Latin America and the Caribbean looking ahead to the Second World Summit for Social Development: proposals for inclusive social development

The overarching objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development —ending poverty and hunger and reducing inequality— are long-held priorities of the region and particularly salient in the work of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The region’s countries have cooperated to achieve these objectives since the establishment of the Regional Conference as a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in 2014. The Regional Agenda for Inclusive Social Development, adopted by the Regional Confe…

The influence of fiscal solvency on financial development: evidence for 140 countries, 1990–2020

If financial development facilitates economic development at the international level, as is the consensus view, then it follows that each government’s task is to implement policies that effectively boost national financial development. This study tests the new hypothesis that a more fiscally solvent policy approach positively influences financial development. The results, based on a yearly comparison, show that fiscal solvency, approximated by the credit rating on sovereign debt denominated in local currency, affects three dimensions of financial development: (i) the depth of credit leveraging…

Book review essay. The World That Latin America Created: the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America in the Development Era, by Margarita Fajardo

This book review essay analyses and builds on the work of Margarita Fajardo on the history of the establishment of the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC) and the growth and decline of its influence in the region and around the world in the two decades following its founding.…

Economic growth and productive sectors: recent empirical data on middle-income countries

This article examines how structural change affected economic growth in middle-income developing countries between 1960 and 2019, especially in Brazil (between 1948 and 2020), using the vector autoregression (VAR) model and panel data. The VAR model suggests that structural change in Brazil resulted in the services sector having a greater impact on economic growth owing to the transfer of resources from high-productivity sectors to low-productivity sectors, which reduced the rate of economic growth. Panel data suggest that economic growth in the sample of countries continues to be heavily infl…

Editorial note

On the measurement of growth over the long run

Methodologies for the construction of nominal and real gross domestic product (GDP) time series often differ over time and between countries. This paper discusses the main issues raised by this methodological heterogeneity for long-run measures of economic growth and, informed by these issues, provides a set of internationally comparable GDP estimates from 1820 to 2020. The estimates are based on real product benchmarks relative to the United Kingdom as the reference economy. The GDP time series of the reference economy is a normalized composite of several indices. These estimates suggest that…

Provisional agenda. Twenty-fourth meeting of the Executive Committee of the Statistical Conference of the Americas of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

Annotated provisional agenda. Twenty-fourth meeting of the Executive Committee of the Statistical Conference of the Americas of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America and the Caribbean in the Final Five Years of the 2030 Agenda: Steering Transformations to Accelerate Progress. Summary

Five years from the deadline for achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Latin America and the Caribbean, progress has fallen short of expectations a decade ago when the journey began. Many factors have impeded better progress: weak institutional capacities, limited financing and fiscal space, low growth for major trading partners, the shock of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and subsequent cascading crises. In 2025, these factors have been compounded by geopolitical tensions and disruptions that may pose new obstacles for achievement of the SDGs, as well as new…

Main results of the 2021 cycle of the International Comparison Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean

This study presents the main results of the 2021 cycle of the International Comparison Programme (ICP) for Latin America and the Caribbean. It also includes an overview of the concepts and methods underlying the estimation of purchasing power parities (PPPs) and real expenditure.…

Latin America and the Caribbean looking ahead to the Second World Summit for Social Development: Proposals for Inclusive Social Development. Draft document prepared by the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin...

Territorialization of the Sustainable Development Goals in Latin America and the Caribbean: a manual for implementation of voluntary local reviews at the subnational level

Just six years away from the date set for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals established in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, an unprecedented level of concerted action is called for. All stakeholders will have to strengthen their resolve to find and put in place lasting solutions. Although the Sustainable Development Goals are global in scope, their achievement will hinge on the ability to make their attainment a reality at the subnational, local and territorial levels, including individual towns, cities and regions. The purpose of this manual is to share lessons…

Overcoming Development Traps in Latin America and the Caribbean in the Digital Age: The Transformative Potential of Digital Technologies and Artificial Intelligence

Latin America and the Caribbean is affected by three major structural traps or challenges that are holding back its development: low capacity for growth, high inequality and low social mobility, and low institutional capacity and ineffective governance. These challenges are deeply interconnected and feed back into each other, and the result is a vicious circle of productive stagnation, social exclusion and institutional fragility. However, digital transformation and the use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) offer a unique opportunity to break this cycle. This document ex…

Action for equality, development and peace in Latin America and the Caribbean

The present document, prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), is based on 25 reports prepared by countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean, which in turn are based on comprehensive national 30-year reviews of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (Beijing+30), adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women, in synergy with the implementation of the Regional Gender Agenda deriving from the commitments made at the meetings of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean. The document incorporates …

Annotated provisional agenda. Eighth meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development

Provisional agenda. Eighth meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development

Education and the development of digital competences in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean considers the digital divide to be one of the structural gaps reflected in the development models of Latin America and the Caribbean. Despite the expansion of digital connectivity and equipment, gaps remain with regard to access, use of digital tools and especially competences that would allow the entire population to benefit from the opportunities of the digital age. It is essential to invest in people and their education from childhood to address this gap and advance towards digital inclusion as part of inclusive social development.…

Accessible versions of publications

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, in line with its Disability Inclusion Strategy 2021–2025 (CEPALDIS), is producing accessible versions of publications to meet the accessibility needs of persons with visual impairments. With this in mind, documents that were not originally drafted in an accessible version should be assessed to determine the necessary adaptations, which could include adjustments to graphic elements and text to ensure compliance with accessibility criteria. Some accessible publications are part of CEPALDIS and are included in the ECLAC programme of wor…

Time for care in Latin America and the Caribbean: towards social and gender co-responsibility

This bulletin, prepared jointly by ECLAC and ILO, presents an analysis of the status of maternity, paternity and parental leave in Latin America and the Caribbean. It also outlines the challenge of advancing measures such as parental leave, long-term care leave and urgent leave, as well as the shortening of the working day and more flexible arrangements in terms of both hours and places of work. These regulatory tools should be made available to both men and women, since they are essential for the exercise of co-responsibility, the guarantee of the right to care and the achievement of gender e…

Report of the Third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean

The third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (Escazú Agreement) was held at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, from 22 to 24 April 2024.…