Desde el decenio de 1970, los gobiernos de la región han venido transfiriendo, de una forma u otra, empresas públicas y otras instituciones estatales al sector privado. La privatización ya se ha extendido a todos los sectores de la economía, incluidos los servicios de agua potable y alcantarillado. La participación del sector privado en la prestación de estos servicios puede traer consigo importantes mejoras de eficiencia pero no garantizará, por sí sola, una mejora duradera del bienestar social, porque estos servicios no se prestan en un mercado competitivo. Por lo tanto, los resultados depe…
El autor se propone demostrar la importancia que reviste la calidad para las estrategias nacionales dirigidas a mejorar la productividad y la competitividad en América Latina. En mercados cada vez más globalizados y liberalizados, la calidad es fundamental y, por lo tanto, la aplicación estratégica de técnicas de gestión de calidad ayuda significativamente a mejorar el desempeño competitivo de los países, los sectores económicos y las organizaciones. Puesto que la competitividad contribuye al desarrollo sostenible, convendría difundir tales técnicas y aplicarlas ampliamente desde una perspecti…
Great social inequality has long been a frustrating feature of the economic development of Latin America, which has rightly been described as the region of the world with the highest levels of inequality of income distribution. Although the prevailing levels of poverty are lower than those typical of other parts of the developing world, they are still extremely high and, taking the region as a whole, are higher now than they were before the debt crisis. These are the conditions now confronting the new elements which have changed the economic and social dynamics of the region. Special mention m…
Public military expenditure (PME); has been analysed very little in the region, mainly for political reasons, which also limit access to the relevant information. Because of various events, however, it is beginning to be the subject of economic analysis both by governments and by multilateral bodies, especially with regard to its most appropriate level (how much is enough?);, its opportunity cost (what are its direct and indirect economic impacts?);, and its cost-effectiveness as a system of acquiring arms (what is its effect per monetary unit?);. According to the most conservative estimate, b…
After more than a decade of economic reform and structural adjustment in the developing countries, there is increased recognition that economic growth and social equity must go hand with hand. This article starts asking what is meant by social equity . It notes that reduction of poverty and improvement of income distribution are two perfectly complementary policy objectives, since less inequality can help both to reduce poverty and to speed up economic growth. It reviews the main elements of the modern theory of distributive justice, covering the ethical and economic dimensions of i…
Is the degree of competitiveness of countries independent of their degree of inequality? Is competitiveness only a question of microeconomic and sectoral efficiency, of the real exchange rate, or is it also a social question? So far, the specialized literature has ignored the problem of equity in the determination of countries' competitiveness. It has then been unable to provide a full explanation of the competitiveness actually observed, however. In this article, equity is incorporated into the production function and also into investors' decisions in a world of perfect mobility of …
This article analyses the relations between the competitiveness of an economy and the labour regulations in force in it. It is argued that economic theory is by no means conclusive regarding the impact of labour regulations on competitiveness, since different schools of thought maintain opposing positions in many respects. Moreover, empirical research has shown that the evidence put forward with respect to these assumed linkages is not very relevant. Various policy consequences follow from this: countries have various strategies open to them and greater leeway that is usually suggested, since …
Almost 60% of the biggest non-financial groups in Mexico carry on at least two types of activities in transnational markets. This article describes and analyses the various internationalization paths and strategies of Mexican firms. This drive for internationalization is taking place against the background of an open export-oriented economy and growing integration with the United States and Canada. There are various national and international factors, as well as others specific to the firms themselves, which influence the strategies chosen and their results. This article consists of an introdu…
Ever since the 1970s, the governments of the region have been transferring public enterprises and other State institutions to the private sector in one manner or another. Privatization has now spread to all sectors of the economy, including drinking water supply and sewerage services. Private sector participation in the supply of these services may bring with it substantial improvements in efficiency, but it does not of itself guarantee a lasting improvement in social welfare, because these services are not provided in a competitive market. Consequently, the results will depend on the system o…
In this article, the author aims to demonstrate the importance of quality issues in national strategies for increasing productivity and competitiveness in Latin America. Quality is an important factor in today's increasingly globalized and liberalized markets, and it is considered that the application of quality management techniques will make a positive contribution to the competitive performance of countries, economic sectors and individual organizations. Since competitiveness contributes to sustainable development, the widespread diffusion and implementation of quality management seems…
Resumen El presente documento forma parte de un conjunto de estudios sectoriales sobre el proceso de inversión en Chile. Está centrado en el análisis del impacto del modelo económico iniciado en la década de 1970 y en las reformas estructurales que lo caracterizan. En el caso del sector minero, la reforma institucional se inicia en 1974 con el Decreto DL600 o Estatuto a la Inversión Extranjera, pero es recién a partir de la instauración de la Ley Minera en 1980, que comienzan a ingresar capitales al sector. Dados la magnitud de los recursos involucrados y el tiempo requerido para la madurez de…
Resumen
Este documento presenta un análisis de las reformas económicas e institucionales enfrentadas por el sector de telecomunicaciones chileno hacia finales de la década de los ochenta, y su impacto sobre el proceso de inversión. En el análisis se adopta un enfoque microeconómico, que relaciona la decisión de invertir de los agentes económicos con la estrategia empresarial y con las señales derivadas del proceso de privatización, de los mecanismos de regulación y de las nuevas estructuras de mercado.
Como principal conclusión el estudio llega a que las reformas del sector de telecomunicacion…
Introducción En un contexto donde se han sucedido transformaciones de enorme impacto en las tecnologías, prácticas productivas y métodos organizacionales dominantes en el escenario competitivo global, así como una total redefinición de las reglas de juego en la economía doméstica, las firmas argentinas se enfrentan a desafíos y oportunidades cuya resolución definirá en gran medida las características del estilo de desarrollo que asumirá el país a largo plazo. El propósito de este trabajo es describir los principales rasgos y consecuencias de los cambios en el ambiente en el cual deben …
Resumen Los avances de la región en el área legal, para el logro del objetivo de la integración de la mujer en el desarrollo económico y social, se acentuaron notablemente en la última década y se tradujeron, principalmente, en la consagración de la igualdad a nivel constitucional, en la eliminación de normas discriminatorias, en la creación y reforzamiento de oficinas rectoras del tema a nivel nacional, provincial y municipal, en la sanción de leyes especiales sobre problemáticas específicas, y en la formulación de algunos planes nacionales de acción. Para reforzar estos logros y orientar otr…
La violencia contra la mujer es un tema nuevo que recoge una realidad milenaria, amparada y propiciada por el sistema jurídico y soslayada por la sociedad durante mucho tiempo, por considerar esta problemática circunscrita a la esfera privada. La acción del movimiento de mujeres a nivel internacional ha sido fundamental en la promoción del tema y hoy día la violencia contra la mujer se entiende como una violación de sus derechos humanos, con la connotación pública que ello conlleva, y con la posibilidad del uso de los mecanismos de protección de los derechos humanos que existen a nivel naciona…
Traffic congestion is nothing new in Latin American cities but has worsened in recent years. Eliminating it is a pipedream, but it should be brought under control. Many economists and transport planners think electronic road pricing would be the best way of tackling it, now that the appropriate technology for implementing it is available. On the other hand, experience shows that, for political reasons, it would be better to begin by adopting simpler methods. To start with, simple road pricing would seem to be the best option. But, over 20 years of experience in London and more than six in Sa…
La congestión de tránsito no es un fenómeno nuevo en las ciudades latinoamericanas, pero se ha agudizado en los años recientes. No conviene eliminarla sino reducirla. Para muchos economistas y planificadores del transporte, la tarificación vial por medios electrónicos representa la mejor alternativa, ya que hoy existe una tecnología adecuada para su implementación, pero la experiencia revela que debido a consideraciones de orden político, conviene más comenzar a enfrentar la congestión del tránsito urbano con medidas de control más sencillas. Como punto de partida en el corto plazo, una ta…
Abstract This paper presents the results of an investigation of manufacturing firm strategies and changes in these strategies as a result of trade liberalization, globalization and transformations in the economic environment in which companies operate. The research concluded that these changes have brought about substantial changes in firms' behaviour. However, in spite of the importance of the influence of the economic environment on firms, the research also led to the conclusion that there is a margin for company strategy.Innovative firms have adopted flexible behaviour and are upgradin…