The Age of Productivity Transforming Economies from the Bottom Up

by Inter-American Development Bank

• ISBN13: 9780230623507
• ISBN10: 0230623506
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-03-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

A look at how the low productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean is preventing the region from catching up with the developed world. The authors look beyond the traditional macro explanations and dig all the way down to the industry and firm level to uncover the causes. The book examines productivity growth by focusing on the extreme heterogeneity of sectors and firms, emphasizing the importance of policies that allow firms to thrive and expand. The book zeros in on the critical services sectors, particularly those, such as transportation and retail, with important repercussions on the rest of the economy. It challenges the argument that the region is condemned to stagnation and examines a number of policy levers that can transform its economies.

Author Biography

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is an international institution created in 1959 to foster economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB produces over 100 publications per year—books, working papers, occasional papers, policy briefs, and technical notes—several of which are used as textbooks in universities across the United States and in Latin America. For more information, please visit www.iadb.org.

Table of Contents

About the Contributors	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
List of Boxes	p. xi
List of Figures	p. xiii
List of Tables	p. xvii
Acknowledgments	p. xix
The Age of Productivity	p. 1
Aggregate Productivity: The Key to Unlocking Latin America's Development Potential	p. 23
Productivity in Latin America: The Challenge of the Service Sector	p. 45
Productivity from the Bottom Up: Firms and Resource Allocation in Latin America	p. 69
Trade and Productivity: A Route to Reallocation with a High Transport Toll	p. 97
Why Credit Matters for Productivity	p. 123
Taxes and Productivity: A Game of Hide and Seek	p. 153
Safe and Sound Social Policy: Reconciling Protection with Productivity	p. 181
Big Questions about Small Firms	p. 207
The Importance of Ideas: Innovation and Productivity in Latin America	p. 223
Phantom or Phoenix? Industrial Policies in Latin America Today	p. 257
The Politics of Productivity	p. 295
References	p. 317
Index	p. 341
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