Trade openness and structural change in the Brazilian motor industry

This article aims to classify and analyze the efforts at structural change made in the Brazilian motor industry between 1990 and 1996, seeking to relate them with the economic policy measures which had most impact on the sector. The study begins by examining the explosive increase in domestic demand for motor vehicles, its determining factors, and its main implications, especially the achievement of efficient scales of production and the initiation of a wave of investments which has been further intensified in the last three years. It goes on to study the increase in the technological dynamism…

The ongoing history of a Chilean metal products and machinery firm

Processes of adjustment and restructuring of the production sectors to a new system of macroeconomic incentives are slow, costly and more inefficient than conventional microeconomic theory would lead one to suppose. In this article, the authors explore the process of the restructuring of production of a Chilean metal products and machinery company and the way it gradually modified its operations from the 1970s onwards, adapting them to new macroeconomic and mesoeconomic signals. As is well known, in the last two decades the system off incentives and the regulatory framework for production acti…

Gender-based violence: a human rights issue

Abstract While it is true that human rights violations are committed against men as well as women, their impact clearly differs depending on the sex of the victim. Studies of the subject indicate that all acts of aggression against women exhibit some characteristic or other that provides a basis for their classification as gender-based violence. This means that such violence is directly related to the unequal distribution of power and to the asymmetrical relationships that exist between men and women in our society, which perpetuate the devaluation of women and their subordination to men. What…

Convertibility and the banking system in Argentina

The system of currency convertibility has shown that it is effective in overcoming inflation in Argentina, but its capacity for supporting a stable growth process and acting as a monetary and exchange-rate system which does not involve intervention and heavy costs on the part of the State is currently being questioned. The present article deals with this aspect on the basis of an analysis of the 1991-1995 period and identifies some key features of the functioning of the system: its reactions to movements of foreign capital; its interrelations with the domestic banking system; the extent to whi…

Caribbean social structures and the changing world of men

Summary The decreasing performance of boys, the questioning of the roles of females, men's isolation, and a crisis of mascullinity are the subject of this paper. In this series of papers, the issue of male marginalization is examined. First, it is placed in historical perspective. Then individual findings are presented for Dominica, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Puerto Rico. Male and female staff and students at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of the West Indies are also studied.…

Equity in the public budget

This article aims to make a walk-through in the virtual reality of budgetary and fiscal matters in order to identify the possible degrees of freedom to achieve a higher level of convergence between the public discourse on equity and the real content of public policies aimed at that goal. To this end, the author explores possible answers to four questions: what is the current meaning of the concept of equity; how much leeway is there in the field of taxation for expanding resources and improving vertical equity; what means are there for giving priority to the objective of equity in managing pub…

An appraisal of capital goods policy in Argentina

This article makes both a theoretical and an empirical analysis of the new policies applied in Argentina since 1992 with regard to the treatment accorded to capital goods: exemption from import duties, with drawback facilities for domestic producers in respect of their local sales. The new system is evaluated through a detailed analysis of its effects on demand for capital goods (section II);; on the domestic supply of such goods (section III);; and on some macroeconomic variables such as the fiscal balance (section IV); and the external balance (section V);. Some aspects relating to the manag…

The State, the community and society in social development

President Cardoso delivered this address at the First Regional Conference in Follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development, held in Sao Paulo from 6 to 9 April 1997. On that occasion President Cardoso reviewed the issues examined at the World Summit, with special emphasis on poverty and the search for an environmentally sound, democratic form of development that will lead to a greater degree of social equity. Within this context, he discussed the relationship between economic and social factors, devoting particular attention to State reform, education, competitiveness and job creation. …

Non-agricultural rural employment in Central America

Non-agricultural rural employment accounts for an increasing proportion of total rural employment in Latin America. Its potential for stimulating rural development has been noted, but it has also been analysed as a focal point of poverty. This article considers the magnitude and composition of this employment in some of the Central American countries and examines the conditions under which non-agricultural activities may help to improve rural employment and income. It is noted that non-agricultural rural employment is heterogeneous and different types of employment arise in response to differe…

Marginality and social integration in Uruguay

Within Latin America, Uruguay stands out by its equalitarian income distribution, the solidity of its democratic institutions, and its level of social integration. Over the last decade, however, there have been signs of cracks in this desirable image which adversely affect the harmony of social relations. These cracks take the form of marginal behaviour: i.e., types of behaviour which are not governed by socially accepted patterns. In this study, the explanation for these types of behaviour has been sought in the divergences between cultural goals, the structures of opportunities for attaining…

Export promotion policies in Central America

Ten years ago the member countries of the Central American Common Market (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua); began to abandon the inward-oriented development policy they had been applying for decades. They are now stimulating non-traditional exports by lowering tariff barriers, unifying exchange rates, and giving exporters access to intermediate and capital goods at international prices. Some governments have also granted direct subsidies in the form of tax credits for goods exported outside Central America. This article reviews these policies and analyses…

Non-market valuation of natural and environmental resources in Central America and the Caribbean

An inventory and analysis has been made of 15 non-market-based valuation studies in Central American and Caribbean countries. The method most frequently used for determining the willingness to pay for drinking water or protected areas was that of contingent valuation. Its main shortcomings were that it was based on open questions, it used contingent scenarios and information frames with a low level of detail, it used small population samples, and it displayed the possible cultural and strategic skews associated with surveys of national residents. The study based on the travel cost method, for …

Nominal anchors and macroeconomic coordination options in MERCOSUR

This study deals with the question of macroeconomic coordination in the context of MERCOSUR, analysing the contribution that different types of nominal anchors (monetary and exchange-rate); could make to the achievement of convergence of nominal indicators and sustained economic growth. The possible gains in terms of well-being associated with policy coordination are explored, in order to make a rational evaluation of the proposals calling for greater monetary coordination. An analysis is made of the problem of selecting the nominal anchor most suitable for serving as the basis for cooperative…

Private participation in the provision of water services: alternative means for private participation in the provision of water services

Quality management and competitiveness: the diffusion of the ISO 9000 standards in Latin America and recommendations for government strategies

Abstract Quality will play an increasingly important role in the objectives for the social and economic development of the countries in Latin America. This document aims to demonstrate the importance of quality in national strategies for increased productivity and competitiveness. Governments in the region have increasingly established programmes that promote and support the diffusion of quality management techniques. This tendency indicates that the diffusion of quality management innovations is complicated by market failures but is desirable from a national point of view. This document may t…

Guía para la identificación y formulación de proyectos de vialidad urbana = Guidelines for the identification and formulation or urban roadway system projects

Stylized facts of income distribution in five countries of Latin America and general guidelines for a redistributive police

Evolution of fiscal policy in the Caribbean: based on data for the period 1987-1996

Summary Fiscal performance showed modest improvement during the period under review. Deficits contracted and so did national debts. This was possible however only because of reduced spending since revenues - capital, recurrent, and grants in aid - fell. Governments found it easier to reduce spending on the purchase of goods and services and on gross investment rather than on wages and salaries or on transfers. In the countries which had experienced severe disequilibrium in the past and therefore had accumulated a large debt, the legacy of interest payments and amortization charges remained…

Review of Caribbean economic performance, 1997: based on data for the period January to June 1997

Summary An examination of first semester performance provided scant hope for a prosperous 1997. Preliminary indications suggested that output did not increase as quickly across the Caribbean as it did in the first semester of 1996. Fiscal deficits increased in most countries, mainly because of buoyant public spending.…

Anuario Estadístico de América Latina y el Caribe 1996 = Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean 1996

La edición 1996 del Anuario estadístico de América Latina y el Caribe contiene una selección actualizada a comienzos de diciembre de las principales series estadísticas disponibles sobre la evolución económica y social de los países de la región.…