Director's Desk: Post-COVID-19 Economic Aspects of Digital Transformation

The economies of the subregion were hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly those dependent on travel and tourism. The decisions now to be made by policy makers will determine if the countries are able to achieve the SDGs by 2030. They must decide whether to choose the business-as-usual path, or the path of structural transformation of their economies and societies.…

The Case for Economic Restructuring Post-COVID-19 in the Caribbean

Since the global crisis of 2008-2009, there has been less confidence in the primacy of markets to lead sustainable development among developing countries in general and small island developing States (SIDS) in particular. It is acknowledged that markets need discipline and an institutional context that can support private gains while reducing social costs and delivering less inequality. Prompted by declining competitiveness in leading sectors, and a commitment to addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), governments in the subregion have been developing long-term plan…

Development bank financing in the context of the COVID-19 crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean

The world’s financing needs multiplied rapidly from 2020 onward owing to the effects of a systemic crisis considered to have been the worst global crisis since the Second World War: that unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, flows from China, FDI and other inflows of international cooperation and multilateral resources which had been the largest in the region for some years fell back from their pre-pandemic levels. In this context, the debate about the fundamental role of development banks in alleviating market constraints in a crisis has come to the fore. The present study seeks to…

Natural Resources in Latin America and the Caribbean - No.3

In 2021, Latin America and the Caribbean saw an increase in the prices of the main export commodities, mainly as a result of the recovery in global demand following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Issue No. 3 of the ECLAC Natural Resources in Latin America and the Caribbean Bulletin, prepared by the Natural Resources Division of ECLAC, offers an analysis of the movements in prices of non-renewable natural resources and agricultural products in Latin America and the Caribbean, considering the effects of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and sustainable economic recovery in the region. …

Regional policy brief on building urban economic resilience during and after COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean

This document, prepared in the framework of the United Nations Development Account twelfth tranche residual balance (DAT12A) project “Building Urban Economic Resilience during and after COVID-19”, aims to provide a critical analysis of the challenges faced by Latin American and Caribbean countries amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and of the main elements that build economic and financial resilience. First, a detailed description of the project is given and the importance of economic and financial resilience is explained. The background and challenges in the region and the spec…

Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and the COVID-19 crisis

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is the worst global crisis since the Second World War, with developing countries suffering more devastating economic and social effects than developed countries. Governments’ increased pandemic-related expenditure combined with the drastic fall in tax revenues have increased their fiscal deficits and heightened their debt vulnerabilities. The generalized increase in fiscal imbalances and indebtedness has given rise to greater liquidity needs across developing countries, despite considerable heterogeneity in their fiscal positions and debt profiles. E…

The Hummingbird Vol. 9 No. 4

National educational responses to COVID-19

Intergovernmentally agreed conclusions and recommendations of the Fifth meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development

The Caribbean is Making Strides on the SDGS

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

Social protection tools for coping with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: The Latin American experience

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered an unprecedented worldwide social, economic and health crisis. This emergency has prompted the Latin American and Caribbean countries to deploy a series of social protection measures in an attempt to mitigate its impacts, especially for the most vulnerable population groups. In view of this situation and given the possibility of other crises in the future, the role of social protection systems has become one of fundamental importance, and strategies have to be devised for making those systems universal, comprehensive and sustainable on …

Selected online learning experiences in the Caribbean during COVID-19

This study examines how ICTs have supported equitable development of online distance learning for students in primary, secondary, and tertiary education systems across the Caribbean. By presenting data obtained through interviews with government officials and other key stakeholders in five countries and territories - Barbados, the British Virgin Islands, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago – the study highlights learning continuity challenges and successful adaptations specific to the subregion during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study identifies best practices and recommendations to integr…

Education during the COVID-19 pandemic: Access, inclusion and psychosocial support

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognises the key role that education plays in empowering people with the knowledge and skills to work together towards sustainable economic and social development, the highest attainable standards of health and well-being, equality, human rights and global peace. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 is dedicated to the achievement of quality education, aiming to ensure inclusive and equitable education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. COVID-19, however, threatens to reverse the progress made so far on SDG4 and other SDGs and r…

The Hummingbird Vol. 9 No. 2

Social Panorama of Latin America 2021

The 2021 edition of the Social Panorama of Latin America examines the social impact of the crisis prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic and provides the most recent statistics on poverty, inequality and social spending in the region. The study also analyzes the prolonged health crisis’s profound effects on health care and social protection systems, along with the labor impacts caused by the pandemic, and it includes a chapter on the importance of moving towards a care society as the beacon for a sustainable recovery with gender equality.…

How to finance sustainable development: Recovery from the effects of COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean

Global asymmetries influence policies for recovery in Latin America and the Caribbean. Nearly 30 years after the Earth Summit and the global adoption of an international development agenda, in practical terms the environmental pillar of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has not been taken into consideration in recovery policies in the region. This has created major problems in terms of the medium- and long-term direction of regional economies. On balance, recovery measures —which have focused on maintaining consumption or offsetting falls in it— have weakened non-health public servic…

Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2021

This edition of Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean analyzes the economic and social dynamics at play last year, and explores the risks and policy challenges that the region will face in 2022 for driving a transformative recovery. More specifically, the document presents new Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates for the region and all of its countries in 2021, along with projections for 2022.…

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 …