IDB: AI could make Latin America's economy 5.1% larger in ten years
By Alexander SchekGo-to-market and sales leadership in Latin America
1 min readAccording to the IDB, Latin America and the Caribbean's economy could be 5.1% larger after ten years with wide AI adoption, or just 0.3% with limited adoption. These are not annual rates. Wages could rise up to 5.3% or fall up to 20.9%, depending on whether workers move into growing jobs.
The Inter-American Development Bank has put numbers on what AI adoption could mean for Latin America and the Caribbean.
After ten years, the region’s economy could be 5.1% larger if AI is widely adopted and delivers large productivity gains. With limited adoption and small gains, it could be just 0.3% larger. These are estimates of the economy’s size after a decade, not annual growth rates.
The wage estimates depend on whether workers can move into growing jobs. If they can, wages could rise 2.3% to 5.3%. If they cannot, wages could fall 13.5% to 20.9%.
IDB estimates: the range of each scenario
I’d like to know which jobs the IDB expects to grow and how many workers it assumes can make that move. The full report is due in November.
Sources: Reuters (via WSAU), IDB estimates on AI and the Latin American economy, September 21, 2026; Allwork.Space, AI could raise Latin American wages 5.3% or cut them 21%, IDB research finds, September 22, 2026
Publication: Originally published on my professional LinkedIn on September 24, 2026.