En 2008 la economía hondureña se expandió 4%, 2,3 puntos porcentuales por debajo de la tasa registrada en 2007. El crecimiento sectorial fue muy heterogéneo: las actividades con mayor dinamismo fueron la intermediación financiera (18,1%) y las comunicaciones (14%). La inflación interanual alcanzó 10,8%, impulsada principalmente por el alza en los precios internacionales de los alimentos y el petróleo. Gracias al tipo de cambio de paridad móvil imperante, Honduras pudo amortiguar parcialmente el aumento de la inflación. Honduras: Economic evolution during 2008 and perspectives for 2009…
The energy debate has one dimension that is often sidelined: its relationship with poverty and development. This document attempts to shed some light on this aspect, overlooked when public policies are being formulated.The document describes the results of the joint effort of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Club de Madrid, which highlight the crucial role of access to energy services in the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.Access to energy services, as a basic factor for poverty reductio…
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are fundamentally a set of eight global goals
for the achievement of basic economic and social rights for all, with time-bound targets to be achieved
by the year 2015. In adopting the Millennium Declaration in 2000, the member States of the United
Nations pledged to “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and
dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty.”1 The focus of this report is on the progress made by
Caribbean countries towards the achievement of Goal 1: the eradication of extreme poverty and
hunger; and Goal 3: t…
The global economic crisis has put an end to a period of six consecutive years of growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, growth on a scale that had not been seen for decades. This crisis is different from those which had been seen in the past, not only because its origin is different but also because, as the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has reported on several occasions, the region is much better prepared to deal with it. The favourable international environment which had been enjoyed by most of the countries of the region in recent years went hand in han…
This manual contains information on the dataset compiled from the Survey of Living
Conditions and Household Budgets (SLC/HBS) conducted in Saint Lucia by the Kairi
Consultants Limited and National Assessment Team between 2005 and 2006. The
SLC/HBS is a sample survey which generates data on households and individuals in the
country.
This manual was developed by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean (ECLAC) – Subregional Headquarters in the Caribbean as a supplementary
document for the Caribbean Household Surveys Database (CHSD). It is sectioned out into
two main parts- sec…
In spite of various initiatives, Caribbean countries continue to have difficulties in
addressing demands of monitoring and measuring progress towards the fulfilment of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other Internationally Agreed upon Development
Goals (IADGs)1. To address this gap, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean (ECLAC) has received funding for a technical assistance project, Strengthening the
capacity of National Statistical Offices (NSOs) in the Caribbean Small Island Developing States
to fulfil the Millennium Development Goals and other International…
This may well be the first time since Latin America gained its independence in the early 1800s that a major economic contraction and financial calamity in the industrialized world has not caused a wave of currency, sovereign debt or banking crises in the region. What explains Latin America's unprecedented resilience in contrast with, for example, Eastern Europe's now-evident financial vulnerability? Here we review the enormous progress made by many governments in Latin America in the past decade to reduce currency mismatches, allow for more flexible exchange-rate regimes, enhance the…
This paper examines four hypotheses: (i); in Brazil, as in otherperipheral countries in the post-crisis context, a policy choice appears tohave been made for a flexible exchange rate within a currency band ( dirtyfloat );; (ii); the underlying reasons for this policy appear to have more to dowith pass-through of exchange-rate variations and precautionary demandfor reserves than with the maintenance of a competitive real exchangerate; (iii); in the country's peculiar situation, considerable capital mobility isconjoined with large and liquid financial derivatives markets and a res…
This paper shows that the Brazilian economic relations with China are intensifying at an unprecedented pace. This obviously brings about new challenges and opportunities. It is also shown that relations with specific provinces in China vary significantly, as illustrated by the available indicators for Shanghai, in comparison to other provinces. And last but not least, the paper has shown the rich recent experience of one Brazilian company that has benefited from the sharp increase of Chinese demand for raw material. This is a typical case of a new scenario for Brazilian firms, one where the fi…
The First Training Course on Information Society Measurement in the Caribbean workshop is organized by the United Nations Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), as part of the activities of its project Observatory for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (OSILAC), under the framework of the actions of the Statistical Conference of the Americas and the Partnership on Measuring ICT for development, particularly with the support of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), who will d…
The purpose of this study is to examine gender wage gaps in Chileusing a new database, the Social Protection Survey (EPS); 2002-2006,which makes it possible to control for actual work experience and itstiming. Potential work experience variables do not reflect the intermittentand discontinuous participation of women in the Chilean labour market.Corrections are also introduced for occupational selection, and two keyvariables are instrumented: education and work experience. Although thereare still wage differences between men and women, the introduction ofcontrols for actual work experience and …
This survey provides an overview of the economic performance of countries of the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) for the year 2008 and their outlook for 2009. The report comprises
three chapters. The first provides a regional comparative analysis of the main macroeconomic
variables, namely GDP growth, inflation, fiscal and external accounts, as well as fiscal,
monetary and other policies, particularly those specifically devised to cope with the ongoing
global economic crisis. The second chapter deals with two topics relevant for economic
development in the region: economic growth and small and m…
La presente publicación es un aporte de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), en respuesta a la solicitud del Gobierno de México, al quinto Foro Ministerial del Arco del Pacífico Latinoamericano y complementa el informe previo presentado a la cuarta reunión de dicho foro celebrada en Santiago en octubre de 2008. Este documento tiene por objeto brindar a los gobiernos una perspectiva actualizada del impacto de la crisis financiera internacional, tanto en los países asiáticos como en los latinoamericanos, sus implicancias para los futuros vínculos económicos y comerci…
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Subregional
Headquarters for the Caribbean presents its fourth edition of the Women in
Development Bibliography.
The online bibliography provides references on women, gender and development for
Caribbean and non-Caribbean publications, and documents that are less widely
disseminated, such as research and conference papers and technical reports. The
bibliography aims to be a reference guide to help stakeholders and international actors
involved in gender issues on the literature available and current research themes from
Caribb…
El presente trabajo de investigación, es una exploración que busca, sobre todo, poder señalar los posibles caminos a seguir en Bolivia en el desarrollo de las microfinanzas en general y en el área rural en particular. Se basó en entrevistas y visitas de campo y se realizó entre julio y agosto de 2008. Dos fueron los ejes en los que se movió esta investigación: 1.-El rol de las microfinanzas para combatir la pobreza.2.-Tratar de descubrir como lograr que las instituciones microfinancieras presten servicios financieros productivos en el área rural. Asimismo, detalla las posibles acciones para:Am…
Los análisis de estado y dinámica de la competitividad regional se complementan y constituyen un único cuerpo, que hace posible el monitoreo constante de los factores que la promueven e influyen el diseño de políticas públicas y estimulan las decisiones privadas que convergen hacia garantizar mayores niveles de competitividad. En tal sentido, este estudio visita estos dos temas y presentan el posicionamiento de la competitividad de los departamentos colombianos en 2006, descompuesto en seis factores económicos y sociales, y sus cambios desde 1992.
El Escalafón de Competitividad de los Departam…
In order to give decision makers in this Hemisphere a consensual reference document,the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the UnitedNations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the Inter-American Institutefor Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) decided to join forces to prepare this report ontrends in the agricultural sector and rural areas. It is based on a common data base and aseries of indicators available to all interested parties at www.agriruralc.org.These three institutions intend to make this document the first of a regular series ofpublications, w…
La edición 2008-2009 del Panorama de la inserción internacional de América Latina y el Caribe se divide en tres capítulos. En el capítulo I se analiza la coyuntura económica internacional con una mirada de mediano plazo. Se presta especial atención a las variables que más pueden modificar el escenario global y afectar la inserción internacional de las economías de América Latina y el Caribe. Como ejemplo de los cambios que está generando o acentuando la crisis cabe destacar la creciente importancia de las economías emergentes, con el consiguiente impacto sobre las corrientes comerciales de la…