Report of the activities carried out by the Latin American and Caribbean Institute for Economic and Social Planning (ILPES), 2021-2022

Caribbean Outlook 3: Economic recovery and repositioning in the era of COVID-19. Policy Brief

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…

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…

The Hummingbird Vol. 10 No. 1

Building a climate resilient power sector in the context of the Caribbean small island developing States’ energy transition. Policy Brief

In Caribbean small island developing States (SIDS), electrical power outages are frequent in the aftermath of major weather events. While local service disruptions often last a few days after these events, nationwide power grid failures lasting several weeks, or months have resulted in enormous social and economic impacts. In 2017, Hurricane Maria left 90 per cent of the population of Dominica without access to electricity for over four months (Commonwealth of Dominica, 2020) and caused a systemwide collapse of Puerto Rico's power grid that took 11 months to be entirely restored (Campbell…

The Hummingbird Vol. 9 No. 12

The Hummingbird Vol. 9 No. 10

Resilient and affordable housing in the Caribbean: Policy recommendations towards a transformative, green and inclusive recovery strategy. Policy Brief

The Caribbean faces multidimensional vulnerabilities driven by climate change and aggravated by Small Island Developing States’ natural and economic characteristics (SIDS). A critical natural feature of SIDS is the extreme vulnerability to climate-change-induced events. Economically, the Caribbean has followed the global trend of seeing its urban areas swell during the last decades. Moreover, the region’s coastal areas expose human settlements, infrastructure, and businesses to external shocks, such as climate change-induced extreme weather events. In addition, the 2019 novel coronavirus disea…

Policy imperatives for the timely production and dissemination of quality and relevant statistics in the Caribbean. Policy Brief

Many international development agendas highlight the importance of quality data for sustainable development. With the advent of the data revolution for sustainable development, stakeholders have underscored the value of timely, usable data in informing decision-making and for monitoring progress and evaluating outcomes, be it in relation to national development planning or as regards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other international development agendas. Crucially, the COVID-19 pandemic, more than anything else in recent times, has demonstrated the value of tim…

The Hummingbird Vol. 9 No. 9

Limiting Temperature Rise - What Does It Mean for Caribbean SIDS?

The Hummingbird Vol. 9 No. 6

The Hummingbird Vol. 9 No. 4

The Caribbean is Making Strides on the SDGS

Essential elements of the ECLAC Caribbean Resilience Fund : a segregated portfolio trust fund. Policy Brief

Declining economic growth and competitiveness, the impact of the 2007–2009 global financial crisis, and the challenge of climate change and extreme weather events have hindered the sustainable development of Caribbean economies, the generation of sustained welfare gains and the achievement of key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the subregion’s vulnerability to the vagaries of global aggregate demand and commodity prices, which have largely driven the subregion’s debt upwards and dampened economic growth before its onset, compromising its ec…

Conceptualizing a circular economy in the Caribbean: perspectives and possibilities. Policy Brief

Although the notion of a circular economy (CE) has been conceived and debated for more than half a century (Henrysson and Nuur, 2021), it has gained considerable popularity in the lexicon of economists, ecologists and other development thinkers over the past two decades. The increasing evidence of the existential threat of human-induced climate change and the related imperatives of decarbonizing the global economy, have led to greater focus on strategies for a more sustainable use of the natural and environmental resource base.…

Digital Public Goods: Driving the Development of Digital Public Infrastructure in the Caribbean

The Hummingbird Vol. 8 No. 12

Draft programme of work of the ECLAC system, 2023

The draft programme of work of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for 2023 is hereby submitted to the member States of the Commission for their consideration. It highlights the priorities for 2023 that will be considered by the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) and the United Nations General Assembly as part of the intergovernmental reviewing exercise. The overall purpose of the programme is to promote the economic, social and environmentally sustainable development of Latin America and the Caribbean through international cooperation, by undertakin…

Proyecto de programa de trabajo del sistema de la CEPAL, 2023

La Secretaría presenta a la consideración de los Estados miembros de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) el proyecto de programa de trabajo de la Comisión para 2023. En él se destacan las prioridades para 2023, que serán examinadas por el Comité del Programa y de la Coordinación (CPC) y por la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas como parte del ejercicio de revisión intergubernamental. El objetivo general del programa es promover el desarrollo económico, social y ambientalmente sostenible de América Latina y el Caribe a través de la cooperación internacional, media…