Methodology for the 2021 cycle of the International Comparison Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean

The 2021 cycle of the International Comparison Programme (ICP) reflects the commitment of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) to strengthening the region’s statistical systems and ensuring the Programme’s continuity, in keeping with the guidelines of the International Comparison Programme Global Office of the World Bank. Among the entities tasked with compiling economic data, ECLAC covers the third-highest number of countries and territories, although the region accounts for just 7.3% of global GDP. This was a significant challenge, all the more so given the con…

Port report 2023–2024: mixed signals in trade and ports and new disruptions to international container shipping logistics

This report analyses the state of international maritime trade and port activity for the period 2023–2024. It highlights recovery trends, structural challenges and new disruptions impacting the sector. Consistent with the analysis in the previous report, this report examines the effects of global events, such as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and persistent geopolitical tensions, the repercussions of which continue to impact supply chains. It also identifies emerging trends in logistics management and factors behind fluctuations in port activity and provides an analysis of the mar…

Effects of countercyclical policies on women’s and men’s incomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: a gender analysis of personal taxes and transfers in Colombia, Ecuador and the Plurinational State of Bolivia

At the fourteenth session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, just weeks before the onset of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the region’s governments undertook to “implement gender-sensitive countercyclical policies, in order to mitigate the impact of economic crises”. Against this backdrop, this document analyses the impact that taxes and transfers targeted to households and their members had on the disposable income of women and men between 2019 and 2020 in Colombia, Ecuador and the Plurinational State of Bolivia —countries for which harmonize…

The Hummingbird Vol. 12 No. 3

The effects of the coronavirus disease pandemic on the male and female labour supply in Brazil

Using an ordered probit model estimation and quarterly data for the 2018–2020 period from the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Continuous PNAD), this study sets out to analyse the effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) health crisis on the supply of working hours by men and women in Brazil. The results suggest that the pandemic reduced the probability of men and women supplying larger numbers of working hours, and that women were most affected. In addition, having small children reduced the probability of mothers supplying larger numbers of working hours, while for men that …

The Hummingbird Vol. 11 No. 12

CEPAL Review No. 144

The Hummingbird Vol. 11 No. 11

The urgency of investing in health systems in Latin America and the Caribbean to reduce inequality and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

This report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is being published with six years left to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The combination of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and interrelated and cascading crises has provoked an alarming situation that threatens the attainment of the SDGs globally and in the countries of the region. The multidimensional effects of the pandemic stalled actions linked to achieving various SDGs, causing a regre…

New objectives, same rationales: shifts in the United Kingdom’s industrial strategies?

This report tracks the development of the Industrial Strategy of the United Kingdom, from its publication in 2017 through to the period following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Using information from official policy documents, grey literature and academic publications —as well as conversations with experts— this document provides an overview of the Strategy’s rationales and objectives and of the instruments adopted under it. The report also discusses implementation challenges and presents lessons for the future design and implementation of industrial strategies. Following the wit…

Medium-term changes in the patterns of internal population movements in Latin American countries: effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID‐19 pandemic has impacted population movement around the world. Existing work has focused on countries of the Global North and restricted to the immediate effects of COVID-19 during 2020. Data have represented a major limitation to monitor changes in mobility patterns in Latin American countries. Drawing on aggregate anonymised mobile phone location data from Meta‐Facebook users, we aim to analyse the extent and persistence of changes in the levels (or intensity) and spatial patterns of internal population movement across the rural-urban continuum in Argentina, Chile and Mexico over a…

SIDS 4: Now or never for small island survival

The Hummingbird Vol. 11 No. 9

Addressing inequality in early childhood: the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on new generations of children in Latin America and the Caribbean

Focusing on early childhood is key to inclusive social development. Despite the progress of recent decades, especially through comprehensive early childhood development policies, children aged 0–8 years continue to be disproportionately affected by poverty. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic deepened inequalities and had an often-unseen impact on this early stage of life. With a focus on maternal and child health, nutrition and education, this document is aimed at analysing the impact of the pandemic on early childhood development and on the design and implementation of policies; iden…

The Hummingbird Vol. 11 No. 8

The Hummingbird Vol. 11 No. 7

Resilient growth, development and structural change in the Caribbean

The Hummingbird Vol. 11 No. 5

Building post-pandemic economic resilience by diversifying tourism: the case of Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia

Through a combination of primary and secondary research, this study sheds light on the effects of the pandemic on the tourism industries of the small island states of Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Additionally, the study seeks to identify potential areas for niche market development to diversify the tourism sector in these destinations. Using a counterfactual analysis, visitor expenditure losses were estimated at over $7 billion over the period 2020 to 2022, among the three countries under review. The easing of restrictions on movement in 2021 and 2022 however al…

Report of the Twenty-First Meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee