In Latin America, macroeconomic fluctuations have been more frequent and more serious in recent decades than in other parts of the world, and this volatility has adversely affected the development processes of the countries of the region. This article looks at the desirability of establishing economic policy rules, particularly in the fiscal area, to reduce the frequency and size of these imbalances. The interactions between fiscal policy, the economic cycle and growth are reviewed, and the difficulty of establishing a convincing numerical relation between public expenditure and long-term grow…
International experience shows that costfree replication and adoption of industrial best practices on a universal basis is a misconception. Rather, it is a matter of a progressive and reciprocal adaptation between external and local practices in which learning costs and times, as well as the need for public and private cooperation, are essential. The potential for convergence of policies, practices and institutions triggered by globalization appears to be greater at the macroeconomic than at the microeconomic level. This article examines such issues in a general way and then focuses on the di…
The pending widening of the European Union to the East has revived concerns in Latin America that Europe may become more inwardlooking. However, booming trade and foreign direct investment (FDI); relations between current EU members and Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs); are unlikely to harm Latin America. Trade patterns suggest that Latin America's exports to the EU are complementary to the exports of the CEECs. Moreover, the recent surge of FDI flows to various host countries, including several Latin American economies, indicates that new investment opportunities in CEECs …
The environment industry, which includes a wide range of products and services relating to the monitoring, treatment, control and management of industrial and domestic pollution, has grown rapidly during the 1980s and 1990s in response to environmental regulations. Due to the relatively early application of these regulations in the United States, Europe and Japan, these areas have become competitive producers and exporters of environmental products and services. As the industrial sector has developed, environmental awareness has been raised and competition and international trade in the enviro…
This article analyses the relation between the 1992 Dublin Principles, integrated water planning, and water law. The Dublin Principles were an attempt to concisely state the main issues and purpose of water management in the following terms: fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development and the environment; water development and management should be based on a participatory approach, involving users, planners and policy makers at all levels; women play a central part in the provision, management, and safeguarding of water; and water has an economic val…
This edition of the FAL Bulletin deals with maritime transport in the Caribbean and focuses on structural changes in liner shipping and its impact on ports and transhipment in the Caribbean. The article has been written by Dr. Gustaaf de Monie of Policy Research Corporation N.V., Antwerp, Belgium, and is based on the study Caribbean Ports Scan , which is about to be published by Policy Research Corporation (Fax 32-3-2869496). The opinions expressed in this article are of the author and may not necessarily coincide with the views of ECLAC. The main purpose of this edition is to enc…
Esta edición del Boletín FAL aborda el transporte marítimo en el Caribe y se concentra en los cambios estructurales en las líneas navieras y su impacto en los puertos y el transbordo en el Caribe.Este artículo ha sido preparado por Gustaaf de Monie de Policy Research Corporation N.V., Amberes, Bélgica, y se basa en el estudio titulado Caribbean Ports Scan , que próximamente será publicado por Policy Research Corporation (Fax +32-3 286 9496). Las opiniones expresadas en este artículo son del autor y pueden necesariamente no coincidir con las de la CEPAL. El principal propósito de est…
Summary
This document outlines the recent economic performance of the Caribbean countries and some of the salient issues and problems confronting policy making at this time. A discussion on trading relationships and the prospects facing the Caribbean in the changing regional and world environment follows. The Lome Convention, bananas, the Sugar protocol, the state of the Caribbean Community, CARIBCAN and the CBI are examined in this section. Challenges facing state reform, such as poverty, social services and the financial system are highlighted.…
Resumen El presente estudio trata de la relación entre el notable desempeño de las exportaciones chilenas en los dos últimos decenios y la elevada tasa de crecimiento económico que viene registrando desde mediados de los años ochenta. Primero que nada. procura determinar si la experiencia chilena es un caso de crecimiento inducido por las exportaciones o bien uno de exportaciones inducidas por el crecimiento . Mediante el análisis de series cronológicas se comprueba que las dos variables exógenas que explican el crecimiento chileno son las exportaciones y la inversión mientras…
Abstract One year and a half after the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) held in Istanbul, the present document aims to assess the progress made on the implementation of the Regional Plan of Action on Human Settlements for Latin America and the Caribbean. The region faces a disturbing upsurge in urban poverty and widening income inequality, notwithstanding the slower rate of population growth. A worsening of environmental problems such as air and water pollution, waste disposal and vehicle congestion is being experienced in urban centres, and the region still has both…
Durante la década de 1990 las corrientes mundiales de IED han experimentado un crecimiento notable, de un promedio anual de 142 000 millones de dólares entre 1985 y 1990 a más de 350 000 millones en 1996. Un aspecto clave de este proceso es la progresiva orientación del flujo internacional de IED hacia los países en desarrollo, cuya participación en el total anual a nivel mundial aumentó de 14.9% en 1990 a 37.8% en 1996. En los años noventa, las reformas y la estabilidad macroeconómica mejoraron significativamente la percepción que tenían los inversionistas extranjeros de América Latina y el C…
The first Latin American meeting of bodies responsible for the supervision, control and regulation of land transport, organized jointly by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the National Transport Regulation Commission of Argentina (CNRT), was held in Buenos Aires from 5 to 7 November 1997. Representatives of public- and private-sector bodies connected with land transport in Latin America, the United States of America and Europe took part in the meeting, in an atmosphere which was highly interactive owing to the numerous questions asked and the enriching di…
Organizado conjuntamente por la CEPAL y la CNRT (Comisión Nacional de Regulación del Transporte de Argentina), se llevó a cabo entre el 5 y el 7 de noviembre de 1997, en la ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina, el Primer Encuentro Latinoamericano de Instituciones responsables de la Supervisión, Fiscalización y Regulación del Transporte Terrestre. Participaron representantes de los sectores público y privado vinculados al transporte terrestre de América Latina, Estados Unidos y Europa, en un ambiente muy interactivo a través de preguntas y enriquecedores debates.…