Agroindustry and changing production patterns in small-scale agriculture

The extension of technological progress to small-scale agricultural producers is an unavoidable issue in any strategy aimed at changing production patterns with equity in the rural environment. With a few exceptions, analysis of the achievements of public policies in this area reveals that they have fallen far short of their goals even in periods when the restrictions on public spending were nothing like as severe as those faced by the economies of the region today. One option which has not yet been sufficiently explored is that of involving agroindustry in the task of bringing technological p…

Open regionalism and economic integration

Economic integration in Latin America has entered upon a new stage, conditioned by new development strategies undertaken mostly by democratically elected governments, and directed at adjusting to a changed and increasingly demanding world economy, while attempting simultaneously to increase the Latin American countries' competitiveness. In the first section of this paper, the stylized facts of this new stage of economic integration are briefly reviewed, after which an explanation is given, in section II, of the main determinants of the significant growth of reciprocal trade an…

CEPAL Review no.53

Foreign capital inflows and macroeconomic policies

In recent years, a number of countries of the region have gained renewed access to international financial markets, thus passing abruptly from a situation of relative scarcity of external resources to one of abundance. This situation has given rise to considerable pressures on certain key variables of their economies, especially the real exchange rate and interest rates. In previous articles in CEPAL Review, the effects of opening-up of the capital account on monetary, exchange rate and stabilization policies have been analysed. The present article considers the dilemma faced by the economic a…

Public policies and the competitiveness of agricultural exports

This article analyses the behaviour of the region's agricultural exports in the period following the onset of the debt crisis and makes some recommendations regarding public sector action with a view to improving the competitiveness of such exports. Section I describes the main trends which have been shaping international agricultural markets in recent decades and which have also marked their future trends. Section II shows how the region's agricultural supply has reacted to these changes. Finally, in section III -on the basis of a stylized representation of the behaviour of agricult…

Open regionalism in Latin America and the Caribbean: economic integration as a contribution to changing production patterns with social equity

Industrial policy and promotion of competitiveness

The debate in the region on industrial policy is currently centered on policies to promote competitiveness in the context of open economies. It gives priority to the use of horizontal policies, is based on the market, and attaches great importance to the maintenance of macroeconomic balance. It continues to suffer from weaknesses in its treatment of sectoral issues, however, continues to be reluctant to assimilate the Asian experience of giving support to pioneering firms and seeking closer coordination between the public and private sectors, and still does not give sufficient importance to me…

Reforma y modernización del Estado = State reform and modernization

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 1992

Integration of the feminine into Latin American culture: in search of a new social paradigm

Draft work programme of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean for the 1996-1997 biennium

A cultural view of the ECLAC proposals

This article argues that the ECLAC proposal for changing production patterns with social equity should take account of the cultural features of the region's societies. It therefore examines the ECLAC proposal from. a cultural standpoint, with special attention to the links between citizenship, economic development and modernity (section II);. It then analyses the processes of internationalization of culture, the relation between cultural identity and citizenship, and the impact of the processes of internationalization of culture on the region (section III);. It goes on to examine one of t…

ECLAC and neoliberalism: an interview with Fernando Fajnzylber

Productivity, growth and industrial exports in Brazil

Because productivity is a determinant of comparative advantages over the medium and long terms, the relationship between productivity, industrial growth and exports of manufactures is coming under increasing scrutiny in studies on development and trade policy. This article analyses that relationship in Brazil, where the rise in industrial productivity has been slowing since the mid-1970s. The author examines this slowdown together with its causes, which include macroeconomic conditions, trade strategies, growth policies and technological trends. The theoretical aspects of the relationship betw…

The informal sector and poverty in Latin America

Informal economic activities are an important source of jobs in the region. The question as to how this phenomenon should be interpreted and the nature of its implications are, however, a subject of controversy. Some analysts regard the existence of the informal economy as a consequence of insufficient economic growth; they contend that it represents a survival strategy and, as such, an involuntary refuge for the poor. Others argue that it is the result of changes in the labour market brought about by government regulation and see it as offering attractive job alternatives that may yield a hig…

CEPAL Review no.52

New directions for public management

Consideration of the roles to be played by the public and private sectors in a country's development strategy naturally leads to an analysis of the public sector's main orientations regarding both its own actions and the establishment of a regulatory framework for the performance of certain types of activities. These orientations are expressed through public policies, i.e., the courses of action followed by the public sector in pursuance of a more or less well-defined objective. The administration, made up of the various government ministries and departments, is what provides the ins…

New strategies of transnational corporations in Argentina

This article analyses current trends as regards the role of transnational corporations in Argentine industry in the light of the structural changes taking place on the domestic, regional and international fronts, as compared with the conditions prevailing during the application of the import substitution model. Section I describes the new conditions observed at the national and international levels which are forcing all business enterprises to redefine their production, commercial, financial and technological strategies, with the Argentine subsidiaries of transnational corporations playing the…

Price elasticity of Central American agricultural exports

The economies of the Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua); are largely dependent on four major traditional export products: bananas, coffee, cotton and sugar. The share of these products in total Central American exports, which is still close to 50%, only started to decline in the late 1980s. This paper explores the determinants of these four products' production trends, and the importance of non-price-related economic and social factors and of man-made and natural disruptions is fully acknowledged. However, an attempt is made to use the ECL…

International economic highlights 1993