HDI Trends in Latin America. Latin America is facing a development slowdown. Despite decades of progress, the region’s Human Development Index (HDI) has stalled since the mid-2010s, and still hasn’t recovered from the shock of the pandemic.

Productivity is at the center of long-term development. It drives higher wages, better jobs, and greater competitiveness. Yet for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), productivity has become a persistent weakness, preventing the region from closing the income gap with advanced economies.The World Bank’s Competition and Productivity Growth

Three Barriers Blocking Market Entry in Latin America. The World Bank’s Competition and Productivity Growth report explains the core challenge in Latin America: market entry is blocked by multiple layers of regulation, both for local entrepreneurs and foreign investors.