| Resumen: |
The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region comprises a diverse set of
countries that nonetheless face common challenges— especially high inequality
and volatile growth— that have historically contributed to high levels of
poverty. In recent years, the LAC region has achieved significant progress on
both of these challenges. As a result, between 2002 and 2008, almost 60 million
people in the region were lifted out of poverty (measured at US$4 a day,
adjusted for purchasing power parity), and 41 million left the ranks of
extreme poverty (measured at US$2 a day). This progress is now threatened
by a global economic and financial crisis that has spread to the region from
the United States and Europe, bringing declining external demand, weakening
commodity prices, financial contagion, and falling remittances. Although
growth forecasts vary widely, and the effect of the crisis on the region’s
economies is not uniform, the World Bank has projected that the LAC
region’s economy will contract by 2.2 percent in 2009 (World Bank 2009a). |
