CEPAL Review no.80

Revista de la CEPAL no.80

A decade of light and shadow: Latin America and the Caribbean in the 1990s

Foreword The 1990s were unquestionably a time of transition and reorientation in several aspects of Latin America and the Caribbean's economic, social and political development. As in any period with these characteristics, the effects of long-standing processes mingled and interacted with incipient change. When the decade ended, ECLAC wished to contribute to the evaluation of the main events that marked the consolidation of reform in the region, recognizing of course that the speed of progress varied from country to country and from sector to sector. This publication offers an analysis of…

Globalizing talent and human capital: implications for developing countries

Abstract Human capital flows can take several forms and include the international circulation of scientists, information technology experts, intellectuals, artists and entrepreneurs. The evidence shows that traditional brain drain , say a permanent and irreversible outflow of human capital, co-exists also with cycles of emigration and return of national talent ( brain circulation ). Thus, for developing countries, the emigration of domestic talent need not be always a permanent loss. However, although return rates vary from country to country, poor economies suffer particularly…

Latin America and the Caribbean to Analyze Globalization

Latin America and the Caribbean must adopt a positive agenda to build a new international order and assume a real commitment on this topic, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will propose during its 29th Session, to be held in Brasilia, Brazil, from 6 to 10 May 2002, at the Blue Tree Park Hotel. The Session, which takes place every two years, is the most important meeting that ECLAC holds. During the meetings, all 48 governments belonging to this United Nations Commission will examine its progress over the previous two years and approve a work plan for the nex…

América Latina y el Caribe frente a la globalización

América Latina y el Caribe deben adoptar una agenda positiva en la construcción de un nuevo orden internacional y asumir con ella un compromiso efectivo, propondrá la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) en su Vigesimonoveno período de sesiones, que se celebrará en Brasilia, Brasil, del 6 al 10 de mayo de 2002, en el Hotel Blue Tree Park. El período de sesiones es el encuentro más importante de cada bienio para la CEPAL, en el cual los 48 gobiernos que integran esta Comisión de la ONU examinan la marcha de sus actividades durante los dos años anteriores y aprueban el pla…

América Latina e o Caribe frente à globalização

A América Latina e o Caribe devem adotar uma agenda positiva na construção de uma nova ordem internacional e com ela comprometer-se de forma efetiva: é o que irá propor a Comissão Econômica para a América Latina e o Caribe (CEPAL) em seu Vigésimo nono período de sessões, a ser realizado em Brasília, Brasil, de 6 a 10 de maio de 2002, no Hotel Blue Tree Park. O período de sessões é o encontro mais importante de cada biênio para a CEPAL. Nele os 48 governos que integram esta Comissão da ONU examinam o progresso de suas atividades durante os dois anos anteriores e aprovam o plano de trabalho par…

Crescimento, emprego e eqüidade: o impacto das reformas econômicas na América Latina e Caribe

Nos últimos dez a quinze anos, as reformas estruturais implementadas na América Latina e no Caribe transformaram as economias da região. Estas, que antes eram fechadas e com grande intervenção estatal, passaram a ser mais voltadas para o mercado, com maior abertura ao resto do mundo. A expectativa das autoridades era de que estas mudanças, juntamente com uma maior estabilidade macroeconômica e um incremento dos gastos destinados ao setor social, acelerassem o crescimento, elevassem a produtividade e levassem à criação de mais empregos e a uma maior eqüidade. Não obstante, quando se considera a…

Eqüidade, desenvolvimento e cidadania

Neste livro são analisadas as oportunidades oferecidas pela incorporação à economia mundial e os riscos implicados, em termos de instabilidade financeira e exclusão. Além disso, propõe-se uma oreorientação dos padrões de desenvolvimento da região em torno do eixo da eqüidade; uma política social universal, solidária e eficiente; um desenvolvimento mais estável, dinâmico, integrador e sustentável, e um conceito integral de cidadania, fundamentado não apenas na participação política, mas também em uma maior participação dos atores sociais nos assuntos públicos, o que é essencial para enfrentar a…

Las pequeñas y medianas empresas industriales en América Latina y el Caribe

Las pequeñas y medianas empresas están en el centro de las propuestas de política que se debaten en los países de América Latina y el Caribe. Después de un largo período en el que el desarrollo económico se equiparaba a la creación y el crecimiento de grandes empresas, hoy hay consenso que éstas no son capaces de proveer nuevos puestos de trabajo con el dinamismo necesario para disminuir el desempleo. Las pequeñas y medianas empresas se han transformado así en el receptáculo de las esperanzas de una generación de empleos más dinámica y con mejores niveles de calidad. En agudo contraste con esa…

Technological change and opportunities for development as a moving target

This article puts forward an interpretation of development as a process of accumulation of technological and social capabilities dependent upon taking advantage of successive and different windows of opportunity. These windows are determined from the core countries, through the technological revolutions which occur every half-century and the four phases of their deployment. The possibilities of progressing at each opportunity depend on the achievements made in the previous phase, on identifying the nature of the next one, understanding the techno-economic paradigm of the revolution in question…

Sectoral regimes, productivity and international competitiveness

This article seeks to analyse some mesoeconomic and microeconomic aspects related with productivity and international competitiveness in the context of the new Latin American economic model. These aspects go a long way towards explaining why those variables have not evolved satisfactorily in the different countries and sectors of activity, and why a strictly macroeconomic reading prevents a proper understanding of the changes which are taking place in society at the economic, technological and institutional levels, as well as impeding the identification of a public policy agenda which could he…

Regímenes sectoriales, productividad y competitividad internacional

El presente artículo busca examinar diversos aspectos mesoeconómicos y microeconómicos relacionados con la productividad y la competitividad internacional en el contexto del nuevo modelo económico latinoamericano. Estos aspectos contribuyen de manera importante a explicar por qué dichas variables no han evolucionado satisfactoriamente en los distintos países y sectores de actividad, y por qué una lectura estrictamente macroeconómica bloquea la capacidad de comprensión de los cambios productivos, tecnológicos e institucionales que están ocurriendo en la sociedad, así como la identificación de u…

CEPAL Review no.75

This issue of CEPAL Review includes a special section to commemorate Raúl Prebisch in the centennial of his birthday, containing a selection of articles prepared by renowned social scientists involved with Latin American development thinking.…

Revista de la CEPAL no.75

Este número de la Revista de la CEPAL incluye un homenaje a Raúl Prebisch en el centenario de su nacimiento, con un conjunto de artículos de distinguidas personalidades de las ciencias sociales vinculadas al pensamiento sobre América Latina.…

Procesos de exclusión e inclusión laboral: la expansión del empleo en el sector terciario

En los años noventa, los mercados de trabajo de la región se caracterizaron por la presencia simultánea de procesos de inclusión y exclusión laboral. Estos procesos se concentraron en las ramas de actividad del sector terciario, que aportaron entre un 85% y un 90% de los nuevos puestos de trabajo. A pesar de lo elevado de estos porcentajes, se ha investigado poco respecto al empleo en actividades del sector terciario en comparación con los demás sectores. En este trabajo se pretende profundizar el conocimiento existente sobre los procesos simultáneos de inclusión y exclusión lab…

Long run economic development in Latin America in a comparative perspective: proximate and ultimate causes

Abstract   This paper describes trends in economic growth and its causes in several Latin American countries in the 20th century. In the explanatory scheme, a distinction is made between 'proximate' and 'ultimate' causes of economic growth. Proximate causes are those areas of causality where models and quantification is possible, whereas ultimate causes are much more difficult to quantify. Some elements in the realm of the ultimate causes (like institutions and income distribution) will be analysed in an historical perspective and others, especially total factor p…

Políticas para pequeñas y medianas empresas en Chile

A partir de 1991 el gobierno de Chile impulsó una nueva estrategia de fomento empresarial. El Programa de Apoyo a la Pequeña y Mediana Empresa define una serie de instrumentos orientados a corregir fallas de mercado y a mejorar la eficiencia, productividad, competitividad e inserción internacional de los productos chilenos de esas empresas. La importancia de las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYME); en la economía nacional se refleja en su número y en su participación en la generación de empleo. La experiencia particularmente adversa de las crisis económicas de los años setenta y ochenta y la d…

Corporate competitiveness in Latin America and the Caribbean

This article looks at the evolution of international competitiveness in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean in the 1990s, focusing on the microeconomic and sectoral aspects. It evaluates the competitive performance of the region's countries, contrasting it with that of their main competitors in the developing world; it analyses the corporate actors involved, including the subsidiaries of transnational enterprises and large locally owned firms; and it sets forth some political considerations. Although progress has been made with competitiveness in the region, this has been lar…

Policies for small and medium-sized enterprises in Chile

In 1991, the Government of Chile began to pursue a new business development strategy. The Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Support Programme (Programa de Apoyo a la Pequeña y Mediana Empresa); provides for a number of instruments to correct market failures and improve the efficiency, productivity, competitiveness and international trading position of Chilean products made by these firms. The importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); in the national economy is illustrated by their number and by the share of jobs they create. The particularly adverse experience of the economic cr…