This book examines real estate markets and urban development in Central America, Mexico and The Caribbean (CAMEC). It considers both residential and commercial real estate with a focus on industrial and hospitality sectors, infrastructure and logistics.The CAMEC region is besieged by complexity. Prone to natural disasters, and with the Mexico/US border constituting the largest human migration corridor on Earth, the region is also a vital trading hub for goods, linking commerce betw...

THE IDEA OF A WORLD OF 10 BILLION PEOPLE, MOST OF WHOM WILL BE LIVING IN RAPIDLY EXPANDING CITIES, CAN BE A TERRIFYING PROPSECT. Add to that the effects of climate change and the scarcity of water, energy and food, and it sounds like a bleak future. Without innovation and human ingenuity, it might be, but necessity is the mother of invention, and Homo sapiens is a resourceful species.By 2030 it is predicted that between 80-90% of the world's population wil...

Real Estate and Urban Development in South America uncovers how investors are navigating South American real estate markets in commercial, residential and infrastructure development. A preferred location for real estate development during the colonial era, in recent decades South America has been seen as high-risk for global real estate investors. This book explores the strengths and weaknesses of real estate markets in the region, concluding that with careful implementation of th...

In the absence of federal leadership, states and localities are stepping forward to address critical problems like climate change, urban sprawl, and polluted water and air. Making a city fundamentally sustainable is a daunting task, but fortunately, there are dynamic, innovative models outside U.S. borders. Green Cities of Europe draws on the world's best examples of sustainability to show how other cities can become greener and more livable.Timothy Beatley has brought together lea...

In the eyes of many, China's unprecedented economic rise has brought nothing but good news to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Indeed, China's growing appetite for primary products, and the ability of Latin America to supply that demand, has played a role in restoring growth in Latin America, both in the run-up to the global financial crisis and in its aftermath.The dragon in the room that few are talking about is the fact that China is simultaneously out-competing...

This book analyzes recent labor market trends in Latin American countries and the factors that underlie the failure to create more and more productive and rewarding jobs, a failure with substantial political and social costs. The authors analyze how growth and job creation in the region's economies compare with other emerging countries, the impact of job creation and destruction on productivity growth and the creation of "good" jobs, and the relative importance and role of labor market p...

Latin America suffered a profound state crisis in the 1980s, which prompted not only the wave of macroeconomic and deregulation reforms known as the Washington Consensus, but also a wide variety of institutional or "second generation" reforms. The State of State Reform in Latin America reviews and assesses the outcomes of these less studied institutional reforms. This book examines four major areas of institutional reform: a) political institutions and the state organization; b) fiscal instit...

The global increase in the number of slums calls for policies which improve the conditions of the urban poor, sustainably. This volume provides an extensive overview of current housing policies in Asia, Africa and Latin America and presents the facts and trends of recent housing policies. The chapters provide ideas and tools for pro-poor interventions with respect to the provision of land for housing, building materials, labour, participation and finance. The book looks at the role of the ...

This Peru Country Program Evaluation for the World Bank Group 2003-2009 is part of IEG?s country program evaluation series. To date IEG?s in-depth country evaluations have comprised IEG-WB Country Assistance Evaluations (CAEs) and IEG-IFC Country Impact Reviews (CIRs). Both the CAEs and CIRs have involved comprehensive evaluations of the respective institutions? activities in a country. In a pilot approach this evaluation was prepared by a single IEG team that looked at development interventi...

Economic Policy and Human Rights presents a powerful critique of three decades of neoliberal economic policies, assessed from the perspective of human rights norms. In doing so, it brings together two areas of thought and action that have hitherto been separate: progressive economics concerned with promoting economic justice and human development; and human rights analysis and advocacy.Focussing on in-depth comparative case studies of the USA and Mexico and looking at issues such a...

This book analyzes the adverse effects of globalization and liberalization — acutely manifest in the increased financialization of capital and the concomitant global financial crisis of 2008–09 — on the labour force, especially in the developing countries. Drawing upon case studies from several countries including India, Columbia, Malawi, Brazil and Thailand, it highlights the worsening plight of working class as a whole and informal labour in particular. The essays examine issues such as ...

The Political Economy of Resources and Development offers a unique and multidisciplinary perspective on how the commodity boom of the mid-2000s reshaped the model of development throughout Latin America and elsewhere in the developing world. Governments increased taxes and royalties on the resource sector, the nationalization of foreign firms returned to the mainstream economic policy agenda, and public spending on social and developmental goals surged. These trends, often described as res...