ECLAC Development of official statistics in the region. Report of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean on the development of official statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean

This document was prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); and offers a description of the main trends in the development of official statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean and the principal challenges in that regard.The first chapter provides an analysis of the state of development of statistical production in the region, based on statistical information for 41 Latin American and Caribbean countries and eight specific areas. The institutional organization of national statistical systems in the region is also described. Chapter II examines the history and current status of mechanisms for regional and subregional coordination and of the Statistical Conference of the Americas of ECLAC. Chapter III describes the main challenges for official statistics in the countries of the region and the strategies that the Statistical Conference of the Americas and ECLAC propose to implement in order to address them.

Selección de documentos y publicaciones de la CEPAL relacionados con la incorporación de la perspectiva de género en las principales áreas del desarrollo de América Latina y el Caribe = Selected ECLAC documents and publications relating to mainstreaming the gender perspective in the main spheres of the regional development process in Latin America and the Caribbean

Publicación bilingüe

The contribution of biofuels to the sustainability of development in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Agricultural incentives, growth and poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean: cross-country evidence for the period 1960-2005. Did trade liberalization increase the incomes of the poorest?

Includes bibliography

Benchmarking the plan of action of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Latin America and the Caribbean (version 3.0)

Includes bibliography

The gender dimension of globalization: a survey of the literature with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Open regionalism in Asia Pacific and Latin America: a survey of the literature

Includes bibliography

Bilateralism and regionalism: re-establishing the primacy of multilateralism a Latin American and Caribbean perspective

Includes bibliography

Trade in services negotiations: a review of the experience of the United States and the European Union in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Quality management and competitiveness: the diffusion of the ISO 9000 standards in Latin America and recommendations for government strategies

Includes bibliography

Trade, investment and fragmentation of the global market: is Latin America lagging behind?

Includes bibliography

Regional integration and public policy. Evaluation of the European experience and possible implications for Latin American integration

Includes bibliography

Health benefits guarantees in Latin America: equity and quasi market restructuring at the beginning of the millennium

Includes bibliography

Inclusion of the European Nordic model in the debate concerning social protection reform: the long-term development of Nordic welfare systems (1890-2005) and their transferability to Latin America in the twenty-first century

Includes bibliography

Weak expansions: a distinctive feature of the business cycle in Latin America and the Caribbean

Using two standard cycle methodologies (Classical and Deviation Cycle) and a comprehensive sample of 83 countries worldwide, including all developing regions, we show that the Latin American and Caribbean cycle exhibits two distinctive features. First, and most importantly, its expansion performance is shorter and for the most par less imtense than that of the rest of the regions considered, and in particular than that of East Asia and the Pacific, East Asia and the Pacific's expansions last five years longer than those of LAC, and its output gain is 50% greater than that of LAC. Second, LAC tends to exhibit contractions that are not significantly different in terms of duration and amplitude than t those of other regions. Both these features imply that the complete Latin American and Caribbean cycle has, overall, the shortest duration and smallest amplitude in relation to other regions. The specificities of the Latin American and Caribbean cycle are not confined to the short run. These are also reflected in variables such as productivity and investment, which are linked to long-run growth. East Asia and the Pacific's cumulative gain in labor productivity during the expansionary phase is twice that of LAC. Moreover, the evidence also shows that the effects of the contraction in public investment surpass those of the expansion leading to a declining trend over the entire cycle. In this sense we suggest that policy analysis needs to increase its focus on the expansionary phase of the cycle. Improving our knowledge of the differences in the expansionary dynamics of countries and regions, can further our understanding of the differences in their rates of growth and levels of development. We also suggest that while, the management of the cycle affects the short-run fluctuations of economic activity and hence volatility, it is not trend neutral. Hence, the effects of aggregate demand management policies may be more persistent over time and less transitory than currently thought.