Panorama of Productive Development Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2024: How can the region advance the great productive transformation it needs?

For Latin America and the Caribbean to break from the trap of low growth and low productivity in which it is mired, the region will need to build more sophisticated and diversified economies and bring about virtuous structural change. This will entail a long-term effort, not least the continued improvement of economic fundamentals. To this end, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has urged the countries of the region to scale up and enhance their productive development policies, adopting a new approach that differs substantially from what has hitherto been refer…

Guide for prioritizing and evaluating environmental remediation projects: managing mining legacies

This document contains information, methodologies and guidelines for policymakers and those responsible for implementing public policies aimed at prioritizing investment in environmental remediation projects. It presents an analysis of the concepts of environmental mining legacies and remediation, as well as their most important aspects, taking into account the heterogeneity of the definitions used in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Emphasis is placed on safeguarding human rights, environmental protection, liability for remediation of damage, and economic and financial analys…

Social Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2024: the challenges of non-contributory social protection in advancing towards inclusive social development

This edition of the Social Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2024 focuses on the challenges of non-contributory social protection in advancing towards inclusive social development in the region. Tackling the development crisis, inclusive social development gaps and changing risk structure demands progress towards universal, comprehensive, sustainable and resilient social protection systems. Non-contributory social protection policies are essential to fulfil the goals and functions of social protection systems: the protection of income, access to social services and labour inclusion.…

Development profile of ECLAC associate members: statistical report on the economic, social and environmental situation

This study presents a statistical analysis of the situation of AMCs, based on the data that is available, shedding light on their distinct circumstances. It reveals that while AMCs boast higher GDP per capita than many Caribbean member States, their economies have had low growth and are highly dependent on trade, with some territories recording concerning levels of public debt. Socially, the AMCs face an ageing population, varied poverty levels, and have disparate social protection systems. Environmentally, they face challenges due to disasters arising from natural hazards, although there has …

Financial inclusion, risk aversion and women’s entrepreneurship in Latin America and the Caribbean: a survey of the literature

Access to credit is a key component for business development. Yet, for women in Latin America and the Caribbean, there are barriers which hinder this access, hamper women’s entrepreneurship and slow economic empowerment efforts in the region. One of these barriers is risk aversion, both as supply and demand constraint. On the supply side, financial institutions may exhibit inherent gender bias by providing lower levels of financing and higher interest rates to women entrepreneurs. On the demand side, women entrepreneurs may refrain from approaching financial institutions for fear of rejection …

Capital flows to Latin America and the Caribbean: first 10 months of 2024

Latin American and Caribbean issuers placed US$ 112 billion of bonds in international markets in the first 10 months of 2024. This total was 40% higher than in the same period in 2023. The market remained open to high-yield issuers from the region, but most of the region’s issuances (58%) came from the investment grade sector. After two consecutive years in which sovereign issuances surpassed the 50% mark, corporate bond issuances in the reporting period represented 57% of the total. The region issued US$ 29 billion in green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds in internatio…

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2023. Accessible version

The Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2023 analyses the complex macroeconomic scenario for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, and projects that low economic growth will continue in 2023 and 2024. Inflation is expected to ease, although it will remain relatively high, as will public debt levels. This is coupled with a slowdown in employment, investment and consumption, and rising social demands. The report shows that both external and domestic factors have affected the region’s economic performance. This edition of the Economic Survey also analyses the macroecon…

Guidelines for preparing accessible documents of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC): basic recommendations

The United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy is the outcome of a process launched by the Secretary-General in April 2018 to strengthen system-wide accessibility for persons with disabilities and the mainstreaming of their rights. The Strategy includes a system-wide policy for the coming decade and aims to establish an institutional framework for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, among other international human rights instruments, and for the fulfilment of humanitarian and development commitments.…

Latin American Economic Outlook 2024: Financing Sustainable Development

In order to fund their ambitious sustainable development agendas, Latin American and Caribbean countries need to expand their financing sources. This 17th edition of the Latin American Economic Outlook proposes a series of policy options to mobilise the necessary resources, based on co-ordinated actions between policy makers, the private sector and their international partners. It argues that public resources should be invested more efficiently, tax better collected and debt better managed. Even with those improvements, private resources will be equally crucial, as public revenues will not be …

Natural Resources in Latin America and the Caribbean - No.6

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasizes the importance of implementing equitable and effective measures to tackle the pressing challenge of climate change. The deployment of low-carbon technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines and lithium-ion batteries, which are highly mineral-intensive, will drive a mining boom in Latin America and the Caribbean. The presence of lithium, copper, nickel and other minerals in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean presents opportunities to develop the mining sector, diversify production, add upstream and downstream value, establ…

Demographic Observatory of Latin America and the Caribbean 2024. Population Prospects and Rapid Demographic Changes in the First Quarter of the Twenty-first Century in Latin America and the Caribbean

This 2024 edition of the Demographic Observatory presents the main demographic indicators for Latin America and the Caribbean according to the 2024 revision of population estimates and projections of the United Nations, comparing them with the 2000 revision to highlight the main demographic changes in the region since the turn of the twenty-first century. Analysis of the two revisions shows that birth and death rates declined more rapidly than anticipated in 2000, except during the pandemic, when the death rate climbed sharply, and that net migration was lower than expected. The change in the …

International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2024: Reconfiguration of global trade and options for regional recovery

This edition of the International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean analyses how the complex global context, marked by increased protectionism, geopolitical tensions and shipping disruptions, is affecting the region’s international trade. It examines the role of international trade in regional food security —and the lack thereof, especially in the Caribbean— despite the region being the world’s leading net food exporter. It also analyses the role of modern services as a driver of exports. Recommendations for the development of modern services include reducing restrictions, harm…

Climate change financing in the Caribbean: an analysis from a gender perspective

Addressing gender inequality in climate finance is crucial for reducing women’s vulnerability to climate hazards, especially in the Caribbean where the impacts of climate change are threatening economies and livelihoods. Financial inclusion for women is necessary for sustainable development and climate resilience. This report analyzes gender-based climate financing in the region, examining the global and regional climate finance landscape, and highlighting key issues related to gender equality and women’s autonomy. The report includes: an analysis of challenges and opportunities for gender equ…

The failure of shock therapy during the Chilean military dictatorship (1974–1979)

This article analyses Chile’s monetary policy following the 1973 military coup and the failed attempt at nominal stabilization during the dictatorship. Two causes of persistent inflation are identified: (i) the narrowing of the fiscal deficit in 1974 was insufficient to curb high monetary issuance and inflation, thus perpetuating the inflation needed to finance the fiscal deficits; and (ii) the perception by economic agents that fiscal needs, financed through seigniorage, would not slow the growth of the monetary base and inflation. This perception kept inflation levels high following the coup…

The Hummingbird Vol. 11 No. 12

Structure of employment associated with international trade in Brazil from a gender perspective

This article analyses the volume and structure of female employment linked to Brazil’s foreign trade with its different partners in 2019, on the basis of estimations made from the Brazilian input-output table and on trade and employment statistics. Jobs linked to exports account for a small share of total employment in Brazil, especially in the case of women. Comparing the number of jobs generated by exports with those threatened by imports, the balance is smaller for women than for men. In addition, the quality of export-related employment is below the economy-wide average, for both women and…

Tribute to Maria da Conceição Tavares

This article is a brief tribute to the life and work of Maria da Conceição Tavares, a leading heterodox economist and central figure in Latin American economic thought. Through a chronological narrative, it analyses her theoretical contribution from her time at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) to her period as a professor at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), as well as her involvement in Brazilian politics. The article highlights her role as a pioneer of Latin American structuralism, her critical analysi…

Inflation-targeting systems and exchange rates: the role of global financial variables in emerging economies

In this article the authors seek to determine whether global financial shifts are more costly for emerging economies that have adopted an inflation-targeting system than they are for countries that have no such system in place. The countries’ exchange rates and the volatility of those rates are used as yardsticks for measuring these costs. The authors’ findings indicate that, if a country adopts an inflation-targeting system and witnesses an increase in foreign capital inflows, it may experience a greater currency depreciation and less exchange rate volatility than a country without such a sys…

The Caribbean and artificial intelligence: past, present and future

What drives non-financial private sector capital outflows in Latin America?

We analyse gross non-financial private sector capital outflows from six large Latin American economies over the past three decades. While considerable attention has recently been devoted to corporate capital inflows into emerging markets, the accumulation of foreign assets by the non-financial private sector in these countries has been overlooked. The omission is surprising, given that residents’ outflows contribute considerably to the financial account balance and thus to the external financial vulnerability of the region. Moreover, although there are considerable differences between countrie…