The payment landscape of B2C e-commerce marketplaces in Latin America and the Caribbean

This paper studies the digital payments landscape of B2C e-commerce marketplaces in Latin America and the Caribbean. It presents the main characteristics of different digital payment methods, as well as their advantages and disadvantages. It also examines how digital payments contribute to financial inclusion and it describes the global and regional trends and prospects. It presents the main findings of an exhaustive analysis of payment methods accepted by more than 550 transactional marketplaces in 33 countries in LAC. It also examines the main obstacles to development of digital payments in …

Towards sustainable food and nutrition security in Latin America and the Caribbean in response to the global food crisis

This report, prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), analyzes the international context and how the successive crises, along with the war in Ukraine, are affecting Latin America and the Caribbean’s access to food and to key inputs for regional agriculture, which endangers the food security of the region’s inhabitants, especially of the most vulnerable population.…

Provisional agenda. Twenty-ninth meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Council for Planning of the Latin American and Caribbean Institute for Economic and Social Planning (ILPES)

The impacts of the pandemic on the health and well-being of children in Latin America and the Caribbean and its effect on child-sensitive social protection systems

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had a profound impact on health, economic and social conditions in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, affecting different population groups in various ways. While children have not been among the main direct victims of the virus, the crisis triggered by the pandemic has placed children in a situation where they face obstacles to exercising their rights to health and education, social security, a standard of living that allows for their full development and protection from all forms of violence. These challenges are compounded by th…

Annotated provisional agenda. Twenty-ninth meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Council for Planning of the Latin American and Caribbean Institute for Economic and Social Planning (ILPES)

Digital Divides and Inclusion in the Caribbean “New Normal”

Cooperatives versus traditional banks: the impact of interbank market exclusion

We analyse the desirability of allowing cooperative banks to participate in the interbank market in Chile. We find that it is advisable to allow this if the quality of their governance is not too deficient relative to that of traditional commercial banks. When cooperative banks do participate in the interbank market, both the probability of financial crises and the volatility of gross domestic product (GDP) rise. However, because the inclusion of cooperatives generates large efficiency gains in the financial sector, both GDP and aggregate welfare substantially increase. We conclude that there …

Investing in an Inclusive Digital Future for the Caribbean

The Caribbean is undergoing a digital transformation: More people than ever have access to digital technologies and the internet, and both businesses and government entities are increasingly providing online services. While significant disparities remain both within and among Caribbean countries in terms of access to digital technologies and infrastructure, the influence of digital technologies on the subregion has increased significantly in recent years, particularly in response to the public health measures implemented to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.…

CEPAL Review No. 138

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A portrait of success: Uruguayan firms in international trade

This article provides a portrait of firm heterogeneity in connection with international activities. We analyse the impact of the extensive margins of exports and imports and of trade with different types of partners on firms’ performance, using detailed national customs and manufacturing firm survey data from Uruguay for the period 1997–2005. This is the first study to use customs data and analyse the extensive margins of trade and types of partner for Uruguayan firms. In line with previous studies, we find that trade is highly concentrated and that firms which both export and import show a su…

The Hummingbird Vol. 9 No. 12

A relationship between job quality and economic growth over the long run and the role of labour institutions: the case of Uruguay, 1991–2018

The trend reflected in the job quality index constructed for this study indicates that economic growth alone is not enough to improve the quality of employment. Econometric techniques are used to estimate the long-run relationship between this index and GDP. The results of those calculations clearly point to a negative relationship between these two variables from 2005 on, when job quality began to improve against a backdrop of strong economic growth in combination with changes in the institutional framework (labour laws and collective bargaining mechanisms) that were conducive to an improveme…

A South American interoceanic network: Bioceanic corridors and the role of connecting states

In recent years, the external sector of the state of Mato Grosso has shown impressive growth rates. The state’s exports per capita are three times higher than those of China. This phenomenon seems to be on the verge of overcoming one of the main obstacles to South American integration: the Atlantic-Pacific barrier. The hypothesis analysed in this issue of the FAL Bulletin is that certain ongoing exogenous and endogenous “tectonic changes” in five Brazilian states that have been intensifying for some time will finally make bioceanic corridors viable. The challenge is to form an interoceanic net…

Argentina’s economic relations with China and their impact on a long-term production strategy

This article analyses how trade and investment relations between Argentina and China have evolved in the post-convertibility period. In the case of trade, Argentina’s sales to China are more concentrated in the primary sector than its exports to other countries. Chinese competition has adverse effects on Argentina’s domestic production only in specific sectors, but it has caused significant displacement of Argentine exports to Brazil. In the case of foreign direct investment, Chinese FDI is driven by a quest for natural resources and generates little productive or technological spillover. Thus…

Digitization in ports: Application of digital twins to complex logistics

This FAL Bulletin forms part of ECLAC reflections on disruptive technologies in transport. This issue explores the opportunities and challenges involved in the implementation of digital twins in logistics and port operations and the potential impact of this new technology on competitiveness. This issue also highlights the importance of digital twins as a new key technology for the development of logistics and urban infrastructure, and the important benefits which its application could bring to Latin American and Caribbean countries. Digital twins could optimize operations in the region’s ports…

The effects of domestic demand shocks on inflation in a small open economy: Chile in the period 2000–2021

This study decomposes the factors that determined inflation in Chile during the period 2000–2021. It finds that the main determinants of domestic inflation were variables of external origin and the exchange rate. Domestic demand played a rather limited role as an inflationary factor. In normal periods, increases in domestic demand generally explained no more than 25% of observed inflation. The average monthly inflation observed during the period 2000–2021 was 0.3%, which means that domestic demand growth in normal periods explained monthly inflation of 0.08%. Surprisingly, the extraordinary pe…

Measurement of tax expenditures in Latin America

The tax system is one of the main instruments used by the State to finance the provision of public goods and services. In the tax system, there are preferential treatments that seek to promote economic activity or support certain sectors. The public revenues forgone by these preferential treatments are known as tax expenditures. The volume of tax expenditures in Latin America is considerable. On average, they were equivalent to 3.8% of GDP and accounted for 20.6% of tax revenues in 2020. Given the need to promote a transformative recovery and finance the implementation of the Sustainable Devel…

Which revealed comparative advantage index to choose? Theoretical and empirical considerations

This article proposes guidelines for choosing an index of revealed comparative advantages (RCA) to analyse a given configuration of countries, products and periods. Following a systematic review of the main theoretical strengths and weaknesses inherent in RCA indices, a standardized method is designed to gauge the quality of their empirical measurement. This method is illustrated for Colombia and the Northern Triangle. The guidelines formalize a number of theoretical and empirical trade-offs that need to be weighed to provide a better basis for choosing an RCA index.…

Illustrating Internet Speed Divides in the Caribbean During COVID-19

Discussions on digital inclusion and the digital divide have been ongoing at the global level for over 20 years. While early discussions focused primarily on the gap in access to digital technologies between countries, new digital divides have emerged as the technology has become more advanced and its impact on society has increased.…

Governance approaches and practices in Latin America and the Caribbean for transformative change for biodiversity

The relevance of biodiversity to global climate, health and social stability has been widely documented; its present state of deterioration and loss is an urgent call to change the way in which we live with species and ecosystems. This leads to a recognition of the importance of reformulating the institutions and various processes associated with biodiversity governance at the subnational, national and global levels that have a negative impact on its conservation and sustainable use. In other words, there is a need to design and implement new forms of governance that facilitate positive transf…