Latin America Economics Focus Mexico & NAFTA: what’s at stake? Mexico has more to lose than the US from the renegotiation of NAFTA, but there are a number of changes that could be made with little economic impact and the government does have some bargaining power... 17th February 2017 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus How do Lat Am central banks set policy? Our Taylor rules suggest that central banks in Latin America attach most importance to the latest inflation rate and the current output gap when setting policy. Some central banks (notably Mexico)... 2nd February 2017 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus What next for Brazil? Brazil’s economy is bottoming out and, while the recovery will be slow going, our 2017 GDP forecast is a bit above consensus. Inflation should ease and, although COPOM will move gradually in the first... 15th September 2016 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus Making the most of weaker currencies? The weakening of most Latin American currencies has helped the region’s economies adjust to the terms of trade shock caused by the drop in global commodity prices. But while weaker currencies mean... 13th July 2016 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus About that fiscal hole in Brazil… A combination of modest austerity, elevated inflation and increasing financial repression should keep Brazil’s high and rising public debt burden from becoming a major economic headache over the next... 4th May 2016 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus Mexico: time to throw in the towel? A combination of tighter monetary and fiscal policy will offset the benefits of a weaker peso and keep the brakes on Mexico’s economy over the coming years. Nonetheless, we don’t think it’s time to... 20th April 2016 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus Has Brazil blown it? There are good reasons to think that the recession in Brazil – which is now the worst since at least the 1930s – should start to ease this year. But the good news ends here. While growth should return... 18th February 2016 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus Brazil: where did it all go wrong? Brazil’s economic vulnerabilities have been brought into sharper focus in recent weeks after (yet another) slump in local financial markets. In this Focus we revisit key aspects of our research over... 24th September 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus After the commodities boom – what next for Latin America? The big falls in global commodity prices are probably behind us but, in the absence of a renewedboom, the growth outlook for much of Latin America will remain depressed. 1st July 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus Argentina: runners and riders in the race to replace Cristina With Cristina Kirchner constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive term as president of Argentina in October’s elections, hopes of a shift towards more market-friendly policymaking... 25th June 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus Chile set to shift into tightening mode Concerns about the recent strength of inflation in Chile are partly overdone given that it has been elevated by tax hikes which will unwind over the next year. But a relatively buoyant labour market... 3rd April 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus Venezuela’s currency crisis: a primer The collapse in oil prices will cause the economic and financial crisis in Venezuela to deepen over the course of this year. In this Focus we answer a series of key questions that we have received... 16th February 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus Brazil: at a turning point or heading deeper into the mire? A programme of government austerity will result in modest improvements to Brazil’s budget and current account deficits over the next year but at the expense of extremely weak growth and, in the near... 11th February 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus Banxico can cut interest rates even as the Fed begins to hike We think the prevailing view that close economic ties with the US will force Mexico to raise interest rates if, as expected, the Fed starts to tighten later this year is wrong. Indeed, with lower oil... 23rd January 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus Eight questions for 2015 We’ll start 2015 with some good news: having slowed to a five-year low of just 1.5% in 2014, we expect GDP growth in Latin America to accelerate this year. The bad news is that the pick-up is likely... 5th January 2015 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Focus The impact of the US shale oil boom on Lat Am There is growing evidence that, even before the latest drop in oil prices, the US shale oil revolution had started to weigh on oil producers in Latin America. Oil exports to the US from three of the... 18th December 2014 · 1 min read
