En la edición 1998 del Panorama social de América Latina se presentan estimaciones de la incidencia de la pobreza en 17 países en torno a 1997, así como datos sobre los cambios relativos a la distribución del ingreso, el empleo y el gasto social. Con respecto a la pobreza, se examinan los principales factores que influyen en la trayectoria observada en los distintos países y los efectos del tipo de crecimiento económico en cada uno de ellos. Asimismo, en relación con la distribución del ingreso, se describen en términos generales las variaciones de los indicadores de concentración en los hogar…
This article deals with the need to make some changes in the focus of policies for rural development and the relief of poverty. After noting the limitations of the traditional approaches taken by such policies, it is suggested (among other things); that the territorial dimension should be incorporated in their design, and the macroeconomic context and sectoral environment which condition those policies in the case of agriculture are reviewed, with emphasis on the structural heterogeneity of the sector and the existence of imperfect markets (section I);. The article then deals with the limitati…
The allocation of expenditure on training for small-scale enterprises in Latin America is a matter which requires clear guidelines. Increasing resources for this purpose is a necessary but not of itself sufficient strategy. The shortage of resources, their faulty allocation and the inefficiency in the use of those currently assigned to this class of enterprises are factors which make it necessary above all to take measures to ensure better use of the available resources, especially those of public origin. Likewise, it is necessary to find new sources of financing for training and upgrading the…
This article describes the neoliberal experiment of the 1990s in Peru, placing it in its historical context. The central hypothesis is that in that decade the Peruvian economy has lacked an operational system of monetary and fiscal policies capable of functioning without giving rise to serious disturbances in the level of economic activity. The monetary authorities do not possess the basic instruments which have been used in the past to handle adverse external shocks affecting the Peruvian economy, because of two structural reforms carried out in the financial field: the dollarization of the b…
This article analyses the impact of public investment on private investment. Apart from purely ideological aspects, two opposing interpretations may be distinguished with regard to the relationship between these variables. The first is that there is competition between public and private investment, so that the former crowds out the latter. The second is that public investment is complementary to private investment in so far that, by generating positive externalities, it creates favourable conditions for the latter. In view of the relative scarcity of empirical studies on this matt…
This article looks at the bases, objectives and results of the lateral trade policy adopted by Chile in the 1990s. In particular, it seeks to give a clearer idea of the role of bilateral agreements and to incorporate into the discussion the empirical evidence observed in the case of Chile. It concludes that the criticisms levelled at this policy, especially by those who advocate unilateral trade openness rather than other options, are based on an incomplete analysis of basic international trade theory. It is therefore argued that the economic concepts taken into account in evaluati…
This article analyses the export offensive made by Mexico, Central America and some Caribbean countries since the mid-1980s. Notwithstanding the differences between them, in all the countries in question this offensive has been aimed mainly at the United States market, has been stimulated by import tariff privileges and other incentives, and has been based on poorly-paid assembly operations: i.e., it involves the in-bond assembly or maquila industries. This study seeks to determine whether these industries contribute to local technological development. The answer, based on a questi…
This article looks at the strengths and weaknesses of the policies proposed in the Argentine National Multi-year Science and Technology Plan, 1998-2000, within the conceptual framework of the approach taken by the National Innovation System (NIS);. In the light of a severe diagnosis of the weaknesses of Argentine efforts in this field, the new public policies are designed to promote the interaction of the many agents and institutions involved in those efforts, to change the rules governing the allocation of public resources to research, to promote strategic plans and evaluation mechanisms in p…
The Latin American railways faced serious competition from another means of land transport for the first time in the 1930s, and one of the results of this was a significant loss of income from the transport of products of relatively high unit value. This income had covered their fixed costs in terms of management and infrastructure. The financial difficulties of the railway companies drove them to seek aid from the State sector, but in subsequent decades governments gradually lost interest in them because of their financial deficits and dwindling importance in the national economy. The service…
In a context of increasing globalization it is essential to have a comprehensive system to guarantee the quality of the final products and inputs that are traded around the world. The main goal is to satisfy the expectations and needs of the final customer, wherever s/he may be. The quality management systems set out in the ISO 9000 standards, used in conjunction with third party certification, have become a factor in market success for all commercial and industrial firms that have achieved this goal.…
Con la creciente globalización resulta imprescindible contar con un sistema integral que garantice la calidad, tanto de los productos finales como de los insumos que se comercializan en el mundo. El propósito principal es satisfacer las expectativas y necesidades del cliente final en cualquier lugar que éste se encuentre. La utilización de los Sistemas de Gestión de la Calidad, enunciados en las Normas ISO 9000, así como su certificación por una tercera entidad, se ha convertido en un factor de éxito en el mercado para todas las empresas comerciales e industriales que han alcanzado este objeti…
El informe da cuenta de las discusiones sostenidas en la reunión, las que se centraron en: a) la revisión y evaluación de la implementación del Programa de Acción de la Cumbre Mundial para el Desarrollo Social, con énfasis en las actividades específicas incluyendo informes por países y estudios temáticos en torno al empleo, la erradicación de la pobreza y la integración social; b) el examen de la situación del envejecimiento y de los ancianos, relevando las necesidades de información para la implementación de políticas, las estrategias y programas, y el logro de un consenso subregional frente …