Reseña
Este documento fue preparado por Adolfo Rodríguez Herrera, Consultor de la Unidad de Estudios Especiales de CEPAL, bajo el
componente de Macroeconomía, equidad y seguridad social, del proyecto CEPAL/GTZ: Policy Strategies for Sustainable Development in
Latin America and the Caribbean: Promotion of a Socially Sustainable Economic Policy (GER/01/31); , que contó con el apoyo de la
Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Zusammenarbeit (GTZ);.
Preparado como apoyo al documento La protección social de cara al futuro: Acceso, financiamiento y solidaridad presentado en el XXXI
Per…
Reseña
Este documento fue preparado por Adolfo Rodríguez Herrera, Consultor de la Unidad de Estudios Especiales de CEPAL, bajo el
componente de Macroeconomía, equidad y seguridad social, del proyecto CEPAL/GTZ: Policy Strategies for Sustainable Development in
Latin America and the Caribbean: Promotion of a Socially Sustainable Economic Policy (GER/01/31); , que contó con el apoyo de la
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Zusammenarbeit (GTZ);.
Preparado como apoyo al documento La protección social de cara al futuro: Acceso, financiamiento y solidaridad presentado en el XXXI
Per…
The Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong achieved the goals that had been set by Pascal Lamy when he assumed his new responsibilities as Director General of WTO in September 2005: a stocktaking meeting and the setting of guidelines for completing the work of the Doha Round in 2006.…
Studies of Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Mexico conducted collaboratively by ECLAC and GTZ point to environmental impacts associated with small and medium enterprises (SMEs), particularly in the manufacturing sector. This impact is essentially local, though it can become significant at the aggregate level, i.e., SMEs are responsible for some of the environmental problems caused by industry as a whole. Though SMEs account for only a small fraction of such problems -at the national level, the effect is often marginal in terms of environmental degradation- the impact may be significant and fairl…
This document analyses the origins and consequences of debt accumulation in the Caribbean. The focus is placed on Caribbean Community (CARICOM) economies. The document also examines current strategies for the reduction of debt…
Abstract The author examines the pension systems of Bolivia and Antigua in the context of non-contributory pensions around the world, concluding with policy lessons. Universal pensions available to everyone of eligible age, regardless of income, assets or employment history, have many advantages over targeted pensions. If targeting is desired, it is best done with ex post recovery from other income rather than ex ante means tests. For reasons that are unclear, governments almost always prefer ex ante tests to ex post controls for noncontributory pensions, even though the reverse is tr…
This document was prepared by Oliver Paddison, Associate Economic Affairs Officer in the Economic Development Unit of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean. Prepared as a support to the document Shaping the Future of Social Protection: Access, Financing and Solidarity presented in the XXXI ECLAC Session Period carried out in Montevideo, Uruguay during March, 20 to 24, 2006. The views expressed in this document, which has been reproduced without formal editing, are those of the author and do not necess…
CONTENTS I.East Africa: Region to benefit as the Nile Treaty is reviewed.II. Bathing water: European Commission starts legal action against eleven Member States.III.Mekong River Commission countries agree on procedures for Mekong flows.IV. Taos Pueblo water pact signed.V. Espoo Convention ruling on Bystroe Canal.VI. United States-Canada: Committee drafts allocation proposals for river water.VII. Israel and Turkey: Landmark water agreement put into deep freeze.VIII.Malaysia: Water to fall under World Trade Organization (WTO) regime? IX. Uruguay's President defends controversial pulp mills…
We analyze the emergence of large-scale education systems in a framework where growth is associated with changes in the configuration of the economy. We model the incentives that the economic elite could have (collectively); to accept taxation destined to finance the education of credit-constrained workers. Contrary to previous work, in our model, this incentive does not necessarily arise from a complementarity between physical and human capital in manufacturing. Instead, we emphasize the demand for human-capital-intensive services by high-income groups. Our model seems capable to account for …
The paper analyses the main features of trade agreements covering services concluded between Latin American countries and developed country partners. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is devoted a full section with a view to setting out key analytical parameters for the ensuing approach to individual agreements with the United States, the European Union and Japan. By means of a very detailed comparison across agreements, a typology is established for classifying specific elements with relation to whether they simply mirror GATS provisions (GATS-neutral ), go beyond GATS pr…
Shaping the Future of Social Protection: Access, Financing and Solidarity has been prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for presentation at the thirty-first session of the Commission (Montevideo, Uruguay, 20-24 March 2006). This publication is a summary of that document. Contents Why social protection? Towards a rights-based social protection system and covenant Towards guaranteed universal health-care coverage Pension system reforms Social programmes and the challenges they face Bibli…
Special Issue: Preserving the Multilateral Trading System: An Evaluation of Doha The Underlying Reasons Uncertain Status of Initiatives for Developing Countries Hong Kong Ministerial Accord on Export Subsidies Main Differences in Agriculture The Perfect is Enemy of the Good Obstacles to Negotiating Access to Agricultural Product Markets Multilateralism, the Main Casualty The Benefits of the WTO Importance of Renewing Negotiations for Latin America…
The inadequacies of social protection in Latin America and the Caribbean reveal a clear need for more active fiscal policies in this area. Although economic growth and decent employment are indispensable preconditions for social progress, the need for financing from public expenditure is ineluctable in the medium term. The present article examines three ways of achieving this objective. The first is to close the tax gap, since the fiscal burden is low in most Latin American and Caribbean countries. The second is to construct budgeting systems capable of removing rigidities and reallocating pub…
Abstract This paper presents a methodology for adjusting measures of income and poverty for the risk faced by a household. The approach draws on the standard economic concept of risk aversion, and it is based on the intuition that households will prefer a steady stream of income to a variable one with the same mean. Relying on a Constant Relative Risk Aversion utility function, we use panel data for Argentina to compute risk-adjusted income and poverty measures. At the aggregate level, we find that taking risk into account substantially increases the poverty headcount. Moreover, a regression …
Abstract We study the effect of fertility on maternal labour supply in Argentina and Mexico exploiting a source of exogenous variability in family size first introduced by Angrist and Evans (1998) for the United States. We find that the estimates for the US can be generalized both qualitatively and quantitatively to the populations of two developing countries where, compared to the US, fertility is known to be higher, female education levels are much lower and there are fewer formal facilities for childcare.…
The Report of the Secretary General of the United Nations on the implementation of the Millennium Declaration, entitled In larger freedom: towards security, development and human rights for all is a strong reminder of the need for an integrated approach to the various subjects considered therein, specially as they relate to the consolidation of democracy and of a durable peace. The subsequent establishment of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission, has opened a promising instance for the contribution from different sectors to the fundamental task of post-conflict reconstruction. T…
ECLAC Proposes for Latin America and the Caribbean a Social Protection Covenant Shaping the Future of Social Protection. Op-ed by ECLAC's Executive Secretary, José Luis Machinea Reform Agenda in Health Pension System Reforms Should Expand Coverage Resolutions approved during ECLAC's Thirty-first Session Social Programmes Help to Offset the Region's Poverty but Still Face Major Challenges Human Rights and Development to the Centre of Debate on Migration Challenges and Opportunities for Migration Governance Prospects for Growth Statistical Ap…
Poverty in Latin America Continues to Decrease for the Third Consecutive Year Community Response to Domestic Violence Wins Social Innovation Competition Our Region Can Achieve More. Op-ed by ECLAC's Executive Secretary, José Luis Machinea Highlights. Fernando Fajnzylber: A Vision of Renewal for Latin American Development. By Ernesto Ottone, Acting Deputy Executive Secretary of ECLAC Indicators Indigenous People of Latin America: New Obligations for 21st Century Democracies Recent titles Calendar of events…
The impacts of quota elimination under the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) applicable since 1 January 2005 are already becoming apparent on Latin American and Caribbean countries' exports to the United States ; despite vastly different performances from country to country, the region as a whole experienced a reduction in market share, in contrast to a marked increase by China . In theory, if this rhythm of growth were to be sustained, the market share of United States imports from China in this sector could increase or even surpass the 50% mark in the next three years. …