Building post-pandemic economic resilience by diversifying tourism: the case of Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia

Through a combination of primary and secondary research, this study sheds light on the effects of the pandemic on the tourism industries of the small island states of Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Additionally, the study seeks to identify potential areas for niche market development to diversify the tourism sector in these destinations. Using a counterfactual analysis, visitor expenditure losses were estimated at over $7 billion over the period 2020 to 2022, among the three countries under review. The easing of restrictions on movement in 2021 and 2022 however al…

The Hummingbird Vol. 11 No. 4

CEPAL Review No. 142

Capital flows to Latin America and the Caribbean: first 10 months of 2023

Latin American and Caribbean bond issuance in international markets totalled US$ 76.4 billion in the first 10 months of 2023, rebounding from the low volumes recorded in 2022. This figure represented a 30% increase compared to the same period in 2022 and was 20% higher than the annual volume. Issuers that have been waiting for lower borrowing costs are gradually returning to the international market, as they anticipate the end to global interest rate hikes while accepting that rates may remain higher for longer. The region issued US$ 23.2 billion in international green, social, sustainability …

Capital flows to Latin America and the Caribbean: 2023 year-in-review and early 2024 developments

Latin American and Caribbean bond issuance in international markets totalled US$ 89 billion in 2023, 40% higher than the figure recorded in 2022, but still 35% lower than the average annual level in the three-year period from 2019 to 2021. The average coupon on the region’s bonds issued in international markets was 1.65 percentage points higher than in 2022. Indicating a strong start to the year, international bond issuance amounted to US$ 31.19 billion in January 2024, the region’s third-highest monthly total. In 2023, the region issued US$ 31 billion in green, social, sustainability and sust…

Preliminary overview of the economies of the Caribbean 2022–2023

This overview examines the economic performance of economies of the Caribbean in 2022 and comprises four chapters. The first chapter provides a comparative analysis across Caribbean economies of the main macroeconomic variables, namely GDP growth, monetary indicators, as well as fiscal and external accounts. The second chapter concludes, while the annex includes individual country briefs that give an overview of the economic situation for the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and a subregional assessment of the countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currenc…

Educating the future workforce

Report of the Twenty-First Meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee

The Hummingbird Vol. 11 No. 2

Harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence to create public value in the Caribbean. Policy Brief

Caribbean governments need to proactively harness and adopt artificial intelligence technology in public sector organizations to create public value. Despite its numerous benefits, public sector organizations in the Caribbean are lagging in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption. AI is a disruptive technology that has become increasingly ubiquitous and pervasive in modern societies. Extremely transformative, they have advanced rapidly, and affect virtually every aspect of our existence, including the way we interact with and transact within society. AI has provided many benefits, which were pre…

Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean. Labour market inclusion of young people and redistribution of care work: challenges and opportunities

After two years of a steady recovery of labour markets in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the first quarter of 2023, labour market performance weakened in a context of slow growth. Moreover, the regional economic slowdown, likely to intensify from the second half of 2023 onwards, is expected to pose greater challenges for the continued increase in the employment rate, and for growth in both formal and wage-earning employment. This twenty-ninth edition of Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean anaylses the dynamics that connect the labou…

The Hummingbird Vol. 11 No. 1

Public expenditure in Latin America and the Caribbean: classification systems for the analysis of resource allocation

The purpose of this document is to provide a comprehensive overview of public expenditure in Latin American and Caribbean countries, through the functional classification and social expenditure on the basis of the Social Expenditure Database (SOCX) methodology of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The detailed and comparable statistical information on public spending by purpose and function, as well as by social programme, makes it possible to analyse, formulate and implement public policies that are more efficient and effective. It also allows for greater trans…

Artificial Intelligence for Caribbean Sustainable Development

United States economic outlook: third quarter of 2023

The United States economy expanded by 5.2% in the third quarter of 2023, the fastest pace in nearly two years. Consumer spending was the main driver of economic growth in the quarter, followed by accumulation of private inventories. The third quarter marked the fifth consecutive quarter of growth above the economy’s potential. Labour market growth remained solid, with 2.6 million jobs added from January to November 2023, but is easing. Inflation is also gradually slowing. Despite interest rate hikes in 2022 and in the first half of 2023, the United States economy —supported by a strong job mar…

From legislation to implementation: building a new industrial policy in the United States

This document examines the implementation strategies and execution challenges of three major pieces of legislation that were signed into law in the United States in late 2021 and in 2022. Together they provide more than US$ 2 trillion in authorized funding and incentives for up to ten years to rebuild the country’s infrastructure, accelerate the transition to a green economy, and strengthen the domestic semiconductor industry while promoting job growth, workforce development, and equity. The scale of these laws, given the level of funding required, their complexity, given the multiplicity of g…

Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2023

The Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2023 shows that economic activity in Latin America and the Caribbean is still on a path of low growth. For 2023, growth in all subregions is expected to be lower than in 2022. In 2024, the growth rate is expected to be lower than in 2023, with GDP growth and job creation slowing further. Importantly, the low growth projected in 2023 and 2024 is not just a temporary problem, but reflects the fall in the trend growth rate of regional GDP. As noted in this report, the region faces multiple challenges in boosting growth …

The Hummingbird Vol. 10 No. 12

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2023. Financing a sustainable transition: investment for growth and climate change action

The 2023 edition of the Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean, its seventy-fifth issue, consists of three parts. Part I outlines the region’s economic performance in 2022 and analyses trends in the early months of 2023, as well as the outlook for growth for the year and for 2024. It highlights the external and domestic factors that have influenced the region’s economic performance and how these factors will affect economic growth in the coming years. Part II of this edition analyses the macroeconomic repercussions of climate change on the economies of Latin America and the Caribbe…

United States-Latin America and the Caribbean Trade Developments 2023

United States trade in goods fell by 3.9% year-on-year in the first six months of 2023, ending a recovery that started in 2021. This was a result of goods exports declining by almost 1% and goods imports by 6.3%. In contrast, in 2022, United States services trade reached a record high, with US$ 697 billion in imports and US$ 929 billion in exports. United States-Latin America and the Caribbean Trade Developments provides an overview of selected developments in trade relations between the United States and Latin America and the Caribbean. In light of the global focus on the climate crisis and t…