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…
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…
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…
The study of CzechInvest, the leading and most prestigious investment and business development agency in the Czech Republic, seeks to describe and analyze the principles underlying the promotion of investment, restructuring and innovation in a country that has undergone a fundamental transformation of its economic, social and political operations in the last 18 years. The country is and interesting example for countries facing the challenges of growing openness to globalized markets and the need to restructure their international exchange patterns and institutional arrangements. The report sh…
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…
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…
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…
Ao comemorar os 70 anos da CEPAL, o Escritório em Brasília, com o apoio da Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) e da Young Scholars Initiative do Institute for New Economic Thinking, convidou jovens pesquisadores brasileiros para analisar o futuro da economia do Brasil, a partir das propostas e estruturas das análises da CEPAL. Os artigos incluídos abordam desafíos e oportunidades para o desenvolvimento do país nos próximos anos a partir de temas diversos, tais como a vulnerabilidade externa, a fragilidade das finanças públicas e do Estado, a inovação e diversificação produtiva, a necessidade de pol…
This study is intended to be exploratory in nature. It seeks a better understanding of i) how the OMU cluster emerged; ii) the characteristics of the offshore medical universities in the Caribbean cluster; iii) the contribution of the offshore medical universities to the economy of the host Caribbean countries; and iv) the prospects for enhancing the educational quality, and value added captured by the Caribbean in the medical value chain.…
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…
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…
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…
Los países de América Latina y el Caribe necesitan un nuevo estilo de desarrollo sostenible que permita retomar la senda de crecimiento económico fomentando nuevas coaliciones entre los sectores público y privado y la ciudadanía, dijo en Davos, Suiza, la Secretaria Ejecutiva de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), Alicia Bárcena, quien participa hasta el sábado en la reunión anual del Foro Económico Mundial, que reúne a 2.500 líderes mundiales y cuyo tema de este año es la “Cuarta Revolución Industrial”.
“La inversión pública y privada actuando en conjunto es la opció…
Autoridades, funcionarios de las Naciones Unidas y representantes de la sociedad civil pidieron brindar apoyo urgente a los países del Caribe para que puedan avanzar en el cumplimiento de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) de la Agenda 2030 en un contexto de gran debilidad financiera producto de la pandemia del COVID-19 y de los impactos de los desastres naturales, entre otros factores, durante una sesión de la cuarta reunión del Foro de los Países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible.
El panel titulado Construir un futuro mejor en el Caribe: temas clave para…
This study focuses on the identification of the challenges and capacity constraints faced by enterprises in the sub-region in exploiting trade opportunities provided by Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Partial Scope Agreements (PSAs). It concentrates on the goods sector and case studies for Belize, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, and seeks to develop a strategic framework aimed at addressing these challenges and constraints, thereby creating a platform for economic diversification and export expansion. It explores the recent trade performance of the countries in question under selected trad…
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…
América Latina y el Caribe tiene grandes oportunidades para mejorar sus relaciones económicas y su cooperación con China, país que ya es el segundo socio comercial de la región, según un nuevo documento de la CEPAL presentado con motivo de la visita del Presidente Xi Jinping a la sede de esta comisión regional de las Naciones Unidas en Santiago, Chile, realizada el pasado 22 de noviembre de 2016.
El informe Relaciones económicas entre América Latina y el Caribe y China: oportunidades y desafíos fue presentado por la Secretaria Ejecutiva de la CEPAL, Alicia Bárcena, en el marco de la Cumb…
A América Latina e o Caribe têm grandes oportunidades para fortalecer suas relações econômicas e sua cooperação com a China, país que já é o segundo sócio comercial da região, segundo um recente documento da CEPAL apresentado por motivo da visita do Presidente Xi Jinping à sede desta comissão regional das Nações Unidas em Santiago, Chile, realizada em 22 de novembro de 2016.
O informe Relaciones económicas entre América Latina y el Caribe y China: oportunidades y desafíos foi apresentado pela Secretária Executiva da CEPAL, Alicia Bárcena, no âmbito da Cúpula de Líderes de Meios de Comunicação,…
Latin America and the Caribbean have great potential for improving their economic and cooperative ties with China, a country that has already become the region’s second-largest trading partner, according to a new ECLAC document presented during the visit made by President Xi Jinping to the headquarters of the United Nations Regional Commission in Santiago, Chile, on 22 November 2016.
The report Economic Relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and China: Opportunities and Challenges (in Spanish) was presented by the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, Alicia Bárcena, at the Summit of Media …
Art and craft is considered to be an integral part of the tourism business, since it plays an important role as souvenirs and mementos, thereby spatially and temporarily expanding the visitor experience. It is also increasingly looked upon as an opportunity to diversify the tourism sector offerings, as well as the broader economic base. As part of the overall global creative economy, the art and craft sector has seen consistent trade growth over the past two decades, and has shown the capacity to forge even stronger linkages with the tourism sector. This paper examines the nature of this relat…