Latin America and the Caribbean in the transition to a knowledge-based society: an agenda for public policy

Includes bibliography

Causes and consequences of low rates of specialisation in science and technology in CDCC member countries

The importance of science and technology (S&T) in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) is clearly articulated in Chapter XI, paragraphs 57, 58, 61 and 62 of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (MSI). At the regional level, the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) noted the challenge that CARICOM member States face in competing in this new international economic environment in which the impact of scientific and technological change has created a knowledge-based global economy. Given the importance of S&T to development of Caribbean SIDS, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean embarked on a study to determine the causes and consequences of low rates of specialisation in S&T with a view to making recommendations for development of strategies for addressing these challenges. Data on postgraduate (Master of Science, Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy) enrolment and graduation in agriculture, engineering and the sciences from the three campuses of the University of the West Indies (UWI) as well as from the University of Technology in Jamaica and the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) were examined and analysed. Face-to-face interviews were also held with key personnel from these institutions and a questionnaire was also served to individuals in key institutions. Results of the study revealed that although the number of students enrolled in higher degree programmes has increased in absolute terms, they are decreasing in relative terms. However, enrolment in agriculture has indeed declined while enrolment rates in engineering, although increasing, were not significantly high. Market forces have proved to be a main reason for this trend while facilities for the conduct and supervision of cutting-edge research, the disconnect between science and industry and societal labelling of scientists as “misfits” are also contributing to the situation. This has resulted in a reduced desire by students at all levels of the school system and faculty to be involved in S&T; lack of innovation; a better staffed private, as compared with public, sector; and poor remuneration in science-based employment. There also appears to be a gender bias in enrolment with more males than females being enrolled in engineering while the opposite is apparent in agriculture and the sciences. Recommendations for remedying this situation range from increasing investment in S&T, creating linkages between science and industry as well as with the international community, raising awareness of the value of S&T at all levels of the education system to informing policy to stimulate the science – innovation interface so as to promote intellectual property rights.

Expert survey on priorities for the information society in the Caribbean

An on-line survey of experts was conducted to solicit their views on policy priorities in the area of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the Caribbean. The experts considered the goal to “promote teacher training in the use of ICTs in the classroom” to be the highest priority, followed by goals to “reduce the cost of broadband services” and “promote the use of ICT in emergency and disaster prevention, preparedness and response.” Goals in the areas of cybercrime, e-commerce, egovernment, universal service funds, consumer protection, and on-line privacy rounded out the top 10. Some of the lowest ranked goals were those related to coordinating the management of infrastructure changes. These included the switchover for digital terrestrial television (DTT) and digital FM radio, cloud computing for government ICT, the introduction of satellite-based internet services, and the installation of content distribution networks (CDNs). Initiatives aimed at using ICT to promote specific industries, or specific means of promoting the digital economy, tended toward the centre of the rankings. Thus, a general pattern emerged which elevated the importance of focusing on how ICT is integrated into the broader society, with economic issues a lower priority, and concerns about coordination on infrastructure issues lower still.

Old and new forms of citizenship

Includes bibliography

Systemic governance and development in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Women in the digital economy: breaking through the equality threshold

Prepared by ECLAC for the twelfth session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, this document systematizes and describes various dimensions that shape the way the region's women participate in the labour market and how they access and use the different elements of the digital economy. Information and communications technologies (ICTs); provide essential support across all economic, political, cultural and social activity, as well as being a production sector in their own right. As such, they are potential allies in the drive to achieve equality by helping reduce the gender inequities which constitute not only a gender digital gap but also a social divide. Public policies on gender equality must take into account the key and interconnected dimensions of economy, well-being and technology if they are to be capable of providing an ambitious and innovative response to the challenges of today's society. The core argument in the reflection on ICTs and gender equality thus has to do with how women engage in processes of change and sustainable development in the countries, which cannot be achieved without equal participation by men and women. From this perspective, the gender digital gap offers a specific opportunity to tackle gender inequalities in the region.

Mujeres en la economía digital: superar el umbral de la desigualdad. Síntesis

Prólogo de Alicia Bárcena

Mujeres en la economía digital: superar el umbral de la desigualdad

Prólogo de Alicia Bárcena

Women in the digital economy: breaking through the equality threshold. Summary

Prefacio Prepared by ECLAC for the twelfth session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, this document systematizes and describes various dimensions that shape the way the region's women participate in the labour market, and how they access and use the different elements of the digital economy. Information and communications technologies (ICTs) provide essential support across all economic, political, cultural and social activity, as well as being a production sector in their own right. As such, they are potential allies in the drive to achieve equality by helping reduce the gender inequities which constitute not only a gender digital gap but also a social divide. Public policies on gender equality must take into account the key and interconnected dimensions of economy, well-being and technology if they are to be capable of providing an ambitious and innovative response to the challenges of today's society. The core argument in the reflection on ICTs and gender equality thus has to do with how women engage in processes of change and sustainable development in the countries, which cannot be achieved without equal participation by men and women. From this perspective, the gender digital gap offers a specific opportunity to tackle gender inequalities in the region.

Les femmes et l'économie numérique: franchir le seuil de l'inégalité. Synthèse

Le document aborde le débat sur le changement structurel et la place des femmes dans la société de l’information, ainsi que la capacité de développement de leur autonomie dans le cadre de la mise en place d’un nouveau paradigme technologique. Il dresse un bilan de la situation des femmes sur le marché de l’emploi et passe en revue, sur la base des données des enquêtes disponibles, les indicateurs d’accès à et d’utilisation de l’Internet de façon à mesurer les écarts existants entre hommes et femmes dans différentes sphères sociales et géographiques.

ECLAC Notes Nº 11

The impact of economic reforms in the regionHousing deficit persists in Latin America and the Caribbean Opinion: The transition toward a knowledge-based societyHighlights: The economic development of Latin America in the twentieth century Indicators The quest for more transparency in military spending Recent titles Calendar

Revista CEPAL no.113

El desarrollo ayer y hoy: idea y utopía / Rolando Cordera Campos .-- La competitividad de América Latina en el comercio de servicios basados en el conocimiento / Andrés López, Andrés Niembro y Daniela Ramos .-- Participación salarial y crecimiento económico en América Latina, 1950-2011 / Germán Alarco Tosoni .-- Patrones de progreso técnico en la economía brasileña, 1952-2008 / Adalmir Marquetti y Melody de Campos Soares Porsse .-- México: la combinación de las predicciones mensuales de inflación mediante encuestas / Pilar Poncela, Víctor M. Guerrero, Alejandro Islas, Julio Rodríguez y Rocío Sánchez-Mangas .-- Expectativas y producción industrial en el Uruguay: interdependencia sectorial y tendencias comunes / Bibiana Lanzilotta M. .-- Argentina: efectos del programa Asignación Universal por Hijo en el comportamiento laboral de los adultos / Roxana Maurizio y Gustavo Vázquez .-- Movilidad ocupacional y diferencial de ingresos: la experiencia del Brasil entre 2002 y 2010 / Sandro Eduardo Monsueto, Julimar da Silva Bichara y André Moreira Cunha .-- ¿Qué información proporciona el Examen Nacional de Enseñanza Media (enem) a la sociedad brasileña? / Rodrigo Travitzki, Jorge Calero y Carlota Boto .-- Fondo Constitucional de Financiamiento del Nordeste del Brasil: efectos diferenciados sobre el crecimiento económico de los municipios / Ricardo Brito Soares, Fabrício Carneiro Linhares, Marcos Falcão Gonçalves y Luiz Fernando Gonçalves Viana .-- Orientaciones para los colaboradores de la Revista cepal