The main drivers of arabica coffee prices in Latin America

This paper analyzes the determinants of arabica green coffee prices in Latin American countries using a time series analysis and panel data methods. For this purpose, we construct a panel of different coffee prices: Coffee Organization (ICO) composite prices for Brazilian Naturals, Colombian Milds, and Other Milds; prices paid by the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC) to coffee growers; and farm gate prices by country. The results show that the Brazilian Real to USD real exchange rate, inflation, and rain in January affect prices positively. In contrast, green coffee inventorie…

The Hummingbird Vol. 8 No. 3

Free competition in the post-pandemic digital era: The impact on SMEs

This study was conducted in the framework of the United Nations Development Account project “Global Initiative towards Post-COVID-19 Resurgence of the Micro-, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Sector” (under the “Access to markets” cluster), which aims to analyse the actions of competition authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and facilitate their recovery. This document analyses the role of competition policy in the digital economy, with an emphasis on the relation between business strat…

Competition institutions in Mexico in relation to COVID‐19 and the economic recovery

This study is part of the activities envisaged under the “Enhance access to markets” cluster of the Development Account project “Global Initiative towards post-COVID-19 resurgence of the MSME Sector”. Its main purpose is to analyse the measures adopted by the competition authorities of the governments of Latin America and the Caribbean in support of small and medium-sized enterprises during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in order to facilitate their recovery. The aim of this study is to examine the main policy actions implemented by Mexican competition authorities to address the …

Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2020

The decade ending in 2019 saw the highest ever foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to Latin America and the Caribbean, which reached their peak in 2012. Since then, foreign investment inflows have declined steadily, bringing into focus, especially in South American countries, the relationship between FDI flows, the macroeconomic cycle and commodity price cycles in the region. In 2019, Latin America and the Caribbean received US$ 160.721 billion in FDI, 7.8% less than in 2018, a decline that is seen intensifying sharply in 2020 when inflows are forecast to drop by between 45% and 55% as a r…

Building Resilience across the Caribbean Post-COVID-19

Digital Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean (eLAC2022)

Internet & Jurisdiction and ECLAC Regional Status Report 2020

The Internet & Jurisdiction and ECLAC Regional Status Report 2020 is Latin America and the Caribbean’s first comprehensive exercise in mapping the different policy trends relating to the cross-border nature of the Internet and the way this affects different stakeholders such as governments, companies and civil society. How might differing regional and national regulations create barriers to cross-border e-commerce and investment in digital markets? What economic and social benefits could be realized by harmonizing frameworks throughout the region? A better understanding of this situation …

Provisional agenda. Seventh Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean

Annotated provisional agenda. Seventh Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean

Food systems and COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean N° 15: Towards inclusive, responsible and sustainable fisheries and aquaculture

In Latin America and the Caribbean, fishing and aquaculture are fundamental in social, economic and nutritional terms: 85 percent of fish and seafood products that reach the tables of the region's households come from small-scale fishing. Besides, it represents the livelihood of 1.8 million families. Unfortunately, the crisis has heavily affected fisheries and aquaculture. The restrictive health measures have had adverse effects on the free operation of the sector, and the crisis has changed consumption habits. The sector needs short term action; it also needs to modify some aspects of th…

Report of the twenty-eighth session of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee

Latin American Economic Outlook 2020: Digital transformation for building back better

The Latin American Economic Outlook (LEO) 2020 focuses on the role of digital transformation in helping to navigate through challenging times. The Covid-19 pandemic is having a profound impact on socio-economic conditions, accentuating the already complex scenario faced by a region with significant structural weaknesses. This unprecedented crisis comes at a time of high aspirations and reinforces the need to transform the very foundations of the development model in the region. The report explores how digital transformation can help to cope with the current socio-economic situation, boost prod…

Investing for the future in Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America and the Caribbean is a large, heterogeneous region that has been open to foreign direct investment (FDI) and is home to two of the top FDI recipient economies in the world: Brazil and Mexico. The trade and investment relationship between the region and the member States of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) has been concentrated on infrastructure and energy, and to a lesser extent commercial and financial services, agriculture and tourism. Both regions could exploit synergies to benefit more from bilateral …

Cybersecurity and the role of the Board of Directors in Latin America and the Caribbean

This paper presents and discusses the relation between cybersecurity and corporate governance in the context of Latin America and the Caribbean. It notes that progress has been made in improving corporate cybersecurity within the region mostly from a data protection perspective, either as a result of internally driven or regulatory motivated corporate initiatives, but that not enough headway has been made regarding the cyber risks affecting critical infrastructure and essential services in the hands of private or State-owned companies. The paper describes some of the best corporate governance …

CEPAL Review no. 131

International financial cooperation to address the Latin American economic crisis / José Antonio Ocampo .-- Mapping social conflicts in natural resources: a text mining study of extractive activities / Ramiro Albrieu and Gabriel Palazzo .-- The ECLA technique of programming and economists in Argentina in the mid-twentieth century / Mariano Arana .-- Indicator of the efficiency of value added tax and income tax collection in Ecuador / José Ramírez-Álvarez and Paul Carrillo-Maldonado .-- Growth and heterogeneity of human capital: effects of the expansion of higher education on the income increas…

Universalizing access to digital technologies to address the consequences of COVID-19

This Special Report is the seventh in a series by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on the evolution and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean. It examines the key role of digital technologies in the pandemic prompted by the coronavirus and how gaps in access, affordability and network speed deepen the inequalities and vulnerabilities of the region’s population. It also analyzes the advances and limitations of digitalization and assesses how digital solutions reduce the impact of measures aimed at containing the virus, such as loc…

Tracking the digital footprint in Latin America and the Caribbean: Lessons learned from using big data to assess the digital economy

This report explores the opportunities for and challenges of the systematic use of publicly available digital data as a tool for formulating public policies for the development of the digital economy in Latin America and the Caribbean. The objective is to share lessons learned in order to advance a research agenda that allows the countries of the region to create alternative measuring tools based on the digital footprint. Using big data techniques, the digital footprint left behind by labour market portals, e-commerce platforms and social media networks offer unprecedented information, both in…

Sectors and businesses facing COVID-19: Emergency and reactivation

This Special Report “Sectors and businesses facing COVID-19: emergency and reactivation” is the fourth in a series by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on the evolution and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean. The economic crisis generated by coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is having a major impact on the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean and is hitting a productive and business structure with weaknesses that have been building up for decades. Before the pandemic, the region’s production structure already showed great …

Institutional change and political conflict in a structuralist model

The article presents a theoretical model of political conflict and democratic stability in a small open developing economy, using as the basis a structuralist macroeconomic model. Political institutions are given in the medium run, but they vary in the long run as the result of political conflict between capitalists, formal workers, and informal workers excluded from the benefits of social protection conquered by the formal workers. The model suggests that a democratic breakdown is more likely the larger the informal sector, the lower the non-price competitiveness of the economy, and the weake…