Introduction
Since the first version issued in 1997, the Directory of national organizations dealing with programmes and policies on women in Latin America and the Caribbean (LC/L.1065); lists national authorities for the advancement of women and gender equity, specific programmes organized by ministries of foreign affairs and other official bodies responsible for women's issues at the sectoral level in each member State and associate members of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC);. For the purposes of this update, countries were once again requested to pr…
According to official data (based on the income poverty line), 20% of households in Costa Rica were poor in 1994, a figure that has apparently not changed substantially since. The poverty level is currently considered to have stagnated at around 20% for more than two decades. However, the way poverty is measured has undergone
methodological changes that preclude a strict comparison of the data over time. This study offers a method for dealing with the methodological difficulties and obtaining a set of comparable poverty data for the period from 1987 to 2017. It thereby demonstrates that the le…
In recent years, ECLAC has received official requests from governments in the region for technical assistance for designing and implementing industrial policies. In response, the Commission has developed and applied a methodology based on value chains, which has enabled it to identify targeted intervention strategies, with clear, coordinated lines of action.
Value chains can be strengthened by supporting all their stakeholders, especially small producers, which in turn helps to close structural gaps. In 2013, ECLAC worked jointly with governments and the private sector in Central America to st…
This annual publication, one of the most important of ECLAC, includes official country figures up to November 30th, and an analysis of developments in the region's economy in 2004 and projections for 2005. The Latin American and Caribbean economy grew by 5.5% in 2004, outstripping the most optimistic forecasts, while the region's per capita GDP is estimated to have risen by about 4%. In 2005 GDP growth is projected to come in at about 4%; this rate would be high enough to bring about a further increase in per capita GDP. All the countries except Haiti turned in positive growth rates…
The adoption of digital technologies is a crucial tool for bridging the productivity gaps between countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and more developed nations, generating new sources of growth, and creating high-quality jobs. Evidence-based policies are needed to harness the potential of these technologies, guide technological change, seize opportunities and mitigate risks. This publication presents an exploratory study conducted in Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, in which various sources of information are combined, including web data and official statistics, to measure the onl…
Did the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic embolden ideas favourable to inclusive social policy in Latin America? This article addresses that question by examining the emergency cash transfer programme that was implemented in Costa Rica in 2020. Drawing on legislative debates and interviews with senior officials and analysts, the study reveals the fleeting emergence of ideas in favour of expanding non-contributory social protection. The new programme was quickly reined in by a discourse that assimilated fiscal responsibility to cutting social spending rather than expanding revenues. Avoid…
The appearance of suburbs inhabited by the upper socioeconomic stratum in Santiago suggests a dispersion of this group and a loss of importance for the barrio alto, the area in the east of the capital that is its traditional habitat. However, the barrio alto has continued to grow upward and outward in both demographic and real-estate terms. Migration is decisive in this process. Therefore, this paper conducts a detailed and rigorous investigation of its role in the location and redistribution of the socioeconomic strata in Santiago, using microdata from Chile’s last four official censuses. The…
This edition of Fiscal Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean coincides with an
important milestone: the thirtieth anniversary of the Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy
organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
Over the past 30 years, this seminar has become a key fixture on the agenda of fiscal
policy events in the region.
Throughout these three decades, the successive editions of the seminar have
served as a forum for national authorities, tax experts and officials from international
organizations to discuss the performance, challenges and opportun…
Official statistics and key indicators are essential for observing countries’ economic and social progress, determining the structural drivers of their growth and shaping priorities. Using the methodology of Khramov and Lee (2013), key indicators from the System of National Accounts (SNA), as well as balance of payments, monetary and financial, and public finance statistics, it is proposed to use a composite indicator to assess Latin America’s economic performance. An examination of long-term trends finds that this index generally captures the major economic shocks and periods of robust perfor…
This document was prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for the official visit of Geung-hye Park, President of the Republic of Korea, to several countries in the region.
The Republic of Korea’s success in economic and social development offers many lessons for Latin America and the Caribbean and the developing world as a whole. From being one of the poorest countries in the world in the early 1960s, in six short decades the Republic of Korea has succeeded in transforming itself into a high-income economy, a major manufacturing, scientific and export po…
This annual publication, one of the most important of ECLAC, includes official country figures up to November 30th, and an analysis of developments in the region's economy in 2005 and projections for 2006. The Latin American and Caribbean economy grew by 4.3% in 2005, which represents the third consecutive year of growth in the region. Per capita GDP is estimated to have risen by about 3%. Unemployment rate fell from 10.3% in 2004 to 9.3% in 2005 and poverty indices decreased from 44% in 2002 to 40.6% in 2005. The performance of the domestic demand and the expansion of 3.3% of the world …
This report tracks the development of the Industrial Strategy of the United Kingdom, from its publication in 2017 through to the period following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Using information from official policy documents, grey literature and academic publications —as well as conversations with experts— this document provides an overview of the Strategy’s rationales and objectives and of the instruments adopted under it. The report also discusses implementation challenges and presents lessons for the future design and implementation of industrial strategies. Following the wit…
This edition of the Demographic Observatory analyses the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on mortality in the countries of the region. In addition, by means of a simulation exercise based on different scenarios of COVID-19 prevalence rates, it estimates the impact of COVID-19-related deaths on life expectancy at birth for the 38 countries and territories of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The information used to prepare this edition of the Demographic Observatory corresponds to official information on deaths and causes of death available at 31 October 2020, as well as population …
The aim of this paper is to quantify the productive diversity of the manufacturing industry in the provinces of Argentina, to analyse trends in productive diversity between 1996 and 2012, and to identify the main related economic factors. A diversity index is calculated based on official data on total registered wage employment from the Dynamic Employment Analysis Database (BADE). An analysis is then performed of trends in diversity in the different provinces over the period. Lastly, an econometric panel data model is estimated to identify the main related economic factors. The industrial dive…
For over three decades, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has performed measurements of poverty in the Latin American countries in order to estimate its prevalence in the region using a common methodology. Economic and social changes have prompted an update of the thresholds used to quantify poverty and a review of certain aspects of the methodology.
Now that all the countries of the region have progressed towards having official poverty measurements calculated by their own public agencies, the figures produced by ECLAC aim to provide a regional overview that …
Although, at first glance, it would seem to be a contradiction in terms, official statistics indicate that both unemployment and economic activity in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela are on a steep downward trend. However, a decline in unemployment can, in fact, occur in the midst of an economic recession if a portion of the actual unemployment rate is concealed by employment in the informal sector and/or by a significant number of people abandoning their job search. Using maximum likelihood estimates for homogeneous Markov matrices applied to household sample survey data for the period st…
The production of official statistics calls for responsibility and commitment on the part of the competent agencies. Thus, credible statistics and reliable national statistical institutes and other members of the national statistical system are vital assets since they are essential to the design, formulation, monitoring and assessment of Government plans and programmes.This credibility is a value that gains strength over time thanks to the generation of quality statistics that comply with standards, principles and norms relating to the production process and statistical activity as…
The World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 6 to 12 March 1995, brought together a large number of heads of State and Government and official representatives from States Members of the United Nations and culminated in the adoption of the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development. These two documents —the first containing policy statements, the other dealing with their practical application— imply commitments at the national, regional and international levels.
Barely two years have passed si…
United States Trade Developments 2020 provides an overview of selected developments in United States trade relations with Latin America and the Caribbean and of measures that inhibit the free flow of goods among countries in the Western Hemisphere. This is an annual report elaborated by the ECLAC Washington Office. This year’s report has a special focus on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade related issues. Specifically, it provides information on the early impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. trade and migration flows, supply chains as well as some of the restrictions to the move…
Access to Latin American and Caribbean Exports in the United States market, 2001-2002 is the eighth annual report released by the ECLAC Washington Office, updating information contained in previous reports. Its aim is to compile and make available information on trade inhibiting measures that Latin American and Caribbean exports encounter in the United States market. This report needs to be placed in the context of a trade relationship between the United States and Latin America and the Caribbean, which has grown strongly over the years to the benefit of both economies. Moreover, it must be …