This paper analyses recent trends and future prospects in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), an incomplete customs union of 15 States in the Caribbean that includes most English speaking countries in the region plus Haiti and Suriname. In these small economies, the promotion of exports is of utmost importance, as in the medium term these are the only means to pay for the import of capital goods, intermediate inputs and technology necessary to build up their economic infrastructure. This study reviews first the progress made with reforms to complete the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) …
Given the risks the world economy is still facing and the ascendancy of Brazil and India as major growth poles of the global economy, government authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean should redouble their efforts to identify and capitalize upon the potential complementarities created by greater integration with the BRICs. In view of the inter-industrial nature of trade between India and Latin America including Brazil, the region should seek to create partnerships between its firms and successful Indian companies, in order to gain access to supply chains that produce more complex, tech…
The global economic crisis has put an end to a period of worldwide expansion and halted the integration of Latin America and developing Asia with the international economy. Current and expected economic weakness in the advanced economies has led us to look elsewhere for sources of growth. Emerging economies in Asia and Latin America have increased their contributions to world production, finance, and trade in the past decades. In doing so, the two regions have deepened their economic ties with significant implications for the recovery of their respective economies. In this paper we discuss the…
This publication is a contribution of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) to the analysis of the implications for regional development represented by a growing relationship with China. In 2009, when the world faced its worst economic crisis in eight decades, China consolidated its position as a key player in the global economy. While the world as a whole and the industrialized countries experienced economic declines of 0.8% and 3.2% respectively, China managed to grow by 8.7%. This was possible thanks to a giant economic stimulus package, accompanied by a tr…
La presente publicación es un aporte de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) al análisis de las proyecciones que representa para el desarrollo regional el creciente vínculo con China. El año 2009, en que el mundo enfrentó su peor crisis económica en ocho décadas, presenció al mismo tiempo la consolidación de China como un actor central en la economía mundial. Mientras el mundo como un todo y los países industrializados experimentaban caídas en el producto de un 0,8% y un 3,2%, respectivamente, China logró crecer a un 8,7%. Esto fue posible merced a un gigantesco paque…
Policies towards the external sector have maintained their basic characteristics since the beginning of the present decade, although emphasis has been given to some specific aspects. Little doubt remains that the positive outcome - at least until recently – has been clearly a result of the country having profited from very favorable circumstances in the international scenario. This article discusses the main features of the external sector of the Brazilian economy, regarding trade flows, foreign investment, the internationalization of Brazilian entrepreneurial groups and the short-term financi…
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