Poverty Down in LATAM

Over at the Wall Street Journal on Thursday last is an article that says "Poverty Rates Fall In Latin America".

Several factors help to explain the fast decline in poverty. Governments managed to stabilize their economies after the 1980s "lost decade" of debt crises and inflation—a period more extreme than what Europe is suffering with its current crisis.  That allowed countries to spend less on servicing debt and more on social spending.

Many nations like Mexico also opened to trade, which helped to lower prices for consumers. Others, like Argentina, Venezuela and Brazil, benefitted from rising commodity prices in products including oil, iron ore and soybeans.  Lastly, fertility rates dropped everywhere, meaning the region has fewer babies and more working-age citizens.

"Macroeconomic stability, opening to trade, less debt, and better demographics have all come together," said Luis de la Calle, a former Mexican trade official who recently wrote a book about the rise of the Mexican middle class called Clasemediero.

Did it reduce emigration significantly?

Regards  —  Cliff