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Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2013
In addition to analyzing the global evolution of foreign direct investment flows,the 2013 edition of The Foreign and Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean details the amounts received by Latin American and Caribbean countries in 2013 and presents a regional forecast for 2014. It includes an analysis of the patterns in the origin and destination of these investments. The sixteenth edition of this report also looks in depth at the effects of foreign direct investment on employment in Latin America and the Caribbean and at the situation of Latin American transnational companies, kn…
Upgrading value chains through professional and supporting services: Lessons from three agro-industry chains in El Salvador and Guatemala
There is an increasing acknowledgement of the key role of services for technological upgrading and increasing value added in manufacturing and primary goods value chains. Over the past two decades, Central American countries have experienced significant export growth. Yet exports have not been an engine of sustained economic growth and employment generation. Agro-industry exports, in particular, frequently incorporate only scant domestic value, with limited or no industrial transformation at all. This paper aims at studying the role of professional and supporting services in increasing domesti…
Cloud computing in Latin America: Current situation and policy proposals
Cloud computing is not a stand-alone technology, but rather a mix of a large set of various technologies. Although based upon previous trajectories, recent progress in virtualization, storage, connectivity and processing have come together to create a new ecosystem. The result is a new paradigm extremely attractive from an economic perspective due to its capability to combine cost saving with increased flexibility to manage the ICT needs of firms. The main characteristics of cloud computing are as follows: High degree of abstraction of the user from the physical and technological characteristi…
Foreign direct investment and welfare
This paper addresses the question of how Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) affects different measures of economic welfare. It fits in an existing stream of research looking at the relationship between FDI and economic growth, but it introduces two variations. First, we explore what the differences are between Fixed Effects (FE) panel data estimations and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimations. Second, we explore different aspects of economic welfare, and thus go beyond the simple measure of GDP growth. The other variables we consider are household consumption, inequality and the Human D…
Energy Efficiency in Central America: Progress and action towards the fulfillment of the goals of the Central American sustainable energy strategy
In 2007, the governments of Central America approved the Central American Sustainable Energy Strategy 2020, with the support of CEPAL. The strategy is focused on promoting sustainable development of the regional energy sector. The Energy Strategy 2020 contains four goals linked to EE (energy efficiency in lighting, refrigerators and industrial electric motors; reduction of electricity losses in transmission and distribution; reduction of consumption of oil derivatives in public and private transport sectors; and promotion of sustainable, efficient and clean firewood stoves in rural areas). Thi…
Chinese foreign direct investment in Latin America and the Caribbean
Although Chinese corporations were relatively unknown in Latin America until a few years ago, their direct investments in the region have averaged about US$10 billion per year since 2010. Their presence and economic leverage have become very significant in many industries and countries of the region, but their motivation, strategy and procedures are not always well understood by Latin America’s governments, businesses and civil society. Similarly, Chinese companies still need to gain a better understanding of Latin America’s business environment and opportunities. The authors have overcome cer…
Macroeconomics for development in Latin America and the Caribbean: Some new considerations on countercyclicality
The Macroeconomics for development blue print for Latin America and the Caribbean is articulated around two issues: an active strategy of productive development and a counter cyclical policy stance. Macroeconomic counter cyclicality refers to the management of the level of aggregate demand to dampen the fluctuations and volatility of real and nominal variables around their long-term trends. This paper argues that cycle and trend are interdependent and that, as a result, counter cyclical policies (i.e., aggregate demand policies) are not neutral to the long-run behaviour of economies.…
Broadband in Latin America: Beyond Connectivity
Based on a model of the broadband ecosystem developed by the authors in their 2010 book, Fast-tracking the digital revolution: Broadband for Latin America and the Caribbean, they now analyse the evolution of this technology in Latin America, assess the economic impacts of its diffusion, propose public policies for its expansion and debate the future of the ecosystem. The policy analyses and proposals presented in the book focus on national programmes to foster universal broadband access and the debate on Internet neutrality. The study of the current trends highlights the progress of cloud comp…
The digital economy for structural change and equality
The majority of the countries in Latin America are currently undergoing processes of economic growth and poverty reduction. As part of that development, it is critical that they address the challenge of articulating and consolidating their digital economy, as ECLAC puts forth in this book. This will require exploring how to identify and exploit the new opportunities that arise from technological convergence in order to foster economic development and equality. First, new strategies are needed for maximizing the impact of the digital economy on growth, innovation, structural change and social i…
Organic food market in the United States: Market access opportunities for Latin American and Caribbean producers
The organic food market in the United States has shown impressive growth rates since the passage of legislation to regulate the market in the early 2000s. Rapidly increasing consumer demand for organic products has led to significant organic market expansion, with double-digit annual sales growth rates for some product categories. The increasing demand to import certain organic products from international sources presents an interesting trade potential for exporters from Latin America and the Caribbean. In order to guard the integrity of the domestic organic market, the United States has deter…
Knowledge Management: informing decisions to realise good governance
Knowledge Management in the public sector
Information and communication technologies for agricultural development in Latin America: trends, barriers and policies
The present publication has been prepared to study the potential of ICTs to promote socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable agricultural development. In Latin America, social inclusion and environmental sustainability in agriculture are especially relevant issues, in light of the great structural heterogeneity within the sector and, more recently, the stepped-up pressures on natural resources resulting from the boom in international commodity markets. Yet, the adoption of ICTs in agriculture cannot be expected by itself to reduce production asymmetries and enhance social inclusion. …
The public debate about agrobiotechnology in Latin American countries: comparative study of Argentina, Brazil and Mexico
This study is about the public discourse on the introduction of biotechnology in agriculture in three Latin American countries, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. It aims at identifying the discoursive disputes to influence public opinion and thus to legitimize policy options regarding agrobiotechnology. Based on the assumption of the fundamental role of mass media in the public sphere of contemporary societies, the research draws on media analysis and the frame analysis of news articles to describe the political claims made by various actors attempting to frame shared meanings of GMOs. It addresse…
Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2012
For the third year in a row, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean continued to attract growing flows of foreign direct investment (FDI). The figures for 2012 were particularly significant because they were set in an international context of falling global FDI flows. The new increase in FDI posted brought the region's share of global FDI flows up to 12% in 2012. Economic growth in the region (3%) and the high prices of natural resources have undoubtedly contributed to sustaining the level of foreign investment in the region over the past year. This document offers a qualitativ…