Challenges in meeting the monitoring requirements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): an examination of selected social statistics for four Caribbean small island developing states

This document seeks to characterise the challenges faced by Caribbean countries in meeting the monitoring requirements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). An examination and analysis of infrastructural capacity and key data issues are presented. Requirements for capacity building in the field of social statistics in the subregion are also explored. Selected social indicators of the MDGs, accompanied by technical notes, definitions and relevant discussions on the indicators are detailed. The sources of data are the 1990 and 2000/2001 population census of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize an…

Yachting in the Eastern Caribbean: a regional overview

Describes the impetus for the Netherlands-funded project NET/00/79 Development of Marine-based Strategy and the role of the report on Yachting in that venture. Provides working definitions of various yachts, the yachting industry, tourists, and yachting establishments. Discusses generally the relevance of the yachting industry to Caribbean tourism and economies. Explores the human and social dimension of yachting and provides and overview of the environmental issues related to the yachting sector. Identifies the challenges facing the industry, such as lack of recognition, crime, and la…

Issues, effects and implications of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Agreement for CARICOM economies

The objective of this document is to analyse some of the main issues, effects and implications of the FTAA for Caribbean Community (CARICOM) economies. It also considers when relevant and for comparison purposes the cases of non-independent States. The document is divided into seven sections. Following the introduction, the second section describes, albeit briefly, the main issues that are found in the Free Trade Areas literature. The third section introduces the FTAA participants highlighting their economic and social disparities. The fourth section centers on the FTAA underlying principles …

Fiscal trends and policy issues and implications for the Caribbean

This document analyses fiscal trends and policies for Caribbean countries. It is divided into six parts. Following the introduction, the second section focuses on trends in government revenue and examines the tax structure at the regional and country level. The third section describes the type of tax incentives granted by Caribbean governments for sectoral development for selected country cases. The fourth part centres on government expenditure; describes the decomposition of government expenditure and analyses the behaviour of the components of government expenditure. The fifth section deals …

Progress made in the implementation of the CARICOM single market and economy

This paper examines the progress in the implementation of the CSME and what this has meant for the core (trade, investment, etc.); and functional aspects (foreign policy coordination, education, health and social development, etc.,); of integration. A tentative assessment is also made of the relevance of the current mode of integration in light of the opportunities and constraints of the international environment. The paper is divided into three sections. Section one provides a critical assessment of the implementation of the protocols and other aspects of the CSME. Section two evaluates the …

Capital flows to Latin America: third quarter 2002

Brazil's electoral outlook and the external backdrop were the main drivers of Latin American credits in the third quarter of 2002, thus the performance of Latin American markets continued to be pressured by Brazil's fate and the ebb and flow of investors' risk appetite. The region had a rare month of outperformance in August, as the prompt negotiation of an IMF agreement for Brazil and the moderation of global risk aversion brought strong returns for Brazil, in particular, and for countries considered high-risks in general. However, risk aversion peaked again in September, retur…

Caribbean tourism, trends, policies and impact, 1985-2002

This paper provides an overview of the structure and performance of the Caribbean tourism sector. It evaluates the role of policies and strategies as they impact the growth and competitiveness of the sector. Although the paper is not definitive on the subject, it provides some initial work on aspects of the industry that are not the typical focus of research. These include industrial structure, evaluated in terms of size, concentration, economies of scale and scope, competition and market types, for example oligopoly. Further the paper, examines the concept of clusters as it applies to the in…

The Netherlands Antilles: trade and integration with CARICOM (revisited)

Introduction The study of trade and integration (LC/CAR/G.681) between the Netherlands Antilles and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was undertaken to assess the nature and extent of trade between the two groups of countries as well as the institutional framework for facilitating such trade. In addition, the study considered integration options for increasing trade, in particular Netherlands Antilles exports to CARICOM. Assessment of the export structures of the two groups revealed similarity in goods and services produced but a more diversified export structure in the case of CARICOM. Th…

Fiscal policy and social protection in Chile

Stable development and financing of the social protection system, one of the priorities of fiscal policy in Chile over recent years, has helped to reduce poverty and indigence, particularly since the 1990s. The fiscal accounts have been managed prudently, and budgetary balance and efficient administration have been given priority over short-term objectives. Even so, poverty is still a fact of life and the poor are still vulnerable to drastic falls in income. This means that an effort is still required to modernize fiscal policy and develop new institutional arrangements for the social protecti…

Access of Latin American and Caribbean exports in the U.S. market 2002-2003

Access to Latin American and Caribbean Exports in the United States market, 2001-2002 is the eighth annual report released by the ECLAC Washington Office, updating information contained in previous reports. Its aim is to compile and make available information on trade inhibiting measures that Latin American and Caribbean exports encounter in the United States market. This report needs to be placed in the context of a trade relationship between the United States and Latin America and the Caribbean, which has grown strongly over the years to the benefit of both economies. Moreover, it must be …

CEPAL Review no.81

Unfinished business in the international dialogue on debt

From November 2001 to April 2003, the International Monetary Fund grappled with a radical proposal, the Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism, for handling the external debt of insolvent governments of developing and transition economies. That proposal was rejected, but new collective action clauses that address some of the difficulties in restructuring bond debt are being introduced. In addition, IMF is developing a pragmatic and eclectic approach to assessing debt sustainability that can be useful to governments and creditors. However, many of the problems in restructuring sover…

Maritime transport liberalization and the challenges to further its implementation in Chile

The liberalization of Maritime Transport is one important element to increase the export competitiveness of a country. In fact, studies remark that, for some countries, the effective rate of protection by the costs of transport is much higher than that of tariffs. One of the most relevant elements in the determination of the costs of maritime transport refers to the efficient management of ports. The global trend towards trade liberalization and integration and economic interdependence led Latin American countries to opt for programs of economic reforms that incorporated the participation of d…

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2002-2003

Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2003

This document contains an analysis of and statistics on the economic performance of the region as a whole and of individual Latin American and Caribbean countries in 2003. As predicted by ECLAC in its midyear projections, the economy of Latin America and the Caribbean has grown by 1.5% in 2003. In contrast, the region's per capita GDP remained flat at 1.5% below the 1997 level. The lowest point of the cycle came in the first quarter of 2002, after which the economy began to make a mild recovery. The regional economy is expected to grow by 3.5% in 2004, leaving behind the lost six-ye…

The role of insurance in social protection

Social protection systems have to cope with large discrepancies between the financing needed to cover demand and the resources actually available. For this reason, it is necessary for any reform proposal to include elements of cost restraint as well as measures to increase the population coverage of systems. Efficiency and solidarity must improve together if progress is to be made towards universality of benefits. Any reform strategy needs to consider not only the financial constraints imposed by the macroeconomy, but also the heavy drain on financial resources and the effects on the fiscal ac…

Capital flows to Latin America: third quarter 2003

In the third quarter of 2003, investors continued to favor riskier assets buoyed by abundant global liquidity, low interest rates in mature markets, strong economic growth (with low inflation), and improving credit quality. Credit spreads in emerging and Latin American markets narrowed in response, by 41 and 56 basis points, respectively, and are near historical lows in most emerging market countries. The EMBI+ index is well below its long run average, according to J.P Morgan. Issuers in emerging markets and Latin America benefited from the decline in spreads, as well as from the greater inter…

Potential output in Latin America: a standard approach for the 1950-2002 period

(*) This document was prepared by André A. Hofman of the Economic Projections Center of the Statistics Division, and Heriberto Tapia research assistant in the office of the Executive Secretary of ECLAC. The views expressed in this document, which has been reproduced without formal editing, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Organization.. Abstract Potential output estimates are becoming increasingly important in policy design in Latin America (ECLAC, 2002) and the objective of this paper is to make a methodological contribution to this field of work…

E-business innovation and customs renovation for secure supply chain management

Information technologies (ITs) and supply chain management (SCM) are increasingly considered as indispensable tools of competitiveness especially for companies facing excessive global competition, although these companies have not necessarily succeeded in taking full advantage of such cutting-edge technologies and management systems. Their use, especially of international SCMs, is limited to a small number of purchaser-suppliers groups that are formed primarily by transnational corporations (TNCs). The factors impeding a proliferation of SCMs at a global scale include the difficulties that com…

Selected statistical indicators of Caribbean countries, vol. XVI, 2003

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean and Secretariat to the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC), is pleased to present the seventeenth volume of the Selected Statistical Indicators of Caribbean Countries (SSI). This publication represents a compilation of original nationally produced and officially published statistics on select indicators for the year 2003. Where available, 2004 and 2005 figures have been included. The aim of the SSI is to serve as a single source of Caribbean statistics on national…