Can a one-time, permanent change in the fundamentals behind the sectoral composition of the economy prompt an aggregate downturn? Can this downturn be non-negligible, even if one uses US data to determine the relative size of gross vs. net job flows, and the importance of job creation costs? Can...

In this paper, I discuss the reasons for Costa Rica's economic performance over the last quarter of a century. Three complementary sets of policies (investments in human capital, careful stabilization, and an intelligent and aggressive integration into the world economy) explain the successful...