CEPAL Review No. 145

Revista CEPAL Nº 145

Prices and progress? The link between inflation and structural change in post-war Brazil

This paper employs a multivariate time series model to examine the relationship between price increases and structural change in post-war Brazil (1945–1964). To assess this relationship, the model investigates the link between prices, the industrial share of total output in the economy, net investment and industrial sector wages. With a view to addressing criticisms commonly made of the vector autoregression (VAR) family of models, and particularly the ad hoc nature of Cholesky’s decomposition method, hypotheses drawn from the economic literature on development theory were applied to the matri…

¿Precios y progreso? El vínculo entre la inflación y el cambio estructural en el Brasil de posguerra

En este artículo se utiliza un modelo de serie cronológica de múltiples variables para examinar la relación entre el aumento de los precios y el cambio estructural en el Brasil de posguerra (1945-1964). Para evaluar esta relación, mediante el modelo se investiga el vínculo entre los precios, la participación de la industria en la producción total de la economía, la inversión neta y los salarios del sector industrial. Con el objeto de responder a las críticas que suelen hacerse a los modelos de autorregresión vectorial, y en particular al carácter ad hoc del método de descomposición de Cholesky…

Balanço Preliminar das Economias da América Latina e do Caribe, 2024. Resumo Executivo

A região da América Latina e Caribe está presa no que a Comissão Econômica para a América Latina e o Caribe (CEPAL) chamou de uma armadilha de baixa capacidade para crescer. Em 2024 e 2025, as taxas de crescimento seriam de 2,2% e 2,4%, respectivamente. Embora sejam mais altas do que a média da década 2015-2024 (1,0%), não permitirão fechar as lacunas das economias da região em relação às economias desenvolvidas. Em 2024 e 2025, os países da região enfrentam um contexto internacional caracterizado por elevada incerteza financeira e comercial e desaceleração do crescimento dos principais parce…

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2024. Executive summary. Accessible version

Latin America and the Caribbean is mired in a decades-long growth trap, and further hampered by global and regional conditions that limit the space for macroeconomic policies to spur economic growth in the region. The results of the Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2024 reveal weaker job creation, especially in the formal sector, with young people, women, older persons, migrants and rural dwellers among the most likely to be informal workers. In addition, an intensification of climate change effects will drastically reduce the number of jobs created in the medium term if mit…

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2024. Executive summary. Accessible version

Latin America and the Caribbean is mired in a decades-long growth trap, and further hampered by global and regional conditions that limit the space for macroeconomic policies to spur economic growth in the region. The results of the Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2024 reveal weaker job creation, especially in the formal sector, with young people, women, older persons, migrants and rural dwellers among the most likely to be informal workers. In addition, an intensification of climate change effects will drastically reduce the number of jobs created in the medium term if mit…

Estudio Económico de América Latina y el Caribe, 2024. Resumen ejecutivo. Versión accesible

América Latina y el Caribe se encuentra en una trampa de crecimiento que se ha prolongado por varias décadas y el contexto mundial y regional limitan el espacio de las políticas macroeconómicas en su favor. Los resultados del Estudio Económico de América Latina y el Caribe, 2024 muestran una reducción en la tasa de creación de puestos de trabajo, en especial empleos formales, y que grupos como los jóvenes, las mujeres, los adultos mayores, las personas migrantes y las personas que viven en zonas rurales son más propensos a tener trabajos informales. Además, un intensificación de los efectos de…

United States economic outlook: third quarter of 2024

The United States economy expanded at an annualized rate of 3.1% in the third quarter of 2024, above the economy’s long-term growth potential and the 3.0% growth recorded in the second quarter, driven primarily by consumer spending. The resilience of consumer spending has been supported by receding inflation and a robust labour market. Employment has increased for 47 consecutive months, but the labour market is softening. Progress in bringing down inflation has stalled over the past three months, with inflation rising from 2.4% in September 2024 to 2.7% in November. The Federal Reserve cut int…

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2023. Accessible version

The Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2023 analyses the complex macroeconomic scenario for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, and projects that low economic growth will continue in 2023 and 2024. Inflation is expected to ease, although it will remain relatively high, as will public debt levels. This is coupled with a slowdown in employment, investment and consumption, and rising social demands. The report shows that both external and domestic factors have affected the region’s economic performance. This edition of the Economic Survey also analyses the macroecon…

Estudio Económico de América Latina y el Caribe, 2023. Versión accesible

En el Estudio Económico de América Latina y el Caribe 2023 se analiza el complejo escenario macroeconómico que enfrentan los países de América Latina y el Caribe, y se señala que en 2023 y 2024 continuará el bajo crecimiento económico. Asimismo, se prevé una caída de la inflación, aunque permanecería en niveles relativamente altos al igual que los niveles de deuda pública. A ello se suma un menor dinamismo del empleo, la inversión y el consumo, y crecientes demandas sociales. El informe destaca que existen tanto factores externos como internos que han incidido en el desempeño económico de la r…

CEPAL Review No. 144

Revista CEPAL Nº 144

The failure of shock therapy during the Chilean military dictatorship (1974–1979)

This article analyses Chile’s monetary policy following the 1973 military coup and the failed attempt at nominal stabilization during the dictatorship. Two causes of persistent inflation are identified: (i) the narrowing of the fiscal deficit in 1974 was insufficient to curb high monetary issuance and inflation, thus perpetuating the inflation needed to finance the fiscal deficits; and (ii) the perception by economic agents that fiscal needs, financed through seigniorage, would not slow the growth of the monetary base and inflation. This perception kept inflation levels high following the coup…

Terapia de choque fallida durante la dictadura militar chilena (1974-1979)

Este artículo analiza la política monetaria de Chile tras el golpe militar de 1973 y el fallido intento de estabilización nominal durante la dictadura. Se identifican dos causas de la persistente inflación: i) la reducción del déficit fiscal en 1974 no frenó la alta emisión monetaria ni la inflación, debido a la insuficiencia de dicha reducción, lo que perpetuó la inflación necesaria para financiar los déficits fiscales, y ii) los agentes económicos percibieron que las necesidades fiscales, financiadas con señoreaje, no permitirían reducir el crecimiento de la base monetaria ni la inflación. E…