Patterns of penetration of ICT goods and services in Latin American and Caribbean households: analysis based on data from national population and housing censuses, round 2000

This paper explores the usefulness of data deriving from Population and Housing Censuses in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the 2000 Round, in order to describe the patterns of penetration of ICT goods in the households of the countries in the region. With this purpose in mind, the report approaches the following issues: The availability of information on ICTs in the 2000 Census Round. Characteristics of the instruments used for registering and measuring the ownership of ICT goods. The penetration of the various kinds of ICT goods. Profile description of households with greatest connectivi…

Income distribution and poverty through crisis and adjustment

This article analyses the costs in terms of income distribution of the crisis and adjustments of the 1980s, as well as the effects of the subsequent recovery and resumption of sustained growth patterns. This analysis is based on comparable pairs of estimates of income distribution and poverty prepared by ECLAC for the ten largest and predominantly urban countries of the region. The method of analysis consists, on the one hand, of comparing the changes in distribution and in the macroeconomic and labour market variables during similar macroeconomic phases in the course of the adjustment process…

Youth and social cohesion in Ibero-America: a model in the making. Summary

Ibero-America is living through promising times in terms of the relation between youth and development. The signs are well known, and this report provides an unprecedented compilation of evidence confirming them. The region's youth today have more years of education on average than adults, and the gap is even more favourable for youth in terms of access to new communication technologies, information and knowledge. The population dynamic indicates that the coming years will see a reduction in the proportion of young people in the overall population in most Ibero-American countries, and thi…

Exploring policy linkages between poverty, crime and violence: a look at three Caribbean states

This discussion paper seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge on crime and violence through an exploration of the possible policy linkages between poverty, crime and violence, using data from Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. It does so against the backdrop of increasing concern for the impact of violence on the social and economic development and human welfare of Caribbean societies. In addition to the primary objective of exploring the policy and programming linkages between poverty reduction programming and that aimed at reducing crime and violence, the study includes an ov…

Venture capital and innovation in Latin America

One of the drivers of economic growth is innovation, which raisesproductivity by creating new production methods, technologies, productsand firms. This article examines an instrument that supports this process,venture capital, and highlights the need for a financing system coveringeach phase of innovation. It starts by illustrating Latin America's innovationdeficit. It then proceeds to a general analysis of the difficulties affecting thefinancing of innovation and the provision of venture capital to overcomethese. It goes on to examine the form taken by these obstacles in theregion and, c…

The middle class and the development process

Stable, higher income democracies often have both a strong middle class and relatively low levels of inequality. In contrast, lower and middle income countries with highly unequal patterns of income distribution and stratified social structures often have a weak middle class, more social conflict and a tendency to populist and/or authoritarian politics. This paper investigates, for a sample of more than 120 countries, some empirical correlations between the size of the middle class and the following set of variables: the level (mean); of per capita income and wealth, the degree of inequality (…

Spatial distribution, internal migration and development in Latin America and the Caribbean

An examination of the links between migration and developmentusing census micro data for 15 Latin American countries reveals that: (i);internal migration is diminishing, which was not foreseen in the specialistliterature, (ii); internal migration, while apparently helpful for individuals andbeneficial for successful regions, erodes the human resources of poorerregions, and (iii); as a result of increasing urbanization, urban-urban migrationis replacing rural to urban migration as the predominant flow and other typesof migration are on the increase, an example being intrametropolitan migrationw…

Children and HIV/AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean

In Latin America, around 36,000 children under 15 have HIV, and in the Caribbean estimates are of 11,000 children living with the virus. Although some progress has been made in the region in the care and treatment of adults that is not the case with children. This issue number 7 of Challenges is devoted to the latest information on the vertical transmission (mother-to-child) of HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean, and how children are accessing life-saving treatment in the region.…

Digital review 2007 of Latin America and the Caribbean: progress and challenges policies for development with ICT. Abridged document

SummaryThis document is an abridged version of the Latin America and the Caribbean Digital Review 2007 report which provides an inventory of the national policies and strategies that aim to guide the different countries of Latin America and the Caribbean towards Information Societies. It aims to contribute the understanding of the situations faced by these countries as this process matures. The report is the result of a collective effort by UNDP, ECLAC, DIRSI and ICA-IDRC. It describes the progress achieved and challenges remaining for policy development in 21 countries of the re…

Active labor market programs for the integration of youths and immigrants into the labor market: the Nordic experience

The purpose of this study is to survey the evaluation literature on active labor market programs (ALMPs) in the Nordic labor market in order to provide a general overview of the success and failure of different types of ALMPs as well as a more detailed account of the Nordic experience with targeted programs towards vulnerable groups such as unemployed youth and immigrants. The consensus in the evaluation literature is that the types of ALMPs that are efficient in reducing unemployment duration and increasing employment chances for the unemployed in general are also the most efficient for vulne…

Regional integration and public policy. Evaluation of the European experience and possible implications for Latin American integration

The escalation in world food prices and its implications for the Caribbean

During the last years, the steep increase in food prices has been one of the most distinctive characteristics of the world economy. Many factors have been hypothesized as the main drivers of this phenomenon, both structural and temporary. International food inflation has had perceptible effects on food importing countries and regions. As such, the Caribbean has suffered the impact mainly through four channels, namely, domestic inflation, imports bill and trade balance, poverty and indigence rates, and equity. This study addresses empirically these issues from a regional perspective.…

Institutions and public policies for rural development in Guatemala

This article reviews the formal institutional framework forimplementing rural development policies in Guatemala, which originatedin the State modernization process promoted through the Peace Accords.The main thesis is that rural development policies will be more efficientif they are based on the institutional framework that the Peace Accordsprovided, which distinguishes between three levels of government: central,deconcentrated and decentralized. While the two sub-national levelsexecute 43% of total public investment, central government needs to targetthe budget on poor zones, cut subsidies to…