In early February the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) released a study estimating the direct cost of crime and violence in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) at 3.55% of the GDP (equating to US$261bn annually). For the Andean region, this was estimated at just over 3% of GDP, the second-lowest figure in Latin America after the Southern Cone. Ana María Rodríguez, the manager of the IDB’s Institution for Development Department, said that the report was created because “crime has reached alarming levels in many countries”, adding that its aim is to “help governments and international cooperation agencies better allocate resources, as well as design better policies to control and prevent crime”.
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