Structural change and productivity growth 20 years later: old problems, new opportunities. Summary

IntroductionNearly 20 years ago, ECLAC put forward a proposal for structural change and productivity growth with social equity. At the time, the countries of the region were emerging from the severe crisis of the 1980s, with all its associated difficulties in terms of internal stabilization and external adjustment, and heading into a decade of structural reform which heeded the call of the Washington Consensus. In the midst of perplexity and pessimism regarding the region's prospects, ECLAC espoused a view of the situation that ran counter to the orthodox line of thought that marked econo…

Structural change and productivity growth, 20 years later: old problems, new opportunities

IntroductionNearly 20 years ago, ECLAC put forward a proposal for structural change and productivity growth with social equity. At the time, the countries of the region were emerging from the severe crisis of the 1980s, with all its associated difficulties in terms of internal stabilization and external adjustment, and headed into a decade of structural reform which heeded the call of the Washington Consensus. In the midst of perplexity and pessimism regarding the region's prospects, ECLAC espoused a view of the situation that ran counter to the extremely orthodox line of thought that mar…

Building an information society: a Latin American and Caribbean perspective

Abstract New technological options that permit the use of digital systems to create and disseminate information around the world are paving the way for new means of organizing society and economic production and are gradually giving rise to a meta-paradigm that has come to be referred to as the Information Society. Viewed from the perspective of developing countries, the question of how to employ this emerging paradigm to achieve broader development goals and to integrate them more fully into the global Information Society is an issue of the utmost importance on the development agenda…

Improving broadband quality and affordability in the Caribbean: Policies to advance digital inclusion in the subregion. Policy Brief

In this digitally transforming world, digital inclusion is becoming increasingly important to social inclusion and sustainable development. Affordable access to broadband is an essential precondition to digital inclusion. Internet quality, as measured by speed and other indicators, is also important, as digital inclusion is ultimately about ensuring equal access to the benefits and opportunities offered by digital technologies and the Internet. This policy brief provides insight into Internet speed and affordability across the Caribbean, and offers some recommendations for policymakers working…

Disability, human rights and public policy in the Caribbean: A situation analysis

This study presents a situation analysis of persons with disability in the Caribbean. It includes a compilation and analysis of national census data from 16 countries including data from both the 2000 and the 2010 census rounds. The study also assesses national laws, policies and programmes in the context of relevant international treaties and agreements. The topics covered include health and rehabilitation, accessible buildings, transport, information and communications technology, education and labour market participation. In each of these areas, good practices, gaps, and priorities for acti…

ICT in Latin America: a microdata analysis

This book is the final report of the ECLAC-IDRC project Observatory for the Information Society in Latin American and the Caribbean OSILAC, which aims at understanding the dynamics of the ICT evolution and revolution and producing evidence on its potential to promote socio-economic development. As such, microdata analysis drawn from National Household Surveys and National Innovation Surveys in Latin America were used in the framework of the project in the attempt to reach those objectives. Both statistical information sources provide attractive potentialities in order to investigate not only d…

Trade in services in Latin America and the Caribbean: an analysis of recent trends

This paper compares the dynamism of the Latin American and Caribbean region's services trade with that of Asia, evaluates the determinants of these trade flows, and proposes measures for improving the region's performance. The focus of this study is on other services , which includes all services except transport and travel services (mainly tourism). Other services include many modern service inputs (including communications, financial and information technology services and business services), that play an increasingly vital role in determining many businesses&…

Persiste brecha de género en inclusión digital en países de la región

(9 de abril, 2013) Las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones (TIC) abren variadas oportunidades para el empoderamiento de las mujeres y la igualdad de género, pero las mujeres latinoamericanas y caribeñas no están todavía en igualdad de condiciones en comparación con los hombres en la sociedad de la información y el conocimiento, señaló Alicia Bárcena, Secretaria Ejecutiva de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL). Bárcena fue la oradora principal en el panel "Las mujeres y la inclusión social" que forma parte del Foro de Líderes Gubernamentales: América Lat…

Migration data collection, management, sharing in the Caribbean

This paper is to assist governments and other concerned parties in the subregion to identify, at the national and regional levels, already existing mechanisms for migration data collection, management and sharing and to provide guidance on how to identify and bridge the still existing information gaps on migration data in the subregion…

A review of Caribbean national statistical legislation in relation to the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics

This study presents an assessment of national statistical legal frameworks across the Caribbean. It aims to ascertain the extent to which the UNFPOS are incorporated in the statistical laws of Member and Associate Member Countries of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC). Such an assessment provides the basis for making recommendations to the respective countries on policy actions needed to ensure the full incorporation of these principles in their statistics legislation thereby laying a solid foundation for the effective functioning of their NSS. Furthermore, an up-to-dat…

ECLAC Executive Secretary opens High Level Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago

“There is no question that the Caribbean is shouldering an unsustainable debt burden which compromises the capacity of the economies for sustained growth and restricts the options available to governments to introduce important social and welfare programmes” the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena, said via video conference in opening the 17th meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC) on 26 June, during which Ministers and high-level Government representatives from the…

Report of the twenty-ninth session of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

E-commerce and export promotion policies for small- and medium-sized enterprises: East Asian and Latin American experiences

Abstract As in other parts of the world, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America are important generators of employment while contributing to establishing certain social as well as regional 'equilibria' in the development process within the country. However, SMEs in Latin America are much less 'export-oriented'than their East Asian counterparts. SMEs in Latin America tend to produce import substitutes and non tradables while manufactured exports are still produced by large firms in relativelycapital-intensive ways. In contrast, many East Asian SMEs are…

Global value chains and world trade: Prospects and challenges for Latin America

Scant empirical evidence is available on how the Latin American and Caribbean region participates in global value chains (GVCs) and what drives this process. Frequent questions in this connection are: How has the spread of information and communications technologies and free trade agreements facilitated the region’s participation in GVCs? To what extent do small firms participate in GVCs? What learning mechanisms and production and technological feedbacks operate in different types of GVCs? How can countries and firms take advantage of upgrading processes in GVCs? What role do policies play to…

Advancing the Decade of Action for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean

E-business innovation and customs renovation for secure supply chain management

Information technologies (ITs) and supply chain management (SCM) are increasingly considered as indispensable tools of competitiveness especially for companies facing excessive global competition, although these companies have not necessarily succeeded in taking full advantage of such cutting-edge technologies and management systems. Their use, especially of international SCMs, is limited to a small number of purchaser-suppliers groups that are formed primarily by transnational corporations (TNCs). The factors impeding a proliferation of SCMs at a global scale include the difficulties that com…

Investing in an Inclusive Digital Future for the Caribbean

The Caribbean is undergoing a digital transformation: More people than ever have access to digital technologies and the internet, and both businesses and government entities are increasingly providing online services. While significant disparities remain both within and among Caribbean countries in terms of access to digital technologies and infrastructure, the influence of digital technologies on the subregion has increased significantly in recent years, particularly in response to the public health measures implemented to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.…

The Role of Data for SDG Advancement in the Caribbean

Institutional requirements for market-led development in Latin America

Abstract This paper seeks to provide a systematized framework for the main ideas that have been developed by ECLAC concerning the effects that market-led reforms have had on labour, financial and technology markets. In order to explore these questions further, a research project has been undertaken by ECLAC with the sponsorship of the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ). The project deals with the institutional requirements for properly functioning financial, technology and labour markets. Particular attention is being devoted to the institutional forces affecting market access by tr…

Enhancing data for development: policy imperatives for tracking the implementation of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States in the Caribbean. Policy Brief

For small island developing States (SIDS), sustainable development is a delicate balance of pursuing economic growth, social development and environmental stewardship in the context of economic volatility, social challenges, climate change threats and global uncertainties while striving to build resilience. Recognized as a special case for development since the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, SIDS remain highly vulnerable to external shocks due to their small economies, limited connectivity and reliance on external markets. Over the years, global frameworks such …