Structural change and growth in Central America and the Dominican Republic: an overview of two decades, 1990-2011

This book explores the changes that have occurred as regards the production structure, trade and society in Central America and the Dominican Republic, and how these have influenced the countries’ growth trajectories. One of the conclusions it reaches is that the subregion overall has enjoyed faster economic growth than the rest of Latin America over the two decades examined, which has helped to raise people’s incomes and living standards. Yet this progress falls far short of what is needed, given the high levels of poverty and indigence and the glaring inequalities suffered by much of the population in Central America and the Dominican Republic. If the subregion is to attain higher levels of development with equality, one of the challenges it must tackle urgently is to adopt a strategy for changing its production structures and forging ahead with subregional integration, in order to correct productivity lags and income gaps. Another piece of unfinished business is to broaden the scope of action of fiscal and monetary policy, with a view to raising public investment, deploying countercyclical policies and developing greater resilience to external shocks.

Access to international capital markets: recent developments in Central America and the Caribbean

The objective of this report is to analyze the impact of recent global financial trends on the access to private external financing by Central American and Caribbean (CAC) economies, as well as their performance in international capital markets in recent years. The CAC economies, like many other countries in the world, were not immune to the negative consequences of the global economic and financial crisis of 2008. In fact, their openness, export driven growth and linkages to advanced economies, particularly to the U.S., as well as size, made them more vulnerable than other Latin American countries to the negative effects of the crisis. In addition, their recovery was hindered by their weak linkages to the larger emerging market countries that drove global growth in the post-crisis recovery. As China and other emerging market economies begin to slowdown, however, and the U.S. and other advanced economies show signs of a strengthening recovery, the linkages to advanced economies may once again become a source of strength.

Climate change and challenges for tourism in Central America

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The Economics of Climate Change in Central America: Summary 2012

This report was published with the goal of discussing, disseminating and using the results of this initiative in the formulation of national and regional strategies and have been presented at national and regional events with civil servants, representatives of non-governmental organizations, trade unions, the private sector, universities and research centers. The results have served as inputs in the training of national committees on climate change and negotiating teams, as well as in the preparation of the Regional Climate Change Strategy, several international financing projects and various national policies. The results have been presented in coordination with the Ministries of Environment at the last three Conferences of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The cost of hunger: Social and economic impact of child undernutrition in Central America and the Dominican Republic

This document presents the results derived from the analyses of the cost of undernutrition in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic. The study shows that not only are the effects reported valid for the countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic, but the resultant economic impact is also significant, representing between 1.7% and 11.4% of GDP. In this regard, productivity losses as a consequence of the higher death rate and the lower level of education account for 90% of the costs. Thus, in addition to the ethical imperative, eradicating undernutrition would yield benefits as well. Therefore, any programme that is effective in reducing the prevalence of this problem will have an impact on people's quality of life, and will also represent major savings for society. The greater the problem, the greater the challenge, but the greater the benefits as well, especially in terms of countries' production capacity.

Manual de formación regional para la implementación de la resolución 1325 (2000) del Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas relativa a las mujeres, la paz y la seguridad

La Resolución 1325 del Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas marca un hito en los derechos humanos de las mujeres, la paz y la seguridad al constituir el primer instrumento de dicho Consejo que exige a las partes en conflicto que los derechos de las mujeres sean respetados. La resolución reconoce el impacto diferenciado y desproporcionado que los conflictos armados y situaciones de inseguridad tienen sobre las mujeres, especialmente la violencia de género, subrayando la importancia de la contribución de las mujeres en los procesos de resolución y prevención de conflictos, así como en la consecución de la paz y el desarrollo sostenible en contextos democráticos. Este programa de formación promueve un mayor conocimiento de la Resolución 1325 y otras resoluciones conexas en América Latina y el Caribe, de modo que la incorporación de la perspectiva de género en la paz y la seguridad sea un compromiso y una tarea crecientemente asumida por los gobiernos de la región. El objetivo es capacitar a personas de diferentes sectores: público, academia y sociedad civil, a la vez que promover el diálogo y el fortalecimiento de capacidades para el trabajo intersectorial que requieren las políticas para la igualdad. La metodología y el contenido del programa, que se estructura en módulos temáticos, fueron desarrollados en la División de Asuntos de Género de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), con apoyo del UNFPA, y responden a la realidad y las necesidades específicas de formación en esta materia que tiene América Latina.