Structural change and productivity growth 20 years later: old problems, new opportunities. Summary

IntroductionNearly 20 years ago, ECLAC put forward a proposal for structural change and productivity growth with social equity. At the time, the countries of the region were emerging from the severe crisis of the 1980s, with all its associated difficulties in terms of internal stabilization and external adjustment, and heading into a decade of structural reform which heeded the call of the Washington Consensus. In the midst of perplexity and pessimism regarding the region's prospects, ECLAC espoused a view of the situation that ran counter to the orthodox line of thought that marked econo…

Structural change and productivity growth, 20 years later: old problems, new opportunities

IntroductionNearly 20 years ago, ECLAC put forward a proposal for structural change and productivity growth with social equity. At the time, the countries of the region were emerging from the severe crisis of the 1980s, with all its associated difficulties in terms of internal stabilization and external adjustment, and headed into a decade of structural reform which heeded the call of the Washington Consensus. In the midst of perplexity and pessimism regarding the region's prospects, ECLAC espoused a view of the situation that ran counter to the extremely orthodox line of thought that mar…

The Caribbean and the post-2015 development agenda

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…

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…

Venture capital and innovation in Latin America

One of the drivers of economic growth is innovation, which raisesproductivity by creating new production methods, technologies, productsand firms. This article examines an instrument that supports this process,venture capital, and highlights the need for a financing system coveringeach phase of innovation. It starts by illustrating Latin America's innovationdeficit. It then proceeds to a general analysis of the difficulties affecting thefinancing of innovation and the provision of venture capital to overcomethese. It goes on to examine the form taken by these obstacles in theregion and, c…

Promoting corporate social responsibility in small and medium enterprises in the Caribbean: methodology report

Over the past decade, a growing number of companies have recognized the business benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies and practices. Their experiences are bolstered by a growing body of empirical studies that demonstrates that CSR has a positive impact on business economic performance and is not detrimental to shareholder value. Maximization of profits is perhaps the most important element for ensuring the continuity of the business over the time. However, value creation is also related to social issues such as health and safety, equality and environmental protection, und…

Trade in services in Latin America and the Caribbean: an analysis of recent trends

This paper compares the dynamism of the Latin American and Caribbean region's services trade with that of Asia, evaluates the determinants of these trade flows, and proposes measures for improving the region's performance. The focus of this study is on other services , which includes all services except transport and travel services (mainly tourism). Other services include many modern service inputs (including communications, financial and information technology services and business services), that play an increasingly vital role in determining many businesses&…

Export performance, technological upgrading and foreign direct investment strategies in the Asian newly industrializing economies: with special reference to Singapur

Abstract This paper analyses the competitiveness and technological structure of manufactured exports by leading Latin American and Asian economies for 1980-97. It explains East Asian performance with reference to the strategies adopted for technological development, focusing on foreign direct investment strategies. It particularly draws on the experience of Singapore, the countgry that has used FDI to promote industrial growth and technological upgrading more effectively than any other developing country. The paper starts by analysing the nature of technological activity in developing countrie…

Analysis of trade flows between Puerto Rico and CARICOM and prospects for integration

Puerto Rico and Caribbean Community (CARICOM); Caribbean countries share important common characteristics. They are open economies and while their trade specialization patterns are heterogenous, historical, institutional and geographical factors have shaped export and import linkages that are closely tied to those of the United States and Western Europe. CARICOM Caribbean economies and Puerto Rico also adopted, early on, a common approach to development, that of 'industrialisation by invitation'. Its main elements included fiscal incentives, the attraction of foreign direct investmen…

Global value chains and world trade: Prospects and challenges for Latin America

Scant empirical evidence is available on how the Latin American and Caribbean region participates in global value chains (GVCs) and what drives this process. Frequent questions in this connection are: How has the spread of information and communications technologies and free trade agreements facilitated the region’s participation in GVCs? To what extent do small firms participate in GVCs? What learning mechanisms and production and technological feedbacks operate in different types of GVCs? How can countries and firms take advantage of upgrading processes in GVCs? What role do policies play to…

Creative industries in the Caribbean: a new road for diversification and export growth

Creative industries have become a new engine of growth and development in the world economy. This dynamic sector, which ranges from traditional arts to multimedia, has been an important driver of innovation and productivity growth. The present study argues that the creative industries can become a pillar for economic diversification and export growth in the Caribbean. The study adds to the developing literature on the creative sector by evaluating export performance in the context of constraints as well as opportunities. The Caribbean creative sector possesses a number of advantages that are r…

Korean OFDI: investment strategies and corporate motivations for investing abroad

International flows of capital in the form of foreign direct investment have become an important means of promoting economic development in many countries. The spread of globalization and the activity of transnational corporations have been driving forces behind these flows have already been adequately analyzed. An important new phenomenon of recent decades is the rapid increase in the outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) flows from developing countries. Much less attention has been paid to outward investment by developing countries, mainly because it was negligible until recently.OFDI fro…

Visit of Mr. Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China