This paper deals with the ways in which the exchange rate regimes
of Argentina, Brazil and Mexico shaped the macroeconomic
performance of those countries over the period 1994-2003. The purpose of the analysis is to draw lessons for Latin American and other countries on whether and how the choice of the exchange rate regime can help sustained growth. As it is impossible to isolate the growth effect of the exchange rate regime in a comparative country study, the paper emphasises those macro variables that have been identified in the theoretical and empirical literature as important channels thro…
This article analyses the costs in terms of income distribution of the crisis and adjustments of the 1980s, as well as the effects of the subsequent recovery and resumption of sustained growth patterns. This analysis is based on comparable pairs of estimates of income distribution and poverty prepared by ECLAC for the ten largest and predominantly urban countries of the region. The method of analysis consists, on the one hand, of comparing the changes in distribution and in the macroeconomic and labour market variables during similar macroeconomic phases in the course of the adjustment process…
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate on stabilization policies in conditions of high inflation in the light of the experience of Brazil and some other countries, especially the European monetary crises of the 1920s and the stabilization of the Argentine currency in 1991/1992. The paper begins with some comments on certain special features of situations of high inflation, with emphasis on the unfeasibility of following the sequence of measures recommended for dealing with only moderate imbalances. It goes on to criticise some aspects of the economic policy adopted in Brazil …
The growth of high-quality employment needed to reduce the share of informal
occupation and open unemployment in Peru will require an acceleration
and diversification of private investment in the tradable sector. One of
the main constraints faced is the uncompetitiveness of the
non-extractive tradable sector. In 1990-2003, competitiveness improved
in this sector essentially as a result of lower labour costs, a socially unjust
and economically ineffective route to follow. To raise competitiveness,
it is essential for the macroeconomic regime to include a competitive
real exchange rate (to which…
The contagion aspects of the financial and exchange-rate crises in
recent years demonstrate the need to extend the domain of macroeconomic
policy from the national dimension to the regional one. This paper
presents the main concepts and challenges behind macroeconomic policy
cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean and evaluates them from
a game-theory perspective. Under certain conditions related to the debate
on optimal currency areas, entering into a cooperative dynamic will be beneficial for all participants. Moreover, it is shown that because the welfare gains from regional cooperat…
This article seeks to summarize the results of some studies on the structure and dynamics of the big domestically owned industrial companies and groups in five Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico); and presents supplementary elements for placing them in an overall perspective. The studies include individual analyses of 46 leading companies (in Brazil, Chile and Colombia); and 15 economic groups with an industrial base (in Brazil and Mexico);, together with aggregated studies of such groups in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. In all cases, the studies were based…
The author describes the neoclassical restoration, which, from the 1970s onwards, took a radical approach to the search for a theory of development by attempting to fuse the particular characteristics of developing economies with the central ideas of economic theory. Intervention with the aim of furthering development was perceived not as a solution but as part of the problem, and adjustment programmes were oriented not so much towards correcting imbalances as towards establishing an economic structure close to neoclassical precepts. Several East Asian economies were chosen as examples of the …
Reúne intervenciones que el Director General del ILPES ha formulado en diferentes foros y en las cuales ha presentado una visión de la planificación y del futuro, que pueden ayudar a reflexionar sobre las incertidumbres que se ciernen sobre la región y respecto al papel que le corresponde a la actividad de planeamiento en el desarrollo económico y social.…
This article provides an overview of a number of changes that have taken place in the region's economy, together with their effects in terms of its social stratification, and analyses the different social sectors' options for political action. A series of economic changes have altered both the traditional heterogeneity of the Latin American economy and the relative weight of its various sectors; this is reflected, for example, 9n the heightened importance of agribusiness and the reciprocal penetration of the services and production sectors. Today a generic distinction between i…
This paper examines four hypotheses: (i); in Brazil, as in otherperipheral countries in the post-crisis context, a policy choice appears tohave been made for a flexible exchange rate within a currency band ( dirtyfloat );; (ii); the underlying reasons for this policy appear to have more to dowith pass-through of exchange-rate variations and precautionary demandfor reserves than with the maintenance of a competitive real exchangerate; (iii); in the country's peculiar situation, considerable capital mobility isconjoined with large and liquid financial derivatives markets and a res…
ECLAC has submitted an overall assessment of the economic reforms implemented during the past 15 years to the Governments of the region and, based on that assessment, a proposal for strengthening the development process. The central message that emerges from this analysis is that the region needs to work towards forming closer linkages among its macroeconomy, microeconomy and institutional structure by reinforcing the complementarities between macroeconomic and microeconomic sources of competitiveness and fortifying the institutional framework for the development of production activity. Withou…
Abstract
This paper is an attempt to quantify the process of structural reform in Latin America in five areas: trade reform, financial liberalization, tax reform, liberalization of external capital transactions and privatization. It presents indexes for these five areas for 17 countries for the period 1970-1995. The resulting indexes permit one to make comparisons of the degree of reform across countries over time and to examine in a quantitative way the impact of these reforms. The indexes show that the reform process has not been uniform across time, country, or area of reform. The reforms s…
La presente publicación es un aporte de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), en respuesta a la solicitud del Gobierno de México, al quinto Foro Ministerial del Arco del Pacífico Latinoamericano y complementa el informe previo presentado a la cuarta reunión de dicho foro celebrada en Santiago en octubre de 2008. Este documento tiene por objeto brindar a los gobiernos una perspectiva actualizada del impacto de la crisis financiera internacional, tanto en los países asiáticos como en los latinoamericanos, sus implicancias para los futuros vínculos económicos y comerci…
On an official visit to Chile, the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament Urban Ahlin participated on Monday, March 7 in a round table at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, in which they addressed the region’s economic, social and environmental challenges.
The senior official and his delegation, formed by Kiefer Jakob, Sweden’s Ambassador to Chile and other representatives of the Swedish Parliament, the Embassy of Sweden in Chile and the Chilean-Swedish Institute of Culture, were received by ECLAC’s Deputy Executive Secretary, Antoni…
De visita en Chile, el Presidente del Parlamento sueco, Urban Ahlin, participó el lunes 7 de marzo en una mesa redonda en la sede de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) en Santiago, en la que se abordaron los desafíos económicos, sociales y ambientales de la región.
El alto funcionario y su delegación, integrada por Kiefer Jakob, Embajador de Suecia en Chile, y otros representantes del Parlamento sueco, la Embajada de Suecia en Chile y el Instituto Chileno Sueco de Cultura, fueron recibidos por el Secretario Ejecutivo Adjunto de la CEPAL, Antonio Prado, quien enc…
Los análisis de estado y dinámica de la competitividad regional se complementan y constituyen un único cuerpo, que hace posible el monitoreo constante de los factores que la promueven e influyen el diseño de políticas públicas y estimulan las decisiones privadas que convergen hacia garantizar mayores niveles de competitividad. En tal sentido, este estudio visita estos dos temas y presentan el posicionamiento de la competitividad de los departamentos colombianos en 2006, descompuesto en seis factores económicos y sociales, y sus cambios desde 1992.
El Escalafón de Competitividad de los Departam…
Los análisis de estado y dinámica de la competitividad regional se complementan y constituyen un único cuerpo, que hace posible el monitoreo constante de los factores que la promueven e influyen en el diseño de políticas públicas y estimulan las decisiones privadas que convergen para garantizar mayores niveles de competitividad de los territorios subnacionales. Este estudio visita estos dos temas y presenta el posicionamiento de la competitividad de los departamentos colombianos en 2009, y su evolución desde 2000.El Escalafón de Competitividad de los Departamentos de Colombia 2009 es el tercer…
Contiene los resumenes, los principales antecedentes, y las conclusiones y recomendaciones que se derivan de los diversos trabajos que ha preparado el ILPES en cumplimiento de las tareas que le fueran encomendadas por la III Conferencia de Ministros y Jefes de Planificacion de America Latina y el Caribe.…
Ofrece una sintesis de diversos estudios del Instituto, referida a las pautas de debate: la crisis externa y la reactivacion; el papel del Estado en la coordinacion de politicas economicas y sociales en la segunda mitad de la decada. Resume, en anexos, los temas 1) centralizacion y descentralizacion en las decisiones gubernamentales, 2) politicas publicas y desarrollo social, y 3) la planificacion y los planes de desarrollo, 1982-1984. Los documentos en que se baso la sintesis se pueden obtener por separado.…