Latin American and Caribbean countries are the most urban in the developing world and have very high home ownership rates. However, many of the region's inhabitants are still poorly housed. This book examines three key contributing issues: high housing prices relative to family income, lack of access to mortgage credit, and high land prices.

THE INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (IDB) is an international institution created in 1959 to foster economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB is the main source of multilateral financing and expertise for sustainable economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean.Cesar P. Bouillonis a lead research economist in the Research Department of the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington DC. A native of Peru, he received a doctorate in economics from Georgetown University. His research focuses on development issues in Latin America and the Caribbean countries. Recently he has been working in topics related to housing, land markets and poverty, social mobility, early childhood development, remittances and poverty, multidimensional poverty measurement, poverty reduction program design, evaluation and targeting, among others.

Dirt Floors and Unpaved Streets: Why Housing Markets Matter Portrait of a Problem: The Housing Sector Two Bedrooms, Two Bathrooms, and a Big Yard? Housing Demand in Latin America and the Caribbean To Buy or Not to Buy: Expanding the Rental Housing Market Digging up the Truth about Land Markets A Construction Industry in Need of Remodeling Too Small to Thrive: The Housing Finance Market Doing It Yourself Hammering Out a Housing Policy that Works