Regional integration: towards an inclusive value chain strategy

Regional integration is a multidimensional process which may take the form of coordination, cooperation, convergence and deep integration initiatives and whose scope extends not only to economic and trade issues but to political, social, cultural and environmental ones as well.

The present document focuses on the productive dimension of integration and the way this can contribute to the strategy of structural change for equality that ECLAC has been advocating since 2010. This is a return, then, to a subject that has traditionally been at the centre of ECLAC thinking about integration and development. Another aim is to contribute to the current debate about the role of integration in Latin America and the Caribbean in the light of the significant shifts taking place in the global economy. These include rapid technological change, the growing economic weight of Asia and emerging economies generally, the rise of global value chains and the trend towards the creation of integrated macroregions.