Vol. 23 No. 43 (2025): Revista Latinoamericana de Desarrollo Económico No. 43

The Latin American Journal of Economic Development (LAJED), in its 21 years of uninterrupted biannual publications, has become an important space for the dissemination of national and international research, reaching high standards of quality and relevance, both for academics and for decision makers and leaders of civil society. This is the result of the joint effort of the Department of Economics and the Instituto de Investigaciones Socio-Económicas (IISEC) of the Universidad Católica Boliviana “San Pablo”, the Sociedad de Economistas de Bolivia and the Academia Boliviana de Ciencias Económicas, in their efforts to promote research and influence public opinion.

This issue includes four articles on topics of economic and social development in Bolivia and Latin America. The first article analyzes the feasibility of bank mergers in the presence of economies of scale in Bolivia. The second evaluates the evolution of crime in the State of Mexico and the impact of security policies. The third article provides evidence of the existence of reverse twin deficits in the Bolivian case and discusses the relationship between fiscal performance and the trade balance. Finally, the fourth article highlights the importance of stakeholder participation and community resilience in the Ambi River basin in Ecuador.