Exploring financial technology

Report of the Second session of the Conference on Science, Innovation and Information and Communications Technologies of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. San José, 12-13 September 2016

Green production indicators, a guide for moving towards sustainable development

This publication is the outcome of a project entitled “Towards a set of indicators for greener production”, co-financed by ECLAC and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, the objective of which was to develop specific knowledge for promoting the design and compilation of harmonized regional indicators on sustainable production and the incorporation of green technologies in firms of Latin America and the Caribbean. The guide should be seen as a set of methodological recommendations for voluntary application. Nevertheless, it is hoped that the use of these guidelines wi…

CEPAL Review no. 120

The Hummingbird Vol.3 No.12

Strengthening value chains: A toolkit

The main objective of this toolkit is to exhibit and disseminate the methodology for strengthening value chains developed by the Subregional Headquarters in Mexico of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). This document lays out the concepts, processes and good practices that have been derived from implementing such a strategy. It is intended to be a useful tool for public sector decision makers, officials of international bodies and those studying the topic, who are interested in a systematised and proven methodology. This manual was prepared in response to forma…

Science, technology and innovation in the digital economy: The state of the art in Latin America and the Caribbean

Technological trajectories are inseparable from developments in employment and production and it is essential to determine which types of innovation will best serve the region in attaining the threefold objective of economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Each country’s positioning in the global economy depends on its ability to absorb knowledge and move closer to the technology frontier. Where do Latin America and the Caribbean stand in this respect? Unfortunately, despit…

Draft biennial programme of regional and international cooperation activities for 2017-2018 on science, innovation and information

Provisional agenda. Second session of the Conference on Science, Innovation and Information and Communications Technologies of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

Annotated provisional agenda. Second session of the Conference on Science, Innovation and Information and Communications Technologies of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

The new digital revolution: From the consumer Internet to the industrial Internet

The new digital technologies have led to widespread use of cloud computing, recognition of the potential of big data analytics, and significant progress in aspects of the Internet of Things, such as home automation, smart cities and grids and digital manufacturing. In addition to closing gaps in respect of the basic necessities of access and usage, now the conditions must be established for using the new platforms and finding ways to participate actively in the creation of content and even new applications and platforms. This message runs through the three chapters of this book. Chapter I pres…

CEPAL Review no. 119

Food and nutrition security and the eradication of hunger CELAC 2025: Furthering discussion and regional cooperation

The region of Latin America and the Caribbean can boast a successful track record in the process of eradicating hunger: it is the only region in the world that has halved both the proportion of people who suffer from hunger (the target set in the Millennium Development Goals) and their absolute number (the target set at the World Food Summit of 1996). This publication aims to provide the region’s countries with up-todate and timely information on the status of food and nutrition security; on the role in eradicating hunger played by the different areas such as agriculture, agrifood trade and na…

Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2016

The 2016 version of Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean is the most recent edition of an annual series published by the Unit on Investment and Corporate Strategies of the Division of Production, Productivity and Management of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).…

Expert survey on priorities for the information society in the Caribbean

An on-line survey of experts was conducted to solicit their views on policy priorities in the area of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the Caribbean. The experts considered the goal to “promote teacher training in the use of ICTs in the classroom” to be the highest priority, followed by goals to “reduce the cost of broadband services” and “promote the use of ICT in emergency and disaster prevention, preparedness and response.” Goals in the areas of cybercrime, e-commerce, egovernment, universal service funds, consumer protection, and on-line privacy rounded out the top 10. S…

Premature deindustrialization in Latin America

Defining deindustrialization as a situation of falling share of manufacturing employment and value added in total employment and GDP, respectively, and a rising specialization in primary goods, this paper provides an empirical analysis of the recent (and in some cases historical) path of four Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico), contributing to the debate on the matter of premature deindustrialization. We argue that Argentina, Brazil and Chile face premature deindustrialization, increasing their specialization in commodities, resource-based manufactures and low produ…

The Hummingbird Vol. 3 No. 4

Regional approaches to e-government initiatives in the Caribbean

This paper examines the potential benefits and challenges of regionally managed e-government development initiatives. It examines the current state of e-government in four Caribbean countries – Barbados, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago – in order to establish a broader understanding of the challenges that face e-government initiatives in the region. It also reviews a number of e-government initiatives that have been undertaken through projects managed at a regional level. Based on this analysis, it presents a set of best practices that are recommended to agen…

Opportunities and risks associated with the advent of digital currency in the Caribbean

This report examines the usage of digital currency technology in the Caribbean subregion with a view to drawing attention to the opportunities and risks associated with this new phenomenon. It discusses the broader context of an emerging activity at the global level and considers how this technology could address subregional deficiencies in the electronic payment infrastructure. The report also discusses mobile money solutions, and the relationship of that technology to digital currency.…

CEPAL Review no. 117