Resolution 629(XXXI): Follow-up to the Plan of Action for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean

Insurance underwriter or financial development fund: what role for reserve pooling in Latin America?

Abstract The unprecedented accumulation of international reserves by emerging markets raises the question of how to best utilize these funds; in particular if they should be held as a war chest to guard against the risk of financial crisis or if they should be used to recapitalize and strengthen weak banking systems. A third issue is if the resource cost could be limited by pooling the holdings of different central banks and if so, to what objectives should this reserve pool be put. This paper considers these questions with reference to the countries participating in the Latin American…

Central American Isthmus: economic evolution during 2005 and perspectives for 2006 (final evaluation)

1. Rasgos generales de la evolución reciente La actividad económica en el Istmo Centroamericano registró en 2005 una expansión igual a la del año anterior (4%), apenas por debajo del promedio de América Latina y el Caribe (4,3%). Excluyendo a Panamá, la tasa de crecimiento se elevó de 3,3% a 3,6%. También fue notable una menor dispersión de las tasas alrededor del promedio. Todos los países se hallan en la fase expansiva del ciclo económico, ya que se cumplieron tres años de incremento del producto interno bruto (PIB) por habitante, después del retroceso ocurrido en el bienio 2001-2002. Si …

Report of the workshop on indicators for follow up of the Agro 2015 plan for the improvement of agricultural and rural life in the Summit of the Americas

The Group of 8 External Debt Cancellation: Effects and implications for Guyana

The new United States Farm Bill and its implications for the Caribbean

The Regional Coordination Mechanism for the Implementation of the Mauritius Strategy

Public policy for pensions, health and sickness insurance

This document is prepared by Edward Palmer, Consultant of the Project ¨Inclusion of the European Nordic Model in the debate concerning reform of social protection schemes in Latin American and the Caribbean¨ (SWE/05/001). This project that the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is carrying out in the Social Development Division, with the financial support of Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). Prepared as a support to the document Shaping the Future of Social Protection: Access, Financing and Solidarity presented in the XXXI ECLAC Sess…

Demographic models for projections of social sector demand

Abstract This paper presents three demographic models useful for projections of social sector demand. The first model is a probabilistic national population forecast based on the collective experience of UN member states. It offers a set of probabilistic forecasts as a complement to the official UN scenario forecasts. The second model forecasts the population by age and educational level using data from a single census. Forecasts are presented for Chile which show dramatic changes in the educational composition of the elderly population and in the working-age population in the near future. The…

Meeting of the expanded core group for the establishment of a Regional Coordinating Mechanism for the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy

Water governance for development and sustainability

Abstract This document aims to identify characteristics of water institutions which promote the sustainable integration of water, both as a resource and as service, into socioeconomic development. As this does not depend only on formal institutional factors, such as legislation and organizational structure, there are also references to dynamic conditions, such as socioeconomic circumstances and the quality of the administration, summarized in the concept of governance, understood as the capability of a social system to mobilize energies, in a coherent manner, for the sustainable development of…

Public policy for pensions, health and sickness insurance: potential lessons from Sweden for Latin America

Abstract This paper discusses the rationale of social insurance and social insurance institutions as they have emerged and developed in economically mature nations. The aim of the paper is to present discuss experience in a perspective that can be useful for discussions in Latin America. Key issues in system and institution design are identified and discussed, and examined with reference to experience from Sweden. The paper contains three major sections and concludes with some final remarks. The first of these discusses the case for publicly mandated insurance. The second discusses mo…