturaleza global? ?Como puede la comunidad internacional mejor ayudar a America Latina a responder a estos desafios? Aunque el estudio no aspira a ofrecer respuestas definitivas para estas interrogantes, se espera que las informaciones y analisis contenidos en el mismo permitan enriquecer los debates sobre las politicas publicas mas adecuadas en esta area cuya importancia para el desarrollo de la region es innegable.

Although the Latin American region's growth rates are at a three decade high, they have been historically disappointing in relative terms, which cannot be dissociated from the microeconomic environment in which firms operate. Policy makers may need to complement their focus on macroeconomic stability with an increased emphasis on microeconomic reforms. By providing empirical evidence linking actual firm performance to shortcomings in Latin America's investment climate, the book discusses policies that could have a significant impact on firm productivity by improving the environment in which firms invest and operate.

There is an increasing consensus in the scientific community that climate change is a real and present threat. Despite the large uncertainty on the timing, magnitude and even the direction of some of the physical and economic effects of this phenomenon, it is widely accepted that these effects will be regionally differentiated and that developing countries and lower income populations will tend to suffer the most. In this context, it is critical that Latin American and Caribbean countries develop their own strategies for adapting to the various impacts of climate change and for contributing to global efforts aimed at mitigation. 'Low Carbon, High Growth' contributes to these efforts by addressing a number of questions related to the causes and consequences of climate change in Latin America. What are the likely impacts of climate change in the region? Which countries and regions will be most affected? What can governments do to tackle the challenges associated with adapting to climate change? What role can Latin America and the Caribbean play in the area of climate change mitigation? How can the international community best help the region respond? While the study does not attempt to provide definitive answers to these questions, its goal is to contribute new information and analysis to help inform the public policy debate on this important issue.

Workers' remittances have become a major source of financing for developing countries and are especially important in Latin America and the Caribbean, which is at the top of the ranking of remittance receiving regions in the world. While there has been a recent surge in analytical work on the topic, this book is motivated by the large heterogeneity in migration and remittance patterns across countries and regions, and by the fact that existing evidence for Latin America and the Caribbean is restricted to only a few countries, such as Mexico and El Salvador. Because the nature of the phenomenon varies across countries, its development impact and policy implications are also likely to differ in ways that are still largely unknown. This book helps fill the gap by exploring, in the specific context of Latin America and Caribbean countries, some of the main questions faced by policymakers when trying to respond to increasing remittances flows. The book relies on cross-country panel data and household surveys for 11 Latin American countries to explore the development impact of remittance flows along several dimensions: growth, poverty, inequality, schooling, health, labor supply, financial development, and real exchange rates.

Informality: Exit and Exclusion analyzes informality in Latin America, exploring root causes and reasons for and implications of its growth. The authors use two distinct but complementary lenses: informality driven by ""exclusion"" from state benefits or the circuits of the modern economy, and driven by voluntary ""exit"" decisions resulting from private cost-benefit calculations that lead workers and firms to opt out of formal institutions. They find both lenses have considerable explanatory power to understand the causes and consequences of informality in the region.""Informality: Exit and Exclusion"" concludes that reducing informality levels and overcoming the ""culture of informality"" will require actions to increase aggregate productivity in the economy, reform poorly designed regulations and social policies, and increase the legitimacy of the state by improving the quality and fairness of state institutions and policies. Although the study focuses on Latin America, its analysis, approach, and conclusions are relevant for all developing countries."" Informality: Exit and Exclusion"" will be of value to professionals and academics studying labor market, social protection, tax, microenterprise development, and urban public policies, and to those working in government, international organizations, research institutions, and universities.