Improving broadband quality and affordability in the Caribbean: Policies to advance digital inclusion in the subregion. Policy Brief

In this digitally transforming world, digital inclusion is becoming increasingly important to social inclusion and sustainable development. Affordable access to broadband is an essential precondition to digital inclusion. Internet quality, as measured by speed and other indicators, is also important, as digital inclusion is ultimately about ensuring equal access to the benefits and opportunities offered by digital technologies and the Internet. This policy brief provides insight into Internet speed and affordability across the Caribbean, and offers some recommendations for policymakers working…

Preliminary overview of the Caribbean economies, 2008-2009

This report addresses the main features of the evolution of Caribbean economies during 2008 and, especially, the prospects for 2009 in the context of the ongoing international financial crisis and economic turmoil. As is well known, small open economies, such as those of the Caribbean, are highly influenced by developments in the world economy through a variety of channels of transmission that include international trade, tourist arrivals, remittances, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and external financing. The intensity of these effects will depend, among other things, on the fiscal position,…

Regional financial cooperation

Contents Foreword Regional Financial Cooperation: Experiences and Challenges, José Antonio Ocampo Reforming the Global Financial Architecture: The Potential of Regional Institutions, Roy Culpeper Regional Development Banks: A Comparative Perspective, Francisco Sagasti and Fernando Prada Regional Exchange Rate Arrangements: The European Experience, Charles Wyplosz European Financial Institutions: A Useful Inspiration for Developing Countries? Stephany Griffith-Jones, Alfred Steinherr, and Ana Tereza Fuzzo de Lima Macroeconomic Coordination in Latin America: Does It Have a Future? J…

América Latina y el Caribe deberá acelerar el paso para lograr el cumplimiento de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible hacia 2030

América Latina y el Caribe deberá acelerar el paso para lograr el cumplimiento de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) de la Agenda 2030, alertaron hoy los representantes de los 33 países de la región, de agencias de las Naciones Unidas y organismos regionales, multilaterales y de la sociedad civil presentes en la Sexta Reunión del Foro de los Países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible, que finalizó este viernes 28 de abril en la sede central de la CEPAL en Santiago, Chile. Al cierre de la reunión los delegados insistieron en que, si bien nos encontramos en la …

Erradicación de la pobreza en todas sus formas es el mayor desafío actual y constituye un requisito indispensable para el desarrollo sostenible

Delegados de los 33 países de América Latina y el Caribe reafirmaron hoy en San José su compromiso de implementar efectivamente la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible, asegurando que nadie se quede atrás, incluidos sus Objetivos y metas, que son de carácter integrado e indivisible y conjugan las tres dimensiones del desarrollo sostenible —económica, social y ambiental—, al término de la Quinta Reunión del Foro de los países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible que se realizó en la capital de Costa Rica. En la reunión, que congregó a casi 1.200 personas -más de la…

CEPAL insta a implementar políticas habilitantes que permitan el efectivo cumplimiento de los ODS

El financiamiento para el desarrollo, la seguridad alimentaria, la transición energética, la gestión integrada de los desastres naturales y la acción climática deben ser políticas habilitantes que permitan el efectivo cumplimiento de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS), afirmó hoy Mario Cimoli, Secretario Ejecutivo Interino de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), durante una sesión del Foro Político de Alto Nivel sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible 2022, dedicada a escuchar los mensajes provenientes desde las regiones. El máximo representante de la CEPAL participó…

Export promotion policies in CARICOM Caribbean economies

Discusses the objectives behind export promotional policies, their methods, and the benefits to be derived. Describes, analyses and assesses export promotional polices in the case of CARICOM Caribbean economies. Examines the physical and institutional context, and instruments for export promotional policies, and the analyses their implications and impact.…

Erradicación de la pobreza en todas sus formas es el mayor desafío actual y constituye un requisito indispensable para el desarrollo sostenible

Al finalizar la Quinta Reunión del Foro de los países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible, representantes de la región se comprometieron a redoblar esfuerzos para implementar efectivamente la Agenda 2030 y concluyeron que la erradicación de la pobreza en todas sus formas es el mayor desafío actual y constituye un requisito indispensable para el desarrollo sostenible.…

Financial globalization and the emerging economies

This document has been prepared and published jointly by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); and the International Jacques Maritain Institute. Its contents were edited by José Antonio Ocampo, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC);; Stefano Zamagni, Professor of Economics at the University of Bologna; Ricardo Ffrench-Davis, Principal Regional Adviser of ECLAC; and Carlo Pietrobelli, Professor of Development Economics at the University of Molise, Campobasso. Foreword Financial globalization has been a most dyna…

Report of the twenty-ninth session of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

The European Investment Bank and SMEs: key lessons for Latin America and the Caribbean

This paper discusses the engagement of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group) with the financing and support of SMEs, both within the European Union (EU) as well as EU Candidate Countries and the Balkans. Indeed, lending and providing financial support to SMEs is one of the key core objectives of the EIB Group. The main focus of the paper is to describe and analyse the practises and experiences of the EIB Group in this field, to discuss the key lessons and to make policy recommendations to be considered within the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) context. The large role played by the …

Insurance underwriter or financial development fund: what role for reserve pooling in Latin America?

Abstract The unprecedented accumulation of international reserves by emerging markets raises the question of how to best utilize these funds; in particular if they should be held as a war chest to guard against the risk of financial crisis or if they should be used to recapitalize and strengthen weak banking systems. A third issue is if the resource cost could be limited by pooling the holdings of different central banks and if so, to what objectives should this reserve pool be put. This paper considers these questions with reference to the countries participating in the Latin American…

Policy Brief: Planning for resilience: an integrated approach to tackle climate change in the Caribbean

The Caribbean subregion is exceptionally vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. Vulnerability is a key multidimensional concept at the heart of resilience building, relating to each country’s multiple spatial and socioeconomic risks and conditions. In fact, due to its geographical location and concentration of population and activities in low-lying coastal areas, the Caribbean is the second most hazard-prone region in the world...Moreover, impacts of extreme weather events on Caribbean small economies are of national proportions. For example, in the hurricane s…

Países de América Latina y el Caribe reivindican el Foro de Desarrollo Sostenible como espacio indispensable para la integración y la cooperación regional

Representantes de los 33 países de América Latina y el Caribe reivindicaron el Foro de Desarrollo Sostenible como espacio indispensable para la integración y la cooperación regional en medio de la incertidumbre global, durante la Quinta Reunión del encuentro intergubernamental que fue inaugurado hoy por el Presidente de Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado, la Vicesecretaria General de las Naciones Unidas, Amina Mohammed, y la Secretaria Ejecutiva de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), Alicia Bárcena. La Quinta Reunión del Foro de los países de América Latina y el Caribe sobr…

Growth with stability: financing for development in the new international context

Foreword In contrast to its situation during the lost decade , in the 1990s the Latin American and Caribbean region regained its access to international capital markets. Its return to these markets, in combination with a commitment to achieving basic macroeconomic equilibria, was manifested in smaller fiscal deficits and lower inflation, but the region has recovered only part of the ground it had lost in terms of its pace of economic growth. Thus, the region's economies have not been growing fast enough to strengthen their labour markets or to reduce poverty significantly. …

Expenditures, investment and financing for sustainable development in Trinidad and Tobago

Main Statistical Points GEF funding has proceeded in recent years primarily via the World Bank, UNDP and UNEP. It has provided approximately US$5m in funding for projects totaling approximately US$18m in value (therefore over 70% locally cofinanced).   Total public expenditure (capital and recurrent) on environmental projects (as identified herein) has ranged between 0.15% to 0.21% of GDP over the period or approximately between US$2 to US$3 per capital. …

Clausura de los trabajos de la Quinta Reunión del Foro de los Países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible

Intervención de Alicia Bárcena, Secretaria Ejecutiva de la CEPAL, en la clausura de los trabajos de la Quinta Reunión del Foro de los Países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible 9 de marzo, 2022 Costa Rica VOCATIVOS Rodolfo Solano Quirós, Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto de Costa Rica, Estimadas autoridades nacionales y Miembros del Cuerpo Diplomático, Queridos colegas Directores de las Agencias Fondos y Programas presentes en América Latina y el Caribe, Queridos coordinadores residentes del Sistema de Naciones Unidas en la región, Representantes de Orga…

Alicia Bárcena invita a seguir la Quinta Reunión del Foro de los Países de ALC sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible

Advancing the Decade of Action for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean

Investing in an Inclusive Digital Future for the Caribbean

The Caribbean is undergoing a digital transformation: More people than ever have access to digital technologies and the internet, and both businesses and government entities are increasingly providing online services. While significant disparities remain both within and among Caribbean countries in terms of access to digital technologies and infrastructure, the influence of digital technologies on the subregion has increased significantly in recent years, particularly in response to the public health measures implemented to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.…