Download or read book LAC Semiannual Report October 2014 written by Augusto de la Torre and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2014-10-08 with total page 73 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As usual in this series, Chapter 1 reviews the configuration of global risks and assesses the outstanding short term opportunities and challenges facing the LAC region. We document the significant slowdown in economic activity across the region, and explore the possibility of this being the ‘new normal’. In Chapter 2 we assess if the major social gains achieved during the ‘Golden Decade’, in particular the decline in inequality, will hold in this less supportive environment, and discuss alternative policy responses to preserve and further the equity gains in the region.