Planning for disaster risk reduction within the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

A disaster can cause countries to lose the economic and social ground that they have worked for decades to gain and can have even more severe impacts on the most vulnerable groups in their populations. The extent of its impacts will depend on the countries’ ability to identify and address their vulnerabilities. This study, which is intended for use by policymakers, in particular, explores the ways in which development planning can lay the foundation for a comprehensive transition from disaster management to disaster risk management. It advocates the adoption of system-based approaches, in keep…

Demographic Observatory of Latin America and the Caribbean 2020. COVID-19 mortality: Evidence and scenarios

This edition of the Demographic Observatory analyses the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on mortality in the countries of the region. In addition, by means of a simulation exercise based on different scenarios of COVID-19 prevalence rates, it estimates the impact of COVID-19-related deaths on life expectancy at birth for the 38 countries and territories of Latin America and the Caribbean. The information used to prepare this edition of the Demographic Observatory corresponds to official information on deaths and causes of death available at 31 October 2020, as well as population …

Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2020

In its Preliminary Overview of the Economies of the region, ECLAC forecasts an average contraction of -7.7% for 2020 – the largest in 120 years – and a rebound of 3.7% in 2021. In a context of global contraction, Latin America and the Caribbean is the region in the developing world that has been hardest hit by the crisis stemming from COVID-19. In the decade prior to the pandemic, the region was on a low-growth trajectory, and in 2020 it faces an unprecedented combination of negative supply and demand shocks, which is translating into the worst economic crisis in the last 120 years. Although t…

The case for financing: Caribbean resilience building in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has not only been sudden but has required significant re-adjustment on the part of world economies with far-reaching effects anticipated in the short to medium term. For vulnerable Caribbean economies already challenged by high debt service payments, external support is needed to fill the resource gap. The objective of this report is to assess the impact of the pandemic imposed restrictions across six critical sectors and to provide policy recommendations to ensure a swift recovery and make a case for greater external concessional financial support to the…

The Hummingbird Vol. 8 No. 2

Statistical disclosure control for Caribbean census tables: A proposal to expand the availability of disaggregated census data

Among Caribbean statistical offices, there is widespread awareness of the issue of statistical confidentiality which has often led to quite strong restrictions on the availability of detailed and disaggregated census tables. In North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, statistical offices use disclosure control methods, particularly methods involving some form of data perturbation, to safely publish detailed and disaggregated census tables. These methods are not used in the Caribbean (or Latin America) but could safely facilitate the release of much more detailed census tables than has…

Natural Resources in Latin America and the Caribbean - No.2

Issue No. 2 of the ECLAC Natural Resources in Latin America and the Caribbean Bulletin Analyses the relationship between gender and the region’ s key natural resources: biodiversity, water, energy, food and mining. It identifies the main economic, social and environmental impacts of the gender gap and the opportunities that exist for incorporating a gender perspective into public policies for those resources.…

People of African descent and COVID-19: unveiling structural inequalities in Latin America

COVID-19 is exposing social inequalities of all kinds in the world and the region, as well as the overrepresentation of Afrodescendants among the group living in poverty who are employed in informal and caregiving jobs. As Afrodescendants have worse indicators of well-being than their non-Afrodescendent peers, they are seen as one of the groups most vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of both infection and mortality. Accordingly, this document analyses the specific situation of Afrodescendent populations and the effects that COVID-19 might be having on them, based on up-to-date empir…

International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2020: Regional integration is key to recovery after the crisis

The 2020 edition of the annual report International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean, prepared by ECLAC, presents the main trends of international trade of the region’s economies during the last year, with the most recent figures available on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the different countries of the region. The document is composed of three chapters that review the evolution of global and regional trade after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, analyze the evolution of intraregional trade with a long-term view, and examine how international trade can contribut…

Persons with disabilities and their rights in the COVID-19 pandemic: leaving no one behind

This document examines the situation of persons with disabilities, in terms of the impact that COVID-19 could have, taking into consideration age and sex, health conditions, types of disability, access to basic infrastructure, overcrowding in the home, access to information and communications technology (ICT), employment status and education. In conclusion, the report presents some national actions that have been taken to reduce the impact of the pandemic and recommendations for addressing the devastating social and economic effects of COVID-19 on persons with disabilities.…

Exploring knowledge spillover through labour mobility from multinationals to domestic firms in the information technology sector in Costa Rica

This study uses wage premiums to explore knowledge spillovers through labour mobility from multinational companies (MNCs) to domestic firms in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector in Costa Rica. To this end, the authors use a novel employer-employee matched database for 2001–2012 and various fixed-effects models.…

Agreements. Fourth meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean

CO2 emissions in Latin American maritime imports and revised export calculations

FAL Bulletin 373 published in January 2020, documented the first results of a rapid assessment methodology for calculating CO2 emissions generated by the maritime transport of the region’s exports. Continuing on from that earlier research, this study aims to apply that methodology to imports by the countries that were examined in the previous publication. Similarly, in consideration of the comments received on that edition, some methodological adjustments were made and the sample was increased; thus, a revision of the export calculations is included, which now cover 82% of total Latin American…

Food systems and COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean N° 17. Recovery with transformation: a mid-term overview

This issue provides a preliminary overview of the effects of this crisis on the regional agrifood system and lists some initiatives and ideas on what to do to recover and transform the regional agrifood systems, with the aim of improving the social and economic conditions of the people living in the region, in complete harmony with nature.…

Draft plan of work for the implementation of the regional agenda for inclusive social development

Annotated provisional agenda. Fourth meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean

Provisional agenda. Fourth meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Hummingbird Vol. 8 No. 1

Structural asymmetries and the health crisis: the imperative of a transformative recovery for the advancement of sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean

This article underscores the pressing need to transition to a new development model in Latin America and the Caribbean as the region strives to cope with the current health emergency. Statistics show that the Latin American and Caribbean region has been hit harder by the pandemic than any other and that it has also sustained the most damage in economic and social terms. This is attributable to long-standing structural factors that set the stage for the emergence of its present dysfunctional development pattern. The region grew by a scant 0.4% per year between 2014 and 2019 against the backdrop…

Brazil: the effects of COVID-19 and recovery

This article analyses the effects of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Brazil’s population and economy, including its high mortality rate per 100,000 inhabitants and its slow stabilization. A brief comparison is made with what is happening in a similar Latin American country, Argentina, where the results in terms of mortality per 100,000 inhabitants have been better, and in France, where the recovery has been more robust. The article also assesses the efficiency of expenditures and notes that the comparison is also not favourable for Brazil. Lastly, it addresses the problem of financing and ar…