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On May 22nd, members of the Latin American Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee (CLAAF), convened at CGD to discuss some of the most pressing fiscal and monetary issues affecting Latin American economies. The result of the committee’s two-and-a-half-day-long discussion was a four page statement and several clear recommendations for rethinking financial policies in the midst of a global crisis.

Since the 2010 earthquake, $6 billion has been disbursed in official aid to help the people of Haiti. Nearly all of it has gone to intermediaries such as international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private contractors. Yet there has been a surprising lack of reporting on how the money has been spent. CGD senior fellow Vijaya Ramachandran and research assistant Julie Walz try to follow the money in a new CGD policy paper: “Haiti: Where Has All the Money Gone?” They joined me on this week’s Wonkcast to explain their findings.

Mead Over delivers a presentation on Achieving the AIDS Transition at a CGD book launch event.

Industrial policy—an active government role in shaping the direction of the economy—is often disdained by Western-trained economists but frequently embraced by Asian policymakers. Is it the path to development success or a slippery slope that leads to development failure? “New Structural Economics: A Framework for Rethinking Development and Policy” by World Bank chief economist Justin Lin and contributing authors provides a timely opportunity to review the evidence. Are systemic reforms to strengthen the business climate enough? How can policymakers guard against the well-known risks of favoring specific sectors or firms? Is there such a thing as a "New Industrial Policy" and can it provide useful guidelines for developing countries? This debate is of particular interest for low-income countries in Africa and elsewhere and the advice provided by their development partners.