Proposal for the implementation of a ferry service through Public Private Partnerships (PPP’s) in the Eastern Caribbean Region

This FAL Bulletin is part of the reflections on infrastructure and connectivity that have been frequently addressed in documents of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). It contributes to the reflections under the project “Transport and Trade Connectivity in the Age of Pandemics: Contactless, Seamless and Collaborative UN Solutions”. This edition analyzes the possibility of implementing a ferry network in the Eastern Caribbean region through Public Private Partnerships (PPP’s) to promote better and more fluid connectivity. This document was prepared by Diogo Aita…

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…

CEPAL Review No. 138

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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…

China and Latin America and the Caribbean: Exports competition in the United States market

This paper uses an augmented gravity trade model to examine the impact of Chinese exports to the United States on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) exports to the same market over the last two decades. The analysis relies on a sample of 33 LAC countries and trade data disaggregated to the 10- digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) level. The results show that the impact of Chinese exports on US imports from LAC is negative and statistically significant across model specifications and levels of aggregation in the trade data. In addition, the model suggests that after accounting for such exp…

Regional Digital Trade Integration Index (Version 1): A Guide

The regional digital trade integration index (RDTII) results from cooperation among several United Nations Regional Commissions. This guide is based on the methodology and indicators of RDTII Version 1.0. It provides essential explanations of the structure and rationale of RDTII 1.0 and guidance on data collection and sources. It is expected to give a guideline to those involved in collecting regulatory data to analyze the digital trade regulatory environment based on the RDTII 1.0 framework. It is useful also for those who will use the index and related indicators for policy analysis and draf…

Economic analysis based on input-output tables: Definitions, indicators and applications for Latin America

This manual summarizes the theoretical bases of the input-output model applied in the economic analysis of countries and groups of countries (subregions). The input-output tables developed by the Regional Integration Unit of the International Trade and Integration Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will be of use to government experts for conducting their own calculations and analyses, following and adapting the guidelines and recommendations contained the manual to design specific public policies. Some indicators suggested in the document include …

CEPAL Review No. 137

2021 Port Report: Early signs of a recovery in international container shipping in Latin America and the Caribbean

In 2020 the entire world was overwhelmed by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which changed the daily lives of people around the globe and had a devastating impact on humankind. The pandemic and its effects in different sectors have been the object of intensive analysis. This edition of the FAL Bulletin will focus on the question as to whether or not the international container shipping industry in Latin America and the Caribbean is on the path to recovery. It will also look at the upward trend in container freight rates and its implications as one of the emerging issues associated …

Towards the measurement of electromobility in international trade

This document, which was prepared as part of a collaborative project between the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), provides a methodology for disaggregating electric and conventional buses into their parts, in order to analyse international trade flows in electromobility components. The vectors developed are based on the 2017 version of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System and include all parts needed to build electric or conventional (diesel) buses. The vectors capture global tra…

Towards the measurement of electromobility in international trade: An interactive online dashboard

The dashboard presented here was developed in the framework of a collaboration project between ECLAC and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on electromobility in Latin America. The dashboard represents the visualization of a methodology proposed for analysing trade flows in electric bus components in Latin America and worldwide in order to evaluate the productive capacity of Latin American countries in this area. The required components have accordingly been disaggregated into three levels: processed and semi-processed components and raw materials. The dashboard capt…

End of assignment report Alicia Bárcena 2008–2022

This document contains a report on the term in office of Alicia Bárcena as Executive Secretary of ECLAC (2008–2022), by area of work of the Commission.…

IT enabled services in the post-pandemic economy new opportunities for relations between India and Latin America

During the last few decades, India’s trade with the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries has grown substantially, especially in the area of Information Technology (IT) services. The definition of IT services now includes a plethora of IT-enabled services (ITeS) directed to specific sectors, including Agri-tech, Fin-tech, Health-tech, manufacturing and mining-based services, as well as e-commerce. This sector has attracted significant Indian investment in the region. Over the last decade, the share of the IT sector in total Indian Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the region has nearly…

The Hummingbird Vol. 9 No. 1

Investing in sustainable, resilient and inclusive infrastructure for economic recovery

This document outlines the situation and challenges of infrastructure investments in Latin America and the Caribbean, taking the global environment as a reference, and sets out some considerations on the behaviour of investments in 2020 and the outlook for 2021. It summarizes some of the stimulus packages provided by the countries for recovery from economic crisis caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. It also highlights the need for sustainable, resilient and inclusive infrastructure criteria in order to make economic recovery more dynamic, to narrow some structural gaps, and …

Economic and social effects of a possible trade agreement between Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) concluded between Asian Pacific States in 2020 is expected to change regional and global trade patterns. Based on a Computable General Equilibrium model (including 41 countries and 39 sectors), the underlying paper evaluates the impact of firstly, RCEP on trade between Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) and Asian Pacific member countries, and secondly, a hypothetical free trade area in LAC and thirdly, a free trade agreement within and between the two regions. Results are analyzed on the country —and sector— level by type of agent (small a…

Is existing digital infrastructure a constraint on recovery?

This FAL Bulletin aims to answer the question of whether the technological infrastructure available in the region is a constraint on post-pandemic recovery. It shows why existing technological infrastructure is not a constraint on recovery but rather the opposite, emphasizing the key role infrastructure has played in reducing the pandemic’s impact. It concludes with a set of considerations and recommendations, highlighting the importance of continuing to develop technological infrastructure in the region.…

Essential elements of the ECLAC Caribbean Resilience Fund : a segregated portfolio trust fund. Policy Brief

Declining economic growth and competitiveness, the impact of the 2007–2009 global financial crisis, and the challenge of climate change and extreme weather events have hindered the sustainable development of Caribbean economies, the generation of sustained welfare gains and the achievement of key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the subregion’s vulnerability to the vagaries of global aggregate demand and commodity prices, which have largely driven the subregion’s debt upwards and dampened economic growth before its onset, compromising its ec…

International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2021: Pursuing a resilient and sustainable recovery

In its 2021 edition, this ECLAC annual report examines the foreign trade performance of the region’s economies during the current year, with the most recent figures available on the impact of COVID-19 and the post-pandemic recovery in the distinct countries. The publication consists of three chapters. The first analyzes the evolution of global and regional trade in the last year and their prospects for a post-pandemic recovery. The second chapter examines the challenge of achieving productive autonomy in the region’s health industry, and the third offers proposals for defining the contribution…

United States-Latin America and the Caribbean Trade Developments 2021

United States trade is showing a healthy recovery in 2021 in both imports and exports of goods and services, although some categories of services are still suffering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Travel, transport, and tourism have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. In contrast, trade in goods has recovered in all major categories. United States-Latin America and the Caribbean Trade Developments 2021 provides an overview of developments in United States trade relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. Following the global focus on the climate crisis and the specific…