Social stratification under tension in a globalized era

The objective of this paper is to explore the effects of globalization on the labour market and social stratification. It is generally held that globalization will bring about progress for nations and people. This, however, is far from clear, since the experience of almost two decades has been raising increasing doubts about the potential net gains and, particularly, the distribution of such gains. Clearly, there are winners and losers among both countries and people. We will concentrate on the effects upon people within countries and refer only to one region: Latin America. Our aim is to iden…

Alternative measures of potential economic growth in Latin America

Hubert Escaith is Director of the Division of Statistics and Economic Projections of ECLAC. These methodological notes were prepared for a lecture at the 2005 ECLAC Summer School. They are based on, and up-date, a series of papers in Spanish published in 2003 and 2004, which received in 2005 the award Maestro Jesus Silva Herzog from Economic Research Institute of the Universidad National Autonoma de Mexico. The views expressed in this document, which has been reproduced without formal editing, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Organization. …

Productive development in open economies

Presentation The countries of the Latin American and Caribbean region have shown a keen and lasting interest in mechanisms of economic development and public policies for its promotion. This is a process in which ECLAC has been involved ever since it was founded over half a century ago. Today, the debate on these issues continues against the backdrop of a globalization process in which the remarkable dynamism of some dimensions -especially its economic, financial and cultural aspects- contrasts with the slow formation of an institutional network capable of coping with the increased interdepend…

América Latina en clave de cohesión social: indicadores seleccionados

Este documento fue elaborado por la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), en el marco del proyecto Medir la cohesión social en América Latina llevado a cabo con el apoyo de la Comisión Europea. Con este documento se espera aportar datos estadísticos que alimenten la discusión y el intercambio de experiencias sobre políticas de cohesión social en América Latina. Estas políticas y, en particular aquellas orientadas a promover el trabajo decente entre los jóvenes, serán el tema central de la nueva reunión ministerial del Foro ALC-UE sobre cohesión social, que se celebrará en…

Latin American South-South integration and cooperation: from a regional public goods perspective

The present level of intra-regional trade of Latin America and the Caribbean in relation to their total exports is still low when compared to the peak of 21.1% registered in 1997, despite its rebound in 2003 and continued recovery into 2004. While this trade holds a high potential for future growth, there are a series of problems to be addressed in order for regional integration to continue on the paths of recovery and deep integration. The countries in the region should keep working on the constraints that its regional integration process continues to suffer from the persistence of non-tariff…

Governance, competitiveness and social integration

This article seeks to set forth the grounds for an approach integrating political governance, economic competitiveness and social integration as interdependent variables. To this end, it looks at the possibilities for Latin American society to simultaneously increase its capacity for democratic self-government, improve its economic competitiveness and tackle the main problems of social exclusion and poverty, since if this is not done the region will find it more difficult to take its place in the concert of modern democratic nations. In order to analyse the evolution of those variables from a …

Advancing the Decade of Action for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean

Inauguración de la octava reunión del Foro de los Países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible

Sr. Félix Denegri, Viceministro de Relaciones Exteriores del Perú, en su calidad de Presidente del Foro de los Países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible, Sr. Li Junhua, Secretario General Adjunto de Asuntos Económicos y Sociales de las Naciones Unidas, Señores y señoras Ministras, ministros y representantes de los gobiernos miembros del Foro y de la CEPAL, Autoridades nacionales y cuerpo diplomático, Coordinadoras y coordinadores residentes, Directoras, directores y colegas de la CEPAL, Colegas del sistema de las Naciones Unidas, Representantes de la…

Foro de Desarrollo Sostenible en América Latina y el Caribe: ejemplo de multilateralismo en acción

El Foro de los Países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible es ejemplo de multilateralismo en acción y de la capacidad de convenir voluntades, buscar acuerdos y alianzas, y avanzar en agendas comunes de cooperación, coincidieron hoy representantes de países de la región, de agencias de las Naciones Unidas y organismos regionales, multilaterales y de la sociedad civil presentes en la octava reunión de la plataforma, que finalizó este viernes 4 de abril en la sede principal de la CEPAL en Santiago de Chile. A cinco años de que se cumpla el plazo de la Agenda 2030, los…

Visita del Vicepresidente del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, Álvaro García Linera