Economics, Trade & Development Archives - Page 18 of 40

Mission impossible? A look at Colombia’s proposed tax reform

After several months of waiting, the Colombian government unveiled a tax bill intended to address the fiscal and social crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the proposed bill has not been well-received, and the following verdict has been almost unanimous: the proposal punishes the Colombian middle-class and jeopardizes economic recovery. Unless an agreement is reached in Congress in the coming months, Colombia could risk its post-pandemic socioeconomic recovery.

admin April 29, 2021

Brazil’s rising oil production

Brazil produced an average of 2.94 million barrels of oil per day in 2020. The South American country is now the seventh-largest crude oil producer in the world, and the largest in Latin America, with current trends indicating further growth for Brazil’s oil industry.

admin April 21, 2021

Communist party congress in Cuba: After the end of the Castro era, what?

When Cuba’s Communist Party convenes in Havana from April 16-19 for its 8th Party Congress, Raúl Castro, at the age of 89, will step down from center stage. The long, long Castro era is coming to an end. What lies ahead and what remains, however, is more uncertain than ever.

admin April 15, 2021

China’s advance in Panama: An update

This piece examines the evolution of China’s position in Panama under the Cortizo government. It finds that China’s advance has suffered significant, if not necessarily enduring, setbacks under Cortizo, reflecting a combination of enhanced legal scrutiny, problems inherent to the Chinese projects themselves, and the adverse effects of the pandemic and corruption on the commercial and administrative environment in the country.

Evan Ellis April 14, 2021

Saber-rattling and high stakes in Guyana’s geopolitical neighborhood

The Essequibo territory remains a point of contention between Guyana and Venezuela, and the stage is now set for the ICJ to step in and render a judgment.

admin April 8, 2021

Disinformation or goodwill: The Russian COVID-19 vaccine strategy

The race to research, develop, test, approve, and distribute effective COVID-19 vaccines has turned the search for global normalcy into yet another frontier to be exploited for geopolitical gain, with Russia taking the opportunity to use vaccines as a means to advance relations throughout Latin America.

admin April 6, 2021

How not to curb Colombian cocaine

Over the past four years, Colombia has eradicated nearly 300,000 hectares (more than 1,000 square miles) of coca while seizing more than 2,000 metric tons of pure cocaine and cocaine base, but the country remains plagued by illicit drug activity.

admin April 2, 2021

A Global Americans Interview with Dr. Christy Thornton, Author of Revolution in Development: Mexico and the Governance of the Global Economy

Thornton explores the little-known history of Mexico’s role in shaping the institutions that would come to define global economic governance.

admin March 25, 2021

Could two wrongs make a right?

Enabling early pension withdrawals proved to be a suboptimal policy in Chile. Yet for other Latin American countries, early pension withdrawals should not be immediately discounted as a viable policy option.

admin March 23, 2021

Reimagining slums in Latin America: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has put informal settlements, and the policy failures that they represent, back in the spotlight. Immediate strategies to combat the virus in slums have been deployed throughout Latin America, which includes five of the countries—Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina—that have suffered the most COVID-19-related deaths per capita. However, the strong regional impact from COVID-19 calls for differentiated governance and policy response.

admin March 8, 2021