SANTIAGO - Tax revenue rose as a share of GDP on average across Latin America and the Caribbean countries between 2021 and 2022 due partly to a sharp increase in revenue from the oil and gas sector, according to a new report. Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean 2024 , released today at the 36th Regional Fiscal Seminar in Santiago, Chile, shows that the average tax-to-GDP ratio in the region rose by 0.3 percentage points (p.p.) in 2022 to 21.5%. This was slightly below its level prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (21.6% in 2019) and below the average tax-to-GDP ratio for OECD

The use of digital financial services has experienced rapid growth in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic, with the share of adults owning mobile money accounts doubling from 4% to 8% between 2017 and 2021, a new study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) shows. Digital platforms facilitate savings, improve security and speed, and reduce costs associated with domestic payments and international remittances. This is especially relevant in a region where the most vulnerable households depend on remittances, according to the IDB's report, " Towards Greater Financial

-The latest edition of the IDB’s Better Jobs Index places the quality of employment in the region at 41.2 on a scale of 1 to 100. -The study includes policy recommendations to enhance employment quality by nurturing and strengthening workforce skills, among other measures. -Women in Latin America have lower-quality jobs than men, with a 16-point gap in the Better Jobs Index. Nearly 55% of workers in Latin America and the Caribbean have informal jobs without a contract or social security coverage, and 3 out of 10 do not earn enough to surpass the poverty threshold, according to the most recent

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Interdisciplinary Institute of Political Economy (IIEP UBA-CONICET) of Argentina will select and fund up to six research proposals that address the challenges of the link between infrastructure, connectivity, and integration in Latin America and the Caribbean. The call " Connecting Latin America and the Caribbean: Infrastructure for Regional Integration " is aimed at researchers, universities, and think tanks from the region and will remain open until May 31, 2024. The main objective is to support research efforts aimed at generating diagnoses

The new agreement will focus on three priority areas: health systems strengthening based on primary health care; information systems and digital health; and pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. The president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Ilan Goldfajn, and the director of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), Jarbas Barbosa, signed an agreement to accelerate the digital transformation of health services, strengthen primary healthcare, and enhance pandemic preparedness across Latin America and the Caribbean region. Dr. Barbosa welcomed the agreement and the

IDB Lab, the innovation and venture laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, will lend $2 million from the IDB’s Social Entrepreneurship Program through a loan to the Ecuadorian company DoctorOne to help it reach more underserved communities and improve access to quality healthcare. Telemedicine is a useful digital solution to narrow access gaps in health services, especially in remote areas. It can also shorten waiting times and reduce unnecessary visits to hospitals and clinics. This loan will support the expansion of DoctorOne's telemedicine services to more rural and

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reaffirmed their long-standing cooperation through a new framework agreement to foster enhanced collaboration through the harmonization of operational processes for more efficient cooperation and accelerate sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean. With a strategic mix of complementary expertise, strategies, and modalities, this renewed partnership enables both institutions to leverage their experience, thereby supporting more agile collaboration at the policy and programmatic levels

The leaders of 10 multilateral development banks (MDBs) today announced joint steps to work more effectively as a system and increase the impact and scale of their work to tackle urgent development challenges. In a Viewpoint Note , the leaders outlined key deliverables for joint and coordinated action in 2024 and beyond, building on the progress since their Marrakesh statement in 2023, as their institutions work to accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to better support clients in addressing regional and global challenges. Published at the conclusion of a

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group today launched FINLAC at an event at IDB headquarters in Washington, D.C., a new initiative to promote financial inclusion by ensuring that the most vulnerable people in Latin America and the Caribbean can access the financial services they need. FINLAC , a joint effort by the IDB, IDB Invest and IDB Lab, serves as a one-stop shop for advancing financial inclusion, supporting governments, accompanying firms, and igniting innovation in developing and implementing effective policies, reforms and business practices to create inclusive financial

• FuSSE is the first project developed under the agreement signed between the IDB and the BIS in 2023 to promote regional financial inclusion. • This initiative by the IDB and the BIS, with the participation of the Bank of Canada, has generated broad regional interest. • The initiative has a three-pronged approach to financial inclusion in the region: technological innovation, assistance for the design and implementation of public policy, and institutional capacity building. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) presented the latest advances