report of the workshop on boosting SME development and competitiveness in the Caribbean

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean, in collaboration with the Division of Production, Productivity and Management at ECLAC Headquarters in Chile, convened a one-day workshop on “Boosting SME Development and Competitiveness in the Caribbean”, at the Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean in Port of Spain on 14 May 2009. The workshop was the culmination of country studies that were carried out under an Italian Government-funded project to assess the policies, institutions and instruments for dynamic Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) development and competitiveness in Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. The aim was to use the lessons learned from the three country studies to inform policy and practice in the other member countries of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC). The main objectives of the workshop were to: (a) share and discuss the findings of the country studies and lessons learned; (b) provide a forum for high quality discussion of the policy environment, instruments, business development and support services required for successful SME development in the Caribbean; and (c) map out a strategy for moving from analysis and recommendation to policy implementation and business changes in order to promote a dynamic and competitive SME sector. The workshop aimed to arrive at practical solutions to major constraints and a weighting of key actions in order of priority of implementation, by adopting a problem-solving approach. Participants at the workshop included representatives of key SME support institutions in the region, actual SMEs and academic researchers. The list of participants and provisional programme are annexed to this report.

Select bibliography on coastal area development and environmental, physical and regional planning in the Caribbean region

Bibliografía sobre desarrollo de las áreas costeras, planificación del medio ambiente, recursos marinos, planificación regional y física, y puertos del Caribe.

Asymmetries and cooperation in the Free Trade Area of the Americas

Includes bibliography

Activities at the Caribbean subregional level in relation to the World Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States

Includes bibliography

Report of mission on ports and harbours development and planning in East Caribbean countries, 1 November 1970 to 31 January 1971

Includes bibliography

UNASUR: Fostering South American integration through development and cooperation

Today, six years after the signature of its Constitutive Treaty and 14 years after the first Meeting of the Presidents of South America, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) stands as a union of 12 member States dedicated to the integration and long-term economic and social development of South America. With a view to achieving these aims, the Secretary-General of UNASUR has proposed three agendas: a social agenda based on the principle of inclusion, an economic agenda geared towards competitiveness and a political agenda directed towards deepening democracy and public safety. This document, UNASUR: Fostering South American integration through development and cooperation, was prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) at the request of the General Secretariat of UNASUR. In follow-up to the earlier reports published in 2009 and 2011, it offers provide national authorities, academics and students, as well as the general public, an overview of some key issues on the development agenda of the nations of South America.

Local economic development and decentralization in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Resolution 655(XXXIII) Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee

Includes bibliography

Resolution 641(XXXII) Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee

Includes bibliography

Resolution 660(XXXIV) Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee

Spanish version available

Public-private contracts: analysis and formulae for sustainability: development and applications in Mexico

Includes bibliography