Inside Costa Rica » Opinion

Andres Oppenheimer: Obama’s big opportunity in Latin America

Inside Costa Rica Staff — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 08:00:34 +0000

President Barack Obama has never been terribly interested in Latin America, but the new political winds in Argentina, Venezuela and the latest events in Brazil offer him a golden opportunity to improve U.S. relations with the region.

The post Andres Oppenheimer: Obama’s big opportunity in Latin America appeared first on Inside Costa Rica.

Andres Oppenheimer: Latin America’s top problem is corruption

Inside Costa Rica Staff — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 08:00:23 +0000

When Peruvian-born Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa told me in a public interview in front of 300 newspaper editors last weekend that "corruption is the biggest threat to Latin American democracies," my first reaction was to think that it was an exaggeration. But, on second thought, he may be right.

The post Andres Oppenheimer: Latin America’s top problem is corruption appeared first on Inside Costa Rica.

Growth without Poverty Reduction: The Case of Costa Rica

Inside Costa Rica Staff — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 14:06:22 +0000

In the early 1980s, as was the case in much of Latin America, Costa Rica suffered its worst economic crisis in decades. Between 1980 and 1982 the economy contracted by 9.4 percent, and in 1982 average inflation reached 90.1 percent. In two years the proportion of the population living below the poverty line shot up by more than 20 percentage points to 54 percent. Multiple factors caused the crisis, including the exhaustion of the import-substitution model—a protectionist regime that aimed at replacing industrial imports with domestic production. Throughout the years this model encouraged the creation of numerous inefficient state-owned enterprises whose growing financial burden overwhelmed the government. By 1980 total public spending was 54 percent of GDP.

The post Growth without Poverty Reduction: The Case of Costa Rica appeared first on Inside Costa Rica.

Santa Ana’s Suburban Urban Vision

Inside Costa Rica Staff — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 07:00:43 +0000

Email this page www.InsideCostaRica.com Santa Ana is a charming town on the western outskirts of San José. However, most places with a Santa Ana address aren’t actually in Santa Ana, and they aren’t charming. President Laura Chinchilla’s condominium for example bears a Santa Ana address. In reality, it’s a gated community on a highway a […]

The post Santa Ana’s Suburban Urban Vision appeared first on Inside Costa Rica.

Editorial: Costa Rica’s Long Public Banking Experience

Inside Costa Rica Staff — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 10:00:14 +0000

In Costa Rica, publicly-owned banks have been available for so long and work so well that people take for granted that any country that knows how to run an economy has a public banking option. Costa Ricans are amazed to hear there is only one public…

The post Editorial: Costa Rica’s Long Public Banking Experience appeared first on Inside Costa Rica.

Reader Poll: Should Costa Rica join the Central American Parliament?

Inside Costa Rica Staff — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 07:00:50 +0000

Email this page www.InsideCostaRica.com Nicaraguan President, Daniel Ortega, invited Costa Rica to join the Central American Parliament (Parlamento Centroamericano, also known as Parlacen) last week. Costa Rica is the only country in the region that is not part of the organization. Tip: Bookmark this page to come back later and see the results as they […]

The post Reader Poll: Should Costa Rica join the Central American Parliament? appeared first on Inside Costa Rica.

Poll: Should the United States take military action in Syria?

Inside Costa Rica Staff — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 17:59:46 +0000

Email this page www.InsideCostaRica.com ICR asks our readers: Should the United States take military action in Syria? Tip: Bookmark this page to come back later and see the results as they come in! You can also comment on this poll below. social poll by Opinion Stage

The post Poll: Should the United States take military action in Syria? appeared first on Inside Costa Rica.

Op-Ed: How Latin America’s outdated abortion laws impact young women

Inside Costa Rica Staff — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 08:00:19 +0000

Email this page www.InsideCostaRica.com Editor’s Note: The views reflected in this Op-Ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Inside Costa Rica. By Paloma Corredor / VOXXI Latin America’s “old-fashioned” views on abortion and outdated abortion laws impact this generation of women, particularly Latinas. A few months […]

The post Op-Ed: How Latin America’s outdated abortion laws impact young women appeared first on Inside Costa Rica.

In Depth: Latin America: Divided we stand

Inside Costa Rica Staff — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:41:22 +0000

Email this page www.InsideCostaRica.com United and integrated, the region would be a force to reckon with on the world stage. But does Latin America’s unification reality match up to the rhetoric? By Simeon Tegel / GlobalPost Of all Hugo Chavez’s grandiose dreams, perhaps none was quite as lofty as his “Bolivarian” vision of unifying Latin […]

The post In Depth: Latin America: Divided we stand appeared first on Inside Costa Rica.

Top 5 Retirement Havens in 2013 according to IL Magazine

Inside Costa Rica Staff — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:57:18 +0000

Email this page www.InsideCostaRica.com January 8th, 2013 – International Living recently released its ranking of the top 22 retirement havens for 2013, ranking Costa Rica at #5. Here are IL’s resident reporters summaries of what make the top 5 countries on the list so desirable 1. Ecuador: The World’s Best Haven By Edd Staton “Our life in […]

The post Top 5 Retirement Havens in 2013 according to IL Magazine appeared first on Inside Costa Rica.