Caribbean forum: Shaping a sustainable development agenda to address the Caribbean reality in the twenty-first century

Twelve years into the 21st Century, Caribbean countries continue to face considerable challenges on their path towards sustainable development and the creation of a post-2015 agenda. These include redefining their niche in the global market place in line with significant shifts in global production systems and trade, recovering from burdensome fiscal deficits and coping with climate change and the negative effects of more frequent natural disasters. In some countries poverty levels are increasing after years of decline. Most have defined a vision for development into the next 20 years, but in …

Trade openness and structural change in the Brazilian motor industry

This article aims to classify and analyze the efforts at structural change made in the Brazilian motor industry between 1990 and 1996, seeking to relate them with the economic policy measures which had most impact on the sector. The study begins by examining the explosive increase in domestic demand for motor vehicles, its determining factors, and its main implications, especially the achievement of efficient scales of production and the initiation of a wave of investments which has been further intensified in the last three years. It goes on to study the increase in the technological dynamism…

ICT in Latin America: a microdata analysis

This book is the final report of the ECLAC-IDRC project Observatory for the Information Society in Latin American and the Caribbean OSILAC, which aims at understanding the dynamics of the ICT evolution and revolution and producing evidence on its potential to promote socio-economic development. As such, microdata analysis drawn from National Household Surveys and National Innovation Surveys in Latin America were used in the framework of the project in the attempt to reach those objectives. Both statistical information sources provide attractive potentialities in order to investigate not only d…

Flying geese or sitting ducks? Transnationals and industry in developing countries

The constitution of a new international industrial order dominated by a core of large transnational corporations generally makes life more difficult for the great majority of developing countries because, since most are not in a position to compete effectively, they face still greater marginalization. TNCS more than ever before can significantly influence the international competitiveness and therefore the nature of incorporation of developing countries into the new increasingly integrated international production system. The national origin and form of foreign direct investment and technology…

The challenge of industrial competitiveness

Latin American manufacturing industry has undergone various changes in recent years. It has registered a favourable performance as far as exports are concerned, but production and investment have grown only slowly in a context of sluggish recovery of domestic demand and greater foreign competition. Other features are greater specialization in natural resource-based intermediate goods characterized by the importance of economies of scale, relatively long lead times for the heavy investments required, and the presence of privatized and transnational enterprises. At the same time, there are signs…

Market failure and technological policy

This article highlights the need to complement macroeconomic policies designed to secure stabilization, deregulation and greater openness with other macroeconomic and microeconomic measures aimed at revitalizing the growth and competitiveness of the countries of the region. At the national level, in terms of macroeconomic measures, it is necessary to increase domestic saving and channel it towards productive investments within the local context, while microeconomic policy should include measures to develop and consolidate in the countries an innovative, wide-ranging system for furthering chang…

The equity gap: a second assessment

Second regional conference in follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development. Santiago, Chile, 15-17 May 2000 Summary The courses of action recommended at the World Summit for Social Development coincide with the general thrust of the action taken by the Governments of the region in the economic and social spheres during the 1990s. The objective of this document is to weigh the positive and negative aspects of the situation in Latin America and the Caribbean with regard to poverty reduction, productive job creation and social integration within the wider context of economic changes and s…

Economic policy, institutions and productive development in Latin America

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…

Guía metodológica general para la preparación y evaluación de proyectos de inversión social = General methodological manual for the preparation and evaluation of social investment projects

Directions for the reform process in the Caribbean

Summary This document outlines the recent economic performance of the Caribbean countries and some of the salient issues and problems confronting policy making at this time. A discussion on trading relationships and the prospects facing the Caribbean in the changing regional and world environment follows. The Lome Convention, bananas, the Sugar protocol, the state of the Caribbean Community, CARIBCAN and the CBI are examined in this section. Challenges facing state reform, such as poverty, social services and the financial system are highlighted.…