This paper examines the genesis and evolution of debt and debt overhang in the Caribbean with individual case studies, to extract lessons and make broad recommendations with regard to appropriate mechanisms and policy measures that can be implemented to reduce the debt burden of the subregion. The econometric model utilized in the paper has shown that a one percent increase on debt to GDP ratio causes a 0.015decline in real GDP growth for the countries in the Caribbean panel, suggesting that debt has a pernicious effect on growth on Caribbean economies. What is even more worrisome was that Car…
The economies of the subregion were hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly those dependent on tourism. As a result, the Caribbean has seen a reversal of the hard-won gains achieved in growing their economies and reducing unemployment and inequality. The inflation stemming from pandemic supply chain disruption, which has been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, has made the sustained uptick in economic performance beyond pre-pandemic levels unlikely, notwithstanding strong growth estimates for 2021 and 2022. The last two years have taught the region that continued ‘business as usual’ is…
A proposal to address the Caribbean’s high debt burden and strategies to achieve sustainable development in the region will be the focus of discussions when two important meetings of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC): the Caribbean Development Roundtable (CDR) and the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC) convene in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, on 21 and 22 April 2016, respectively.
The CDR brings together senior level policymakers from governments of the Caribbean; officials of the United Nations system; representatives of regiona…
In the author's view, the Mexican financial crisis which erupted at the end of 1994 was not unique, although it did have some special features. Thus, since it could happen again, it would be desirable to gain an in-depth understanding of it. This article therefore analyses the process and underlying causes of the Mexican peso crisis. For this purpose, the author distinguishes three main periods. The first of these extends from the beginning of 1990 up to March 1994, and an analysis is made of the problems that were hatching and the policy options that were available. With regard to the se…
Convened by ECLAC Caribbean, and hosted by the Government of Suriname, the CDR was officially opened by the outgoing Chair, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Keisal Peters. The meeting was held at the Royal Torarica Hotel, in Paramaribo, Suriname.
The Roundtable, Minister Peters said, was conceived as a forum to discuss critical issues that pose fundamental challenge to development in the Caribbean, and to explore solutions that will ultimately support inclusive growth and better living standards for our people, while protecting our environment. Reflecting …
This paper will contend that the post-2015 development agenda presents a major opportunity for Caribbean countries to reverse decades of lagging economic performance and make the transition to balanced, holistic, and people-centred growth and development.
The MDGs, while valuable in promoting gains in poverty reduction, health, education, nutrition, and maternal well-being were not tailored to the growth and development needs of the region. This can now be changed by a post-2015 development agenda which goes beyond improving the welfare of citizens by meeting basic needs and enhancing access t…
Stable development and financing of the social protection
system, one of the priorities of fiscal policy in Chile over
recent years, has helped to reduce poverty and indigence,
particularly since the 1990s. The fiscal accounts have been
managed prudently, and budgetary balance and efficient
administration have been given priority over short-term
objectives. Even so, poverty is still a fact of life and the
poor are still vulnerable to drastic falls in income. This means
that an effort is still required to modernize fiscal policy and
develop new institutional arrangements for the social
protecti…
The external and internal imbalances that appeared in the early 1980s, together with the adjustment and stabilization policies applied throughout that decade in Latin America, juxtaposed the need to reduce the fiscal deficit with the need to make up for the loss of income sustained by the most vulnerable groups of the population as a consequence of the external debt crisis. This article examines patterns of social expenditure in a number of countries in the region, in an effort to determine how these policies affected the level and composition of social spending and, hence, influenced social p…
Latin American markets had another good year in 2006. The liquidity environment remained supportive, credit quality continued to improve, and concerns that the heavy electoral calendar would increase volatility did not materialize. Latin America continued to reap the benefits from the commodities boom, while rising oil prices during most of the year continued to be a net positive for oil exporting countries; together with a significant increase in remittances from Latin Americans abroad they contributed to increase the region's current account surplus. Latin American stocks surged to a fo…
La Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) celebrará del 15 al 17 de mayo la XXXV edición del Seminario Regional de Política Fiscal. Este reconocido foro regional ha convocado durante 35 años a autoridades, especialistas, sociedad civil y academia al diálogo sobre los desafíos de política fiscal que enfrentan los países de la región.
El encuentro incluye la participación del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID), la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE) y el Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI), y cuenta con el auspicio de la Agencia Española d…
La reestructuración, renegociación y alivio de la deuda en los actuales tiempos de pandemia es un tema de interés tanto público como privado. “Necesitamos nivelar el campo de juego entre los acreedores y deudores. Ambos deben compartir la carga”, señaló hoy Alicia Bárcena, Secretaria Ejecutiva de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), durante el Foro sobre el Financiamiento para el Desarrollo 2021 que se realiza esta semana bajo la organización del Consejo Económico y Social de las Naciones Unidas (ECOSOC).
La reunión de alto nivel congregó virtualmente a jefes de Estad…
La Secretaria Ejecutiva de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), Alicia Bárcena, abogó hoy por una reforma del sistema tributario multilateral en el marco de las Naciones Unidas, durante la cumbre Jobs Reset Summit, organizada por el Foro Económico Mundial (WEF, por sus siglas en inglés).
La máxima autoridad de la CEPAL participó en la sesión “Una nueva agenda tributaria global”, en la cual se debatió sobre cómo una reforma del sistema tributario internacional puede contribuir a una recuperación económica sostenible e igualitaria, junto a Alex Cobham, Chief Executive, …
La Secretaria Ejecutiva de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), Alicia Bárcena, se reunió hoy en Nueva York con representantes de los países de la Comunidad del Caribe (CARICOM) para evaluar las prioridades y necesidades específicas de la subregión en torno a la implementación de la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible y sus 17 Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS).
Bárcena felicitó en primer lugar a Belice por ser el primer país del Caribe en presentar su informe nacional voluntario (VNR, por sus siglas en inglés) ante el Foro Político de Alto Nivel sobre el …
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 …
What: Twenty-ninth (29) session of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee.
When: 14 October 2022 (Opening ceremony at 9 am).
Where: The Royal Torarica Hotel, Kleine Waterstraat 10, Paramaribo, Suriname.
Background Information
Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC) Member Countries and Associate Members will convene for the 29th Session. Pursuant to resolution 358(XVI) of 1975, the CDCC was created as a permanent subsidiary body of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), to promote development cooperation among Caribbean countrie…
Dear Chair, Excellencies, all protocols observed.
Middle-income countries, or MICs, comprise 107 states worldwide.
They constitute a large share of countries in the Arab Region, Asia Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean, and thirty out of 54 African countries are middle-income.
They represent over 75% of the world’s population and are home to 62% of the world’s poor.
They account for a third of global GDP, 45% of total investment, and 30% of total exports.
These figures speak for themselves about the importance of the MICs in the world and for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda…
The inadequacies of social protection in Latin America and the Caribbean reveal a clear need for more active fiscal policies in this area. Although economic growth and decent employment are indispensable preconditions for social progress, the need for financing from public expenditure is ineluctable in the medium term. The present article examines three ways of achieving this objective. The first is to close the tax gap, since the fiscal burden is low in most Latin American and Caribbean countries. The second is to construct budgeting systems capable of removing rigidities and reallocating pub…
ECLAC Caribbean will convene the 4th meeting of the Caribbean Development Roundtable (CDR) in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis on 21 April 2016. This year’s Roundtable will explore possible options for debt relief for heavily indebted countries in the subregion.
The CDR will be followed by the 26th session of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC) on 22 April 2016, where participants will take stock of the outcomes of the CDR, and review the implementation of the work programme for the ECLAC subregional headquarters for the Caribbean for the biennium 2018-2019. …
Against a backdrop of higher global interest rates and borrowing costs, total Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) international bond issuance in 2022 was US$ 64 billion, down 57% from 2021 and the lowest annual amount since 2008, according to ECLAC’s latest report on capital flows to the region.
Capital Flows to Latin America and the Caribbean: 2022 year-in-review and 2023 early developments provides an overview of the region’s international bond issuances, spreads and credit ratings in 2022 and in the beginning of 2023. This report presents and analyses the main trends and developments concern…
In the framework of an official visit to Chile, the Jamaican Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, gave a keynote lecture today at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, in which he advocated for deepening cooperation ties between the countries of the Caribbean and Latin America.
The senior official – the first Jamaican leader to visit this United Nations regional organization – was received by ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, Alicia Bárcena, who welcomed him and highlighted the country’s commitment to moving ahead on achieving the goals of t…