Industrial policies for the twenty-first century: lessons from the United States

Amid the backdrop of advanced technology competition from China, climate change and a global pandemic, the United States —traditionally averse to industrial policy— embraced major industrial policy programmes between 2020 and 2022. These programmes focused on fostering technology innovation and are prime examples of industrial innovation policy. The scale of these initiatives and their focus on non-defence sectors are unprecedented. This study reviews six major examples of new United States industrial innovation policies involving federal government interventions in post-research phases of inn…

CEPAL Review No. 142

Science, technology and innovation for sustainable and inclusive productive development: guidelines for 2024–2025

The Conference on Science, Innovation and Information and Communications Technologies is a subsidiary body of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and, as such, is a permanent forum for policy and technical dialogue that convenes high-level authorities responsible for science, technology and innovation policies to coordinate action and share knowledge to improve the quality and effectiveness of policies in these areas. The workstreams and areas of cooperation of a regional agenda for 2024–2025 will be determined during this fourth meeting of the Conference. With …

Educating the future workforce

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

The Hummingbird Vol. 11 No. 2

Harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence to create public value in the Caribbean. Policy Brief

Caribbean governments need to proactively harness and adopt artificial intelligence technology in public sector organizations to create public value. Despite its numerous benefits, public sector organizations in the Caribbean are lagging in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption. AI is a disruptive technology that has become increasingly ubiquitous and pervasive in modern societies. Extremely transformative, they have advanced rapidly, and affect virtually every aspect of our existence, including the way we interact with and transact within society. AI has provided many benefits, which were pre…

Artificial Intelligence for Caribbean Sustainable Development

Scaling up circular economy initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean

This document analyses the possibility of scaling up the potential of the circular economy through financial instruments in Latin America and the Caribbean. It reviews progress in the circular economy in four business cases, selected based on priorities and representativeness for the Latin American and Caribbean region, and assesses the prospect of scaling them up using financial mechanisms and environmental, social and governance (ESG) schemes. The findings show that investment in circular economy business models has multiple benefits for companies, such as profitable operating margins and im…

Latin American Economic Outlook 2023: Investing in Sustainable Development

Latin America and the Caribbean needs an ambitious and comprehensive investment agenda to embark on a stronger and more sustainable development trajectory. The 16th edition of the Latin American Economic Outlook proposes ways to make this possible through co-ordinated actions by policy makers, the private sector and international partners. It argues that to close existing investment gaps and overcome the region’s structural challenges, it is essential to scale up domestic and foreign investment. These investments should be a catalyst for better quality jobs and an upgraded production structure…

The Hummingbird Vol. 10 No. 10

ESG disclosure, corporate reputation and financing costs: evidence from Latin America and the Caribbean

The purpose of this study is twofold: (i) to examine the relationship between investments in environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities and the cost of debt financing in the corporate sector in Latin America and the Caribbean, and (ii) to map the region’s sustainability-related disclosure requirements by conducting a survey of local capital market regulators. The second part of the study looks at the current state of sustainability-related disclosure standards at the global and regional levels. To gain a deeper understanding of where Latin America and the Caribbean stands in this r…

Draft programme of work of the ECLAC system 2025

The draft programme of work of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for 2025 is hereby submitted to the member States of the Commission for their consideration. It highlights the annual priorities that will be considered by the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) and the United Nations General Assembly as part of the intergovernmental reviewing exercise. Under the framework of the United Nations, ECLAC is responsible for fostering the economic, social and environmentally sustainable development of Latin America and the Caribbean through international c…

CEPAL Review No. 140

Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2023

This document of Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2023 (ECLAC), presents the challenge of attracting and retaining FDI that contributes to sustainable and inclusive development in the region remains as relevant as ever, and countries must make efforts to enact the right kind of policies if they are to have FDI that supports their development process and allows for the realization of the potential of FDI to build capacities, create quality jobs, transfer technology and enhance the diversification and sophistication of the production mix. One of the main reasons given…

The Hummingbird Vol. 10 No. 8

Investment and cooperation opportunities for Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union

Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union have a rich history of cooperation and share common values and interests such that cooperation is the natural path for responding to the major challenges facing the countries of the region and the international system. In this document, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) analyses areas for investment and cooperation in strategic sectors, offers assessments, identifies opportunities and proposes work and policy agendas. The region faces significant challenges in the areas analysed, which include energy trans…

Addressing Key Challenges to Sustainable Growth and Development in the Caribbean

The Hummingbird Vol. 10 No. 5

Report of the Eighth Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean