Tariffs and non-tariff barriers having been reduced, the international community seeks to lower other trade transaction costs that are greater in developing countries. As a fruit of the effort, the WTO launched Aid for Trade (AfT) initiatives in 2005. Due to the considerable amount of AfT, there have been discussions on its effectiveness. This study continues the debate by analyzing the impact of AfT on reducing the cost and time to trade in 30 Latin American and Caribbean countries, where 10% of AfT is destined, for the period between 2004-2010, deploying a panel data fixed-effects model.…
En este documento se ofrece un panorama general de los progresos internacionales realizados en materia de derechos humanos de las personas mayores durante el último tiempo. Esta descripción y análisis se complementan con datos empíricos acerca de los problemas concretos que enfrenta este grupo social para ejercer sus derechos alrededor del mundo. Se documentan además los esfuerzos que se están desarrollando desde distintos ámbitos institucionales para solucionarlos, y se analizan las limitaciones y desafíos para continuar avanzando en el tema, poniendo acento en las propuestas para mejorar su …
El documento ofrece lineamientos generales para incluir la identificación étnica en los registros de
salud de los países de América Latina y el Caribe, para lo que toma en consideración las experiencias
iniciadas por algunos de ellos, que se describen en detalle en uno de los anexos. El propósito de este
trabajo es realizar un aporte a las oficinas de estadística y los organismos del Estado responsables de
los sistemas de información en materia de salud que deciden afrontar la tarea de incorporar preguntas
para la visibilización de los pueblos indígenas y afrodescendientes en estas fuentes de …
Recently, Latin American countries have had to face the challenges of improving social inclusion and economic redistribution while consolidating democratic institutions after long periods of authoritarian regimes in many of them. Addressing pressure for social inclusion was all the more difficult, since these societies are characterized by some of the worst income disparities in the world and high degrees of labor market informality.
After the 70’s, the massive explosion of social demands in the transition to democracy transformed the region into a social laboratory aiming to promote social in…
El objetivo de este estudio es desarrollar una propuesta metodológica para incorporar la perspectiva de derechos humanos en la formulación, puesta en marcha, monitoreo y evaluación de la política laboral en los países seleccionados (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua y México). Se consideran tres derechos humanos- al trabajo digno, la alimentación y la salud- establecidos en el Protocolo de San Salvador y el Pacto Internacional de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales. Con tal propósito, se analizan los factores que pueden influir en el alcance y efectividad de los derechos hum…
La propuesta metodológica para la construcción de la canasta alimentaria que se presenta busca apoyar la elaboración de canastas desde un enfoque normativo y de bienestar cuyo centro sea el Derecho Humano a la Alimentación. Parte de la experiencia en la construcción de canastas para la determinación de los umbrales de satisfacción de las necesidades alimentarias utilizadas para la medición de la pobreza. Pero a diferencia de la mayoría de ellas, construye los mínimos como mínimos de bienestar y tiene como parámetro normativo cumplir adecuadamente con el Derecho Humano a la Alimentación. El doc…
Most economic and labour studies focus on work in the market, leaving aside the great number of activities dedicated to personal, family and social well-being. In recent decades, many researchers have criticized the main thrust of employment studies that assimilate work with a paid activity performed for the market, demonstrating that paid participation in the production of goods and services is not enough to satisfy human needs and to preserve social cohesion.
For several decades now, time use studies have provided a mass of information on the manner in which people use their time, contributi…
En esta publicación se examina la forma en que la financiación de la deuda externa ha evolucionado en las últimas tres décadas. Se remonta 30 años y se analiza la trayectoria de la región de América Latina y el Caribe desde la singular perspectiva del acceso a los mercados financieros internacionales. Como el título indica, esta trayectoria ha sido una montaña rusa, con muchos altibajos, y momentos de angustia y pánico.
Los acontecimientos de las últimas tres décadas, tal como se describen en este libro, indican que un acceso más amplio y más barato a los mercados internacionales de capital pu…
The boom in international prices for metals, oil and other commodities was caused by the rising global demand for these items on the back of the extraordinary growth seen in China’s economy and in other emerging economies over the past decade, among other factors. Demand for iron, copper and aluminum, as well as other export minerals, is linked to construction, infrastructure and manufacturing growth (which require inputs such as steel, electrical conductors and industrial metals). These sectors expanded rapidly as emerging economies embarked on a path of accelerated economic development durin…
El auge que exhiben los precios internacionales de los metales, el petróleo y otros productos primarios está determinado, entre otros factores, por el incremento de la demanda mundial de estos bienes, a raíz de la extraordinaria expansión económica de China y otras economías emergentes durante la última década. La demanda de hierro, cobre y aluminio, entre otros minerales de exportación, está asociada al crecimiento de los sectores de la construcción, la infraestructura y la manufactura (que requieren acero, conductores eléctricos y metales industriales, entre otros). Estos sectores presentaro…
O auge dos preços internacionais dos metais, do petróleo e outros produtos primários é determinado, entre outros fatores, pelo aumento da demanda mundial desses bens, devido à extraordinária expansão econômica da China e outras economias emergentes durante a última década. A demanda de ferro, cobre e alumínio, entre outros minerais de exportação, está associada ao crescimento dos setores da construção, infraestrutura e manufatura (que requerem aço, condutores elétricos e metais industriais, entre outros). Estes setores apresentaram uma rápida expansão no âmbito do processo de aceleração do des…
The 2013 edition of Latin America and the Caribbean in the World Economy is subtitled “A sluggish postcrisis, mega trade negotiations and value chains: scope for regional action” and is made up of three chapters. Chapter 1 reviews the main features of the persistently weak global economy and lacklustre world trade and then turns to global and regional trade trends and prospects. Chapter II considers the main changes in the organization of production and global trade associated with international production networks, which are at the heart of the current mega-regional negotiations. It goes on t…
En esta edición de 2013 del Panorama Social de América Latina se presentan las mediciones oficiales de la CEPAL respecto del análisis de la pobreza por ingresos y se procura ofrecer enfoques novedosos sobre pobreza y bienestar, poniendo especial énfasis en enfoques multidimensionales, de carácter exploratorio. Cabe aclarar que estos análisis, justamente por ser exploratorios, no son exhaustivos. El criterio para su incorporación responde a la certeza de que, tanto en el ámbito de la política social y de la evaluación del desarrollo social como de las nuevas demandas ciudadanas, emerge la neces…
El fortalecimiento del Fondo Latinoamericano de Reservas (FLAR) por la vía de expandir su tamaño y cobertura para incluir a un mayor número de países de la región sería un aporte importante a la provisión de un bien público regional y global como lo es la estabilidad financiera. Este trabajo intenta arrojar luz sobre la viabilidad, las implicancias y los desafíos, de una eventual ampliación del FLAR a otros cinco países de la región: Argentina, Brasil, Chile, México y Paraguay.…
This article examines commercial bank lending strategies for micro-enterprises and
small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Mexico, and the factors that promote
or hinder lending in this segment. With this in mind, in 2011 a detailed survey was
conducted of commercial banks operating in Mexico. Although credit to microenterprises
and smes still represents a small share of the loan portfolio, the survey
results point to growing interest in broadening it. Three different business models
were identified, with major differences in strategies for offering financial services to
this segment of en…
The eclac-Climate Impacts Assessment Model (CIAM) is a modelling platform that
has been created to assess the economic consequences of climate change in the
Caribbean. The model can be freely accessed, downloaded and even modified.
The version available is a full-fledged model which can readily be used to conduct
simulation exercises. This paper provides a general description of the model and
an illustrative simulation exercise. Our results from this exercise highlight the fact
that the Caribbean is a highly vulnerable region where climate change is expected
to generate sizeable and negative e…
This article presents the main results of the Programme for International Student
Assessment (PISA) for Costa Rica in 2009 and then goes on to analyse the gap
between the scores of students attending private schools and those attending public
schools. However, the estimation of an education production function using these
data shows that this gap is not entirely attributable to whether schools are public
or private, but that instead the students' family environment, personal traits and, in
particular, the student's grade level at the time that the PISA test was taken are all
quite in…
This article explores the connection between labour market segregation and
motherhood wage penalties in Argentina across the formal and informal sectors. It
uses ordinary least square and quantile regression estimation strategies and deploys
Blinder-Oaxaca and Ñopo decompositions to identify sources of wage differences.
The finding is that there is strong evidence of labour market segmentation and that
motherhood wage penalties differ substantively across the sectors and between
different wage quantiles. In particular, formal-sector working mothers do not
experience wage penalties, while infor…
Working from home is an option that differs from other forms of employment. This
type of employment is driven not only by globalization and outsourcing, but also by
unequal gender relationships within the home. Two multi-logistic regressions were
used to determine how the distribution of in-home working arrangements differs by
sex and by male/female age range, level of education, marital status and degree of
urbanization of the place of residence. The results suggest that these characteristics
have a differential influence on men's and women's employment decisions. The
results also i…
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