(13 April 2011) Latin America and the Caribbean are facing the following double shock: rising commodity prices and the growth in global liquidity. Faced with increased inflows of foreign capital inflows to the region, it is vital to think back to past crises and learn the lessons they have to offer, stated Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of ECLAC.
Today in Santiago, Chile, this senior United Nations official opened the Workshop on macroeconomic policies: global integration and international financial markets, which brings together economic authorities and experts from several Latin A…
Leading officials and other authorities from the Finance Ministries of 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries, along with prominent international experts, concluded today the XXXIV Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy, where they addressed the fiscal policy challenges for a sustainable and inclusive recovery.
The event – organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), with support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and spons…
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) dialogued on Thursday, August 20, with authorities from the Finance Ministries of numerous Latin American countries regarding fiscal policy challenges in mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic and social effects and in the processes for reactivating economies.
At the meeting – held in the framework of the XXXII Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy that ECLAC organizes annually, which took place virtually on this occasion – the participants included Ministers and Deputy Ministers as well as high-level technical officials …
Latin America and the Caribbean is going through a difficult economic, political and social phase but has the opportunity to change its development trajectory towards more inclusive growth, with more sustainable investment and consumption patterns, Alicia Bárcena, the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, said during the XX Annual Conference of CAF – Development Bank of Latin America.
The senior United Nations official added that the macroeconomic toolbox must be expanded to include fiscal policies that put greater emphasis on tax evasion and avoidance, which in the region represents 6.7% of regional …
This annual publication, one of the most important of ECLAC, includes official country figures up to November 30th, and an analysis of developments in the region's economy in 2004 and projections for 2005. The Latin American and Caribbean economy grew by 5.5% in 2004, outstripping the most optimistic forecasts, while the region's per capita GDP is estimated to have risen by about 4%. In 2005 GDP growth is projected to come in at about 4%; this rate would be high enough to bring about a further increase in per capita GDP. All the countries except Haiti turned in positive growth rates…
This edition of Fiscal Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean coincides with an
important milestone: the thirtieth anniversary of the Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy
organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
Over the past 30 years, this seminar has become a key fixture on the agenda of fiscal
policy events in the region.
Throughout these three decades, the successive editions of the seminar have
served as a forum for national authorities, tax experts and officials from international
organizations to discuss the performance, challenges and opportun…
Official statistics and key indicators are essential for observing countries’ economic and social progress, determining the structural drivers of their growth and shaping priorities. Using the methodology of Khramov and Lee (2013), key indicators from the System of National Accounts (SNA), as well as balance of payments, monetary and financial, and public finance statistics, it is proposed to use a composite indicator to assess Latin America’s economic performance. An examination of long-term trends finds that this index generally captures the major economic shocks and periods of robust perfor…
At the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), authorities and experts discussed the options for implementing active fiscal policies and countercyclical arrangements in the region to protect public investment, social progress and boost growth – particularly at a time of global uncertainty and a slowdown of growth and trade.
Finance Ministers, fiscal policymakers, officials from international agencies and academics from several countries are attending the XXVIII Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy, which has been organized in Santiago, Chile, by ECLAC with the support of …
(January 30, 2015) Costa Rica’s Government and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) agreed today to strengthen mutual cooperation to boost the Central American country’s development, during a bilateral meeting held in San José by the President of the Republic, Luis Guillermo Solís, and the Executive Secretary of the regional United Nations organization, Alicia Bárcena.
The officials shared their visions on the development of the country and of Latin America and the Caribbean in general while also discussing the recent Summit of the Community of Latin American and…
In Buenos Aires on 24 and 25 April, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) held a Seminar-workshop on production structure, institutions and economic dynamics, which was attended by Deputy Executive Secretary, Antonio Prado.
The meeting was also attended by the Director of the Buenos Aires Office, Martín Abeles, various other ECLAC officials and economists working in universities, research centres and public institutions in Argentina.
Antonio Prado stated that "macroeconomic policy must be linked with the development process".
According to the senior ECLAC of…
This annual publication, one of the most important of ECLAC, includes official country figures up to November 30th, and an analysis of developments in the region's economy in 2005 and projections for 2006. The Latin American and Caribbean economy grew by 4.3% in 2005, which represents the third consecutive year of growth in the region. Per capita GDP is estimated to have risen by about 3%. Unemployment rate fell from 10.3% in 2004 to 9.3% in 2005 and poverty indices decreased from 44% in 2002 to 40.6% in 2005. The performance of the domestic demand and the expansion of 3.3% of the world …
External restrictions, financial integration and income distribution were some of the topics addressed during the second seminar-workshop on productive structure, institutions and economic dynamics held on August 20-21 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in which government officials and experts participated.
The event began with a regional assessment made by Martín Abeles, Director of the Buenos Aires Office of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and Sebastián Valdecantos, an expert from the same institution. Following that, a series of academic studies related to the…
Latin American government authorities, international officials and fiscal policy experts will participate on March 10-11 in the XXVII Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy, which will be held at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile.
The event is organized by ECLAC (through its Economic Development Division) with the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It is also backed by the Spanish Agen…
United States Trade Developments 2020 provides an overview of selected developments in United States trade relations with Latin America and the Caribbean and of measures that inhibit the free flow of goods among countries in the Western Hemisphere. This is an annual report elaborated by the ECLAC Washington Office. This year’s report has a special focus on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade related issues. Specifically, it provides information on the early impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. trade and migration flows, supply chains as well as some of the restrictions to the move…
This report updates the analysis set out in the Preliminary Overview of Latin America and the Caribbean 2013,
released in December 2013, on the basis of official data published by the countries in the region in the subsequent
months, and presents a revised economic outlook for 2014. In addition, it examines the external factors influencing
the region’s performance and their impact on the different components of the balance of payments and summarizes
the challenges and main trends in relation to monetary, exchange-rate and fiscal policy. It confirms the deceleration
of growth analysed in the Pr…
This document, prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Washington Office, presents and analyzes the most recent developments (first quarter of 2017) concerning capital flows to Latin America and the Caribbean.
The main highlights are:
- 2017 started with the highest monthly issuance on record for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)’s cross-border bond market, with total issuance reaching US$ 24.2 billion in January. Petrobras led the way, issuing a US$ 4 billion dual-tranche bond on January 9, encouraging other issuers to come to the market.
- Although…
(*) This document was prepared by André A. Hofman of the Economic Projections Center of the Statistics Division, and Heriberto Tapia research assistant in the office of the Executive Secretary of ECLAC. 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.. Abstract Potential output estimates are becoming increasingly important in policy design in Latin America (ECLAC, 2002) and the objective of this paper is to make a methodological contribution to this field of work…
The Latin American Economic Outlook analyses issues related to Latin America’s economic and social development. Ever since the first edition was launched at the 17th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government in November 2007 in Santiago (Chile), the report has offered a comparison of Latin American performance with that of other countries and regions in the world, sharing experiences and good practices with the region’s public officials.…
This document, prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Washington Office, presents and analyzes the most recent developments (third quarter of 2018) concerning capital flows to Latin America and the Caribbean.
The main highlights are:
The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region has seen the best and the worst conditions for tapping international capital markets this year. In January 2018, issuers from the region placed their highest ever monthly volume of debt in international markets: US$ 32 billion. First quarter debt issuance in international markets…
This document, prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Washington Office, presents and analyzes the most recent developments (first quarter of 2018) concerning capital flows to Latin America and the Caribbean.
The main highlights are:
-In January 2018, issuers from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) placed their highest ever monthly volume of debt in international markets. First quarter debt issuance in international markets also broke a record.
-From January to May 2018, total LAC international debt issuance amounted to US$ 67 billion, 6% higher than…