Trade unions in the "South" in the era of globalization

This article examines the effects of globalization on the trade unionmovement in developing countries (the South );. It concludes, first, thatglobalization has been asymmetrical: much further-reaching for tradein goods than for capital flows, weak for technology transfer and verylimited in migratory flows. Second, it examines the role and economicrepercussions of labour unions. It finds that, contrary to the orthodoxview, these have little negative impact on employment but do significantlyreduce wage inequalities. In view of the shift in the South since the 1980saway from developmen…

Norms, regulations and labor standards in Central America

This report addresses the organization, nature, and prospects for labor law enforcement in Central America and the Dominican Republic. It draws a distinction between the Anglo-American approach to enforcement, which is rooted in deterrence and punishment, and the Latin alternative, which is rooted in conciliation and training. And it argues that the Latin approach is--at least in theory--better able to reconcile the labor force's need for protection with the economy's demand for flexibility. Finally, it reviews recent changes in the subregion's labor inspection systems, …

The development of services in the Caribbean

The services sector has grown significantly in most countries and in the world economy as a whole. This has been observed in the progression from primary to secondary and/or tertiary sector-led economic growth and development. Services contribute significantly to output, employment and exports. They account for about 80% of the United States output (GDP) and about 65% of GDP of the European Union. Developed countries are the largest service exporters accounting for over 70% of services traded in the late 1990s. Although developing countries account for a relatively smal…

Fertility and female labour supply in Latin America: new causal evidence

Abstract We study the effect of fertility on maternal labour supply in Argentina and Mexico exploiting a source of exogenous variability in family size first introduced by Angrist and Evans (1998) for the United States. We find that the estimates for the US can be generalized both qualitatively and quantitatively to the populations of two developing countries where, compared to the US, fertility is known to be higher, female education levels are much lower and there are fewer formal facilities for childcare.…

ECLAC Will Present its Social Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean 2023 Report

Next Thursday, November 23, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will unveil its flagship annual report Social Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean 2023: Labour inclusion as a key axis of inclusive social development, which includes the latest data available on poverty, inequality and social spending in the region. The main topic addressed this year is labor inclusion. The document – comprising four chapters – will be presented by José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, during a hybrid press conference (in-person and virtual) held at 1…

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…

Urban Unemployment Will Keep Rising in Latin America and the Caribbean and is Seen Reaching 9.4% in 2017

The low economic growth experienced by Latin American and Caribbean countries in the last few years will continue affecting the region’s labour market performance in 2017. According to the latest estimates, the rate of regional urban unemployment could reach 9.4% on average this year, which represents a 0.5 percentage point increase from the 8.9% recorded in 2016, ECLAC and the ILO indicated today in a new joint report. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) released the newest edition of their joint publication Emplo…

Empowering the 40% of Young Latin Americans Not in Formal Jobs, Education or Training could Spark New Growth Engines

Latin America and the Caribbean’s (LAC) GDP will shrink by between 0.9% and 1% in 2016, according to the latest estimates, the second consecutive year of negative growth and a rate of contraction the region has not seen since the early 1980s. According to the Latin American Economic Outlook 2017, the region should recover in 2017, but with modest GDP growth of between 1.5% and 2%, below expected growth in advanced economies. According to the report, jointly produced by the Development Centre of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Commission for…

ECLAC’s Executive Secretary Will Present the Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2021

The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena, will present on Tuesday, August 31 the Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2021: Labour dynamics and employment policies for sustainable and inclusive recovery beyond the COVID-19 crisis, one of the institution’s most important flagship annual reports, which takes stock of the region’s economies in the last year, especially regarding the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, and provides outlooks for 2021 and 2022. The latest iteration of this document – which has been publis…

Who has been driving the creation of industrial employment in Argentina? An analysis of the role of innovation

This paper analyses the relationship between innovation and job creation in firms. In particular, it seeks out data on the role played by innovation during the latest phase of expansion in Argentine manufacturing employment (2010–2012). It uses the model proposed by Harrison and others (2014), taking an instrumental variables approach and drawing data from the recently concluded National Survey of Employment Dynamics and Innovation (ENDEI). The results show that process innovations do not influence employment growth, but that this is positively affected by product innovations. The latter also …

Latin American and Caribbean Unemployment Rate Could Fall to 6.2% in 2013

(30 October 2013) The Latin American and Caribbean region could end the year with an urban unemployment rate of between 6.2% and 6.3%, which would be slightly lower than 6.4% recorded in 2012, according to the latest projections from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO). According to the document The employment situation in Latin America and the Caribbean - No. 9, "the first half of 2013 was not plain sailing for Latin America and the Caribbean", due to a sluggish world economy, increased financial market volatility…

ECLAC and ILO Predict that Unemployment Will Fall Again to 6.4% in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2012

(5 November 2012) According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), labour markets in Latin America and the Caribbean were fairly resilient to the slowdown in the regional economy in the first half of 2012, which bodes well for a positive outcome in this year's employment and unemployment indicators. The two United Nations agencies launched their latest issue of the joint publication The employment situation in Latin America and the Caribbean, which states that the region's open urban unemployment rate will mainta…

Unemployment in Latin America and the Caribbean Not Expected to Be Above 7.0% in 2011

Watch video "Employment, master key to equality" (in Spanish, subtitles in English) (14 June 2011) The strong economic recovery of Latin America and the Caribbean will make it possible to bring down unemployment significantly from 7.3% in 2010 to between 6.7% and 7.0% in 2011, according to ECLAC and ILO. In the latest edition of the joint publication The Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean that was released today, the two United Nations agencies analyse labour trends in the region, as well as the countercyclical policies implemented by some countries during the recen…

ECLAC Calls for Redoubling Efforts to Combat Poverty and Inequality in a Scenario of Deceleration

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) calls for redoubling efforts to defeat poverty and reduce inequality in the current context of economic deceleration in the region, in its latest study entitled Inclusive social development: The next generation of policies for overcoming poverty and reducing inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean. This new document by the United Nations regional organization will be presented officially, and analyzed by authorities and specialists of the region, during the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and t…

“It’s Not Possible to Create a Better Future for Work Without Creating a Better Future for Production”: José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs

“It’s not possible to create a better future for work without creating a better future for production. These are two sides of the same coin,” José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), sustained this Thursday, June 1, 2023 at the inauguration of the ECLAC-ifo-PILLARS Workshop: Labor Market Effects of Automation and Technology Adoption in the Global Economy, which is being held in Santiago, Chile using a hybrid format (in-person and virtual). “In order to create decent jobs, it is indispensable that we focus on a pr…

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,…

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

The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas: A Perspective on Latin America and the Caribbean 2011-2012

Just as the world economy was showing signs of a recovery, a new global recession and a financial crisis in Europe are looming on the horizon. The economies of the great majority of countries grew in 2010, albeit at different speeds. While growth in the most developed countries was sluggish and in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) averaged a little over 4%, the production of the developing economies rose by more than 6.5%, with China and India, the new engines of the world economy, leading the way. Paradoxically, the specter of recession has appeared when the global economy is also showing…

The outlook for agriculture and rural development in the Americas: a perspective on Latin America and the Caribbean, 2009

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…

Active labor market programs for the integration of youths and immigrants into the labor market: the Nordic experience

The purpose of this study is to survey the evaluation literature on active labor market programs (ALMPs) in the Nordic labor market in order to provide a general overview of the success and failure of different types of ALMPs as well as a more detailed account of the Nordic experience with targeted programs towards vulnerable groups such as unemployed youth and immigrants. The consensus in the evaluation literature is that the types of ALMPs that are efficient in reducing unemployment duration and increasing employment chances for the unemployed in general are also the most efficient for vulne…