Capital Flows to Latin America and the Caribbean: First Quarter 2020 in Times of COVID-19

Highlights • In the first quarter of 2020, the spread of the coronavirus, together with a precipitous decline in commodity prices, radically changed the financial landscape for Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) issuers. After a record breaking issuance of US$ 38 billion worth of bonds in January, bond issuance dried-up in February and March, bringing total quarterly issuance to US$ 45 billion. • On March 26, however, Panama successfully placed a sovereign bond in cross-border markets to secure additional resources to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. It was followed in April by other four soverei…

Preliminary overview of the economies of the Caribbean 2019–2020

This overview examines the economic performance of economies of the Caribbean in 2019 and comprises four chapters. The first chapter provides a comparative analysis across Caribbean economies of the main macroeconomic variables, namely GDP growth, monetary indicators, as well as fiscal and external accounts. The second chapter looks at areas of focus in the Caribbean. The third chapter concludes, while the annex includes individual country briefs that give an overview of the economic situation for the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and a subregional assessment of the coun…

Green fiscal policies: An armoury of instruments to recover growth sustainably

The present study seeks to explore how fiscal policies can employed to deliver both socioeconomic and environmental dividends with a focus on Brazil as a case study. In the current context where the global economy in general and Brazil’s economy in particular are struggling to reinvigorate, whereas disregarding environmental concerns is a hazard for long-term economic development itself, the focus is thus on reviewing the recent literature that seeks to reconcile a stronger economic and social performance based on fiscal instruments that foster sustainable investments. An overview of the theor…

China: current and potential role in infrastructure investment in Latin America

China’s investments are one way for expanding infrastructure that many Latin American countries have been seeking through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). To attract and retain the interest of the private sector, the existence of a proper, strong governance, as well as stable and sound legal frameworks is paramount. Decision-making and implementation processes also need to be improved to ensure that the match between the infrastructure investment needs in Latin America and the Chinese financing capabilities effectively results in a leap towards the improvement of infrastructure in quantity a…

Economic Survey of the Caribbean 2019

This survey examines the economic performance of economies of the Caribbean in 2018 and comprises six chapters. The first chapter gives an overview of global, regional and subregional economic performance as well as unemployment in the Caribbean. The second provides an analysis of governments in the subregion’s fiscal performance and debt burden. The third looks at monetary policy and variables. The fourth is focused external sector and its factors. The fifth chapter concludes, while the final chapter includes individual country briefs that give an overview of the economic situation for the Ba…

Discurso de cierre del trigésimo octavo período de sesiones de la CEPAL

Discurso de cierre del trigésimo octavo período de sesiones de la CEPAL Alicia Bárcena, Secretaria Ejecutiva de la CEPAL Santiago, 28 de octubre de 2020 Querido Rodolfo Solano Quirós, Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto de Costa Rica, Dear Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary General, thank you for being with us today, Esteemed Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations and Chair of the Group of 77 and China, Distinguidos Cancilleres, Viceministros y delegados de los Estados miembros de la CEPAL, Señoras y señores miembros del Cuerpo D…

ECLA, Washington and Inter-American Economic Relations, 1948–1968

Inter-American economic relations underwent significant changes since the end of World War II, with the creation of hemispheric institutions, such as the Organization of American States (OAS) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA). This document examines two decades of interaction on economic affairs between the Latin American and United States governments, in the setting provided by these hemispheric institutions.…

Evento con países de América Latina y el Caribe enfatiza la importancia de garantizar un régimen de protección social universal

Reconstruir mejor implica hacerlo con igualdad y sostenibilidad, con un pacto social que incluya una nueva ecuación entre el Estado, el mercado y la sociedad, que permita alcanzar un régimen universal de protección social y de acceso a bienes públicos básicos, afirmó hoy Alicia Bárcena, Secretaria Ejecutiva de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL). La máxima representante de la Comisión regional participó en un evento paralelo al Foro Político de Alto Nivel de las Naciones Unidas 2020 (HLPF, por sus siglas en inglés), que se desarrolla virtualmente este mes de julio, ti…

CEPAL presenta cinco propuestas para ampliar el espacio fiscal de los países del Caribe

Presentación de la Secretaria Ejecutiva de la CEPAL, Alicia Bárcena (en inglés). El apoyo financiero concesional a los países del Caribe es imperativo en respuesta a la crisis desatada por la enfermedad del coronavirus (COVID-19) y enfrentar las vulnerabilidades económicas y climáticas que los afectan. Así lo enfatizó hoy Alicia Bárcena, Secretaria Ejecutiva de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), durante una sesión del Foro Político de Alto Nivel de las Naciones Unidas 2020 (HLPF, por sus siglas en inglés), que se desarrolla virtualmente este mes de julio, en donde …

Capital Flows to Latin America and the Caribbean: First Nine Months of 2020 in Times of COVID-19

This document, prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Washington Office, presents and analyzes the most recent developments (first nine months of 2020 in times of COVID-19) concerning capital flows to Latin America and the Caribbean.…

U.S. Economic Outlook: 2019 in review and early 2020 developments

Highlights • The record long U.S. economic expansion is coming to an end, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shutdowns to stem the spread of the virus have already had an impact on the economy, and are already visible in some preliminary data for March, ranging from jobless claims to factory output. The U.S. government will release its initial estimate for the first quarter of 2020 at the end of April, and a decline in growth is expected, followed by an even worse decline in the second quarter. • Three stimulus packages were approved by the U.S. Congress in March, aiming to address the impa…

ECLAC contribution to integration in Central America

The proposal for development and integration in Central America put forward by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on the basis of its considerable prior experience, is set out and updated in these infographics. The proposal emphasizes the need for a progressive structural change driven across various fronts: the social sector, energy, climate change challenges, infrastructure, fiscal coordination, trade, productive integration and innovation. It focuses on the importance of an environmental big push for equality and sustainability, supported by coordinated publ…

COVID-19 Pandemic Will Lead to the Biggest Contraction in Economic Activity in the Region’s History: A -5.3% Drop in 2020

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean through external and domestic factors, the combined effect of which will lead to the worst contraction that the region has ever undergone, exceeding those seen in 1914 and 1930. According to the latest estimates, an average regional contraction of -5.3% is forecast for 2020, ECLAC indicated today while launching a new report. The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena, presented on this Tuesday, April 21, the COVID-19 Special Rep…

ECLAC Will Present its Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2020

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will present on Tuesday, October 6 its Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2020: Main conditioning factors of fiscal and monetary policies in the post-COVID-19 era, the institution’s flagship annual economic report, which takes stock of the region’s economies in the last year, with special emphasis on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, and examines the prospects for the coming months. The latest edition of this document – published by the United Nations regional commission since 1948 – will present an analysis o…

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism sector in Latin America and the Caribbean, and options for a sustainable and resilient recovery

Since April, tourism in the region has almost come to a temporary standstill as a result of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This temporary paralysis has not only hit Caribbean economies and employment hard, but also many local communities in Latin America. Tourism accounts for half of services exports in Latin America and the Caribbean and represents significant shares of gross domestic product (GDP) and employment. An impact scenario shows that the slump in tourism may cause total GDP growth in the Caribbean and Latin America to fall by 8 percentage points and 1 percentage point,…

Promoting debt sustainability to facilitate financing sustainable development in selected Caribbean countries: A scenario analysis of the ECLAC debt for climate adaptation swap initiative

In light of the high debt burden impacting Caribbean economies ECLAC has been pursuing an initiative designed to reduce the debt burden and advance sustainable development. The strategy has evolved over time and there is now agreement on an approach designed to bring financial resources to the Caribbean for resilience building while still emphasizing the importance of debt reduction. To address resilience and development financing, ECLAC proposes the establishment of a Caribbean Resilience Facility to be housed at a reputable financial institution. Such a facility would be capitalised by donor…

Resolution 750(XXXVIII) Conference on Science, Innovation and Information and Communications Technologies of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Policy Brief: Planning for resilience: an integrated approach to tackle climate change in the Caribbean

The Caribbean subregion is exceptionally vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. Vulnerability is a key multidimensional concept at the heart of resilience building, relating to each country’s multiple spatial and socioeconomic risks and conditions. In fact, due to its geographical location and concentration of population and activities in low-lying coastal areas, the Caribbean is the second most hazard-prone region in the world...Moreover, impacts of extreme weather events on Caribbean small economies are of national proportions. For example, in the hurricane s…

Caribbean in Brief: an information document for Caribbean Small Island Developing States

This brief is intended to provide general information on the upcoming United Nations Ocean Conference on scaling up ocean actions based on science and innovation for the implementation of Agenda 2030 - Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14), with a view to stimulating more active, engaged participation of the Caribbean in the discussions. The United Nations Ocean Conference will be co-chaired by Kenya and Portugal, and hosted by the Government of Portugal in Lisbon, during 2021. The objective of this conference is consistent with the 2017 UN General Assembly proclamation on the Decade of Oce…

Resolution 738(XXXVIII) ECLAC calendar of conferences for the period 2021–2022