The document assesses of the situation of the maritime sector in CARICOM and presents a series of new observations and issues. Challenges and barriers in the maritime sector, or problems created through inefficiencies in the maritime sector are analyzed for: maritime freight transport, cruise shipping, ports and yachting. Whilst the first three are part of the original structure of the study, the fourth is included to show the full extension of the maritime sector. To be able to understand the challenges and role of maritime transport in a regional and global context, it is essential to consid…
During these years of growing global uncertainties, financial and economic pressures, nations and international institutions are searching for political, social and professional answers to the new challenges. The Washington consensus has discredited itself in more respects. Denmark seems to have found effective answers to adaptation needs with it flexicurity system: a labour market arrangement that builds on high mobility, high income security, employment security, and active market and educational policies. Security and flexibility is combined in innovative ways, giving wage earners transfera…
The biotechnology movement in the Caribbean is a fledgling industry that has
tremendous potential for development. It focuses on the use of fermentation and enzyme
technologies, tissue culture and recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology and is more greatly
applied to plant varieties rather than animal species. Tissue culture is by far the most developed
type of technology but increasing attention is being paid to rDNA technology. Main areas
include application in the agriculture sector but the use in medicine and biology are also being
promoted.
In its purest form, the term biotechnology …
This article analyses the costs in terms of income distribution of the crisis and adjustments of the 1980s, as well as the effects of the subsequent recovery and resumption of sustained growth patterns. This analysis is based on comparable pairs of estimates of income distribution and poverty prepared by ECLAC for the ten largest and predominantly urban countries of the region. The method of analysis consists, on the one hand, of comparing the changes in distribution and in the macroeconomic and labour market variables during similar macroeconomic phases in the course of the adjustment process…
Over the past decade, a growing number of companies have recognized the business benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies and practices. Their experiences are bolstered by a growing body of empirical studies that demonstrates that CSR has a positive impact on business economic performance and is not detrimental to shareholder value. Maximization of profits is perhaps the most important element for ensuring the continuity of the business over the time. However, value creation is also related to social issues such as health and safety, equality and environmental protection, und…
Given the increasing difficulty of ensuring the supply of crude oil and oil products, and the sharp increase in their prices, biofuels programmes in the developed countries-particularly the United States and the European Union-represent a series of opportunities, challenges and risks for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Thus, if biofuels production is to create economic growth without jeopardising our natural capital and social equity, it must be developed in the framework of well thought-out national policy.Biofuels public policy cannot ignore national objectives, which invol…
The Cotonou Agreement which succeeded the Lomé IV Agreement and was signed in
Cotonou in June 2000 established a comprehensive framework to govern social, economic and
political relations between the Africa, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) grouping and the European Union
(EU). At the centre of the partnership are objectives relating to economic development, the
reduction and eventual eradication of poverty, and the smooth and gradual integration of ACP
States into the world economy. In order to accomplish these objectives, the Cotonou Agreement
provides for the conclusion between the ACP and the EU o…
Ibero-America is living through promising times in terms of the relation between youth and development. The signs are well known, and this report provides an unprecedented compilation of evidence confirming them. The region's youth today have more years of education on average than adults, and the gap is even more favourable for youth in terms of access to new communication technologies, information and knowledge. The population dynamic indicates that the coming years will see a reduction in the proportion of young people in the overall population in most Ibero-American countries, and thi…
This discussion paper seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge on crime and violence through an exploration of the possible policy linkages between poverty, crime and violence, using data from Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. It does so against the backdrop of increasing concern for the impact of violence on the social and economic development and human welfare of Caribbean societies. In addition to the primary objective of exploring the policy and programming linkages between poverty reduction programming and that aimed at reducing crime and violence, the study includes an ov…
In the midst of broad global market turmoil and mounting fears of a recession in the U.S., emerging markets have shown strong growth and economic resilience. For the first time in recent history, the external meltdown has not sparked capital flight from Latin America. Quite the contrary, Latin American markets have been seen by investors as a safe haven from the supbprime woes afflicting the U.S. economyDespite showing significant resilience, Latin American debt spreads widened in the first quarter of 2008, and after reaching record lows in May 2007, they are now re-approaching pre-Asian crisi…
IntroductionNearly 20 years ago, ECLAC put forward a proposal for structural change and productivity growth with social equity. At the time, the countries of the region were emerging from the severe crisis of the 1980s, with all its associated difficulties in terms of internal stabilization and external adjustment, and headed into a decade of structural reform which heeded the call of the Washington Consensus. In the midst of perplexity and pessimism regarding the region's prospects, ECLAC espoused a view of the situation that ran counter to the extremely orthodox line of thought that mar…
Defining appropriate Intellectual Property (IP) policy is a key industrial and social policy matter for Latin American governments. The IP interests of countries in Latin America may differ substantially from comparable interests in the United States, Europe and Asia, and IP interests among Latin American countries may differ. Many Latin American countries have a strong tradition of creative works covered by copyright, such as authorship of books, music and paintings. Most Latin American countries do not have a tradition of developing new chemical entities in the pharmaceutical sector, and pat…
Concerns about the ongoing U.S crisis in the housing sector and the asset exposures to subprime mortgages dominated financial markets in the second and third quarters of 2007. Volatility spiked in July and August, with losses in the subprime mortgage sector spreading to other risky assets. The volatility radiating from the United States is changing the global backdrop for emerging markets. This change comes after several years when the combination of improvement in country macroeconomic policies and strong risk appetites led to strong flows of new money to the emerging markets asset classes. …
Recent evidence on economic growth indicates that growth fluctuations at frequencies of a decade or so are at the centre of the Latin American countries'growth story. In this context, investment has played an important role as a source of growth, while national saving has been the main source of investment financing. Foreign saving has played a secondary role and has generally been substituted for national saving, rather than augmenting the total amount of savings available in Latin America. The high volatility and vulnerability to external swings exhibited by foreign capital have made fo…
Introducción Internationally, development banks emerged as governments of many countries attempted to accelerate economic development by directing finance to achieve this objective.Accordingly, it was felt that development banks had a major role to play in steering resources appropriately, particularly where there is market failure. Thus, development banks were deemed as a critical ingredient to improving access to credit, allowing for the provisioning of long-term finance at a low price, and the financing of start-up activities. In addition, development banks were seen as essential to the fi…
Preface In Latin America and the Caribbean, the idea of social cohesion has emerged as a response to persistent problems which, despite certain achievements over the past few years, continue to exist: high indices of poverty and indigence, the extreme inequality that characterizes our region and various forms of discrimination and social exclusion dating back to the distant past. The actors that might potentially be capable of fostering positive interaction lack a common set of principles of cooperation and communication. While there are usually many reasons for these gaps, the frail m…
During the past three decades, the Hispanic population has experienced rapid growth throughout the United States. According to national estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 1 July 2004, the Hispanic population reached 41.3 million, comprising 14.2% of the population and making it the most numerous and fastest growing minority group in the United States.The rapid increase in the Hispanic population has profound socioeconomic and cultural effects. For instance, the rise in the Hispanic population has had a deep impact in the U.S. corporate sector. In 2002, there were 1.6 million H…
This document summarizes the main ideas contained in the inter-agency publication with the same title coordinated by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which included contributions from all of the international organizations that are present in the region (United Nations, 2005). This book examines the progress made between 1990 and 2004 by the Latin American and Caribbean countries and by the region as a whole in pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals and their respective targets. Together with this review, it analyses the main features of the region'…
Asset prices in emerging markets rallied to record highs in the first quarter of 2006, with bonds and equities posting strong performances on top of already remarkable 2005 gains. Spreads on dollar-denominated bonds issued by Latin American borrowers tightened by 68 basis points in the first quarter of the year, according to the Latin component of J.P. Morgan's EMBI+ index, while the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) for Latin America, an indicator of stocks' performance, increased by 15%. Emerging and Latin American markets continued to be supported by active debt managem…
Emerging market bond spreads tightened to record low levels in 2005, as a result of the search for yield in face of ample global liquidity and improving fundamentals in emerging market countries. According to J.P. Morgan, most of the EMBI Global's 8.96% total return in 2005 was derived from spread tightening, which totaled 110 basis points in 2005. The EMBI+ spreads tightened 111 basis points and its Latin component tightened 137 basis points in 2005. Emerging and Latin American markets were also supported by active debt management, as countries took advantage of the favorable external en…