Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2016: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the challenges of financing for development

This, the sixty-eighth edition of the Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean, which corresponds to the year 2016, consists of three parts. Part I outlines the region’s economic performance in 2015 and analyses trends in the first half of 2016, as well as the outlook for the rest of the year. It examines the external and internal factors influencing the region’s economic performance and highlights some of the macroeconomic policy challenges that have arisen in an external context of weak growth and high levels of uncertainty. Part II analyses the challenges that the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean face at the domestic and international levels in mobilizing financing for development. On the domestic front, slower growth and tighter fiscal restrictions pose significant challenges for the mobilization of resources. Externally, the classification of many of the region’s countries in the middle-income category limits their access to concessional external financing or international support. Part III of this publication may be accessed on the web page of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (www.eclac.org). It contains the notes relating to the economic performance of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean in 2015 and the first half of 2016, together with their respective statistical annexes. The cut-off date for updating the statistical information in this publication was 30 June 2016.

Estudo Econômico da América Latina e do Caribe 2016: A Agenda 2030 para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável e os desafios do financiamento para o desenvolvimento. Documento informativo

Em sua edição número 68, que corresponde a 2016, o Estudo Econômico da América Latina e do Caribe consta de três partes. A primeira resume o desempenho da economia regional em 2015 e analisa a evolução durante o primeiro semestre de 2016, bem como as perspectivas de crescimento para o ano. Examina os fatores externos e internos que incidiram no desempenho econômico da região e destaca alguns dos desafios para as políticas macroeconômicas num contexto externo caracterizado por baixo crescimento e elevados graus de incerteza. A seção temática deste estudo analisa os desafios que os países da América Latina e do Caribe enfrentam no âmbito interno e externo para mobilizar o financiamento para o desenvolvimento. No âmbito interno, a desaceleração do crescimento e as maiores restrições fiscais impõem importantes desafios à mobilização de recursos. No âmbito externo, a condição de países de renda média dificulta o acesso ao financiamento externo concessional ou à cooperação internacional. A terceira parte, que está disponível no site da CEPAL (www.cepal.org), contém as notas referentes ao desempenho econômico dos países da América Latina e do Caribe em 2015 e no primeiro semestre de 2016, bem como os respectivos anexos estatísticos. A informação apresentada foi atualizada em 30 de junho de 2016.

SMEs in the environmental goods and services market: identifying areas of opportunity, policies and instruments: case studies: Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico

Includes bibliography

Upgrading value chains through professional and supporting services: Lessons from three agro-industry chains in El Salvador and Guatemala

Includes bibliography

Latin America and Asia Pacific trade and investment relations at a time of international financial crisis

Includes Bibliography

Trade in services in Latin America and the Caribbean: an analysis of recent trends

Includes bibliography

Brazil's emergence at the regional export leader in services: a case specialization in business services

Includes Bibliography

Foreign investment in Mexico after economic reform

Includes bibliography

The Mexican maquila industry and the environment: an overview of the issues

Includes bibliography

International financial reform: a broad agenda

Includes bibliography

International asymmetries and the design of the International Financial System

Includes bibliography

Istmo Centroamericano: la regulación de la distribución de energía eléctrica en los países con empresas privadas. Los casos de El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua y Panamá

Incluye Bibliografía

Caribbean policy response to the information age: a review of government information and communications technology policy and services in selected Caribbean countries

Includes bibliography

The tourist cruise industry and its impact on South America

The global tourist cruise industry has been experiencing sustained growth for quite some time; the industry's future prospects are promising, due to good profitability and a reduction in costs achieved thanks to use of ever larger ships, which are making this new form of tourism accessible to more and more people.South American destinations have been visited by a wide range of cruise operators, reflecting the expansion of this industry worldwide; it is necessary that players in the industry take advantage of this opportunity to provide services that employ substantial numbers of people and develop port facilities in order to meet the requirements of ships and tourists alike, thereby heading off competition from other routes.

Tourist Cruise Ships and the Trade in Services: Recent Trends in Countries of the Caribbean Basin

This issue of the Bulletin reviews the main trends of trade in goods and services for the countries of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) in 2004. The strong recovery of trade in goods and the robust expansion of trade in services are highlighted, emphasizing the increase in services as a proportion of total exports for the smaller Caribbean economies, which may even exceed 80%.A detailed analysis of the performance of the tourism component, especially travel, showed that in 2004 there was a boom in cruise ship arrivals, a situation which poses a real challenge for some islands in terms of ensuring a permanent flow of tourists and making use of the main comparative advantages -sun, sea and beaches- and possible linkages with the rest of the economy such as the hotel industry, restaurants, business and entertainment centres, guided excursions, transport, yachting, and others. In some islands, the ratio of cruise passengers to inhabitants is particularly high, and can reach a significant factor of about 11 tourists for every inhabitant in the Bahamas, 8 in Aruba, 7 in Antigua and Barbuda and 5 in Dominica, and around 4 for a sample of eleven countries.One of the main challenges for a number of Caribbean islands is how to capitalize on such linkages by developing sustainable tourism that minimizes the possible adverse impacts on the environment and the everyday life of the citizens.