Social Panorama of Latin America 2005

Includes bibliography

Innovating, gaining market share and fostering social inclusion: success stories in SME development

Includes bibliography

Trade, environment and development: implications for Caribbean countries

Includes bibliography

Fact Findings and Lessons Learned from the Comparative Study on Information Techonology (IT) Usage by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America and Asia

ECLACs International Trade and Integration Division (DCII) will launch the book titled Information Technology for Development of Small and Medium-sized Exporters in Latin America and East Asia in the end of September 2005. The report provides an overview of the present condition of Information Technology (IT) and its use to promote international trade. It focuses on the experiences of IT usage by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Latin American and Asian-Pacific regions, with a special focus on SME exporters in the 13 researched countries, that were selected from the Forum for East Asia - Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) member countries. This issue of the FAL bulletin is produced based on the executive summary of the book.

Integrated transport systems in Latin America and the Caribbean: converging initiatives

The year 1998 is shaping up to be a year of grand regional initiatives focusing on the setting up of regional integrated transport systems. The past six months have seen intense activity in Latin America and the Caribbean. It would seem that the public and private sectors have agreed to launch converging initiatives, each from its own perspectives. In Central America, a multimodal transport project is already under way, while a new transport master plan put forward by the Permanent Secretariat of the General Treaty on Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) is being prepared; in South America, the Latin American Integration Association (LAIA) and Latin American Railways Association (ALAF) have launched a prefeasability study concerning a plan for the sustainable development of transport; the second Summit of the Americas adopted a plan of action that now takes in the work of the Executive Committee of the Western Hemisphere Transport Initiative; and the private sector also held its regional meeting in São Paulo, Brazil, with Intermodal 98, the fourth in a series. These initiatives are taking shape around similar lines of thought and action; their backgrounds are similar, and they tend towards the same goal: taking action in the immediate environment with a view to expanding linkages with the global economy. The background is the observation that after several years of growth, transport infrastructure, equipment and services appear unable to satisfy the growing demand of international trade in the region. The goal is to implement the requisite reforms in the transport sector so as to meet the challenges posed by global competition. This issue of the Bulletin is devoted to news about recent initiatives and possible future developments.

Strengthening value chains as an industrial policy instrument. Methodology and experience of ECLAC in Central America

Foreword by Alicia Bárcena.

Latin America-European Union cooperation: A partnership for development

The European Union has taken special interest in promoting development cooperation as an instrument along with framework and association agreements. Today, the countries making up the strategic partnership between the European Union and the current Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) are in a far different position from the one envisaged in the early 1990s. Nearly 15 years on from the launch of the strategic partnership between the European Union and the current Community of Latin American and Caribberan States (CELAC, formerly the Rio Group), it is important to look at the future prospects for cooperation. During this change, the strategic partnership between the European Union and CELAC will continue, so European Union cooperation must also change to meet this challenge.

Gender and HIV/AIDS

This issue of Gender Dialogue focuses on Gender and HIV/AIDS. It highlights the main findings of a gender assessment of policies and programmes in selected Caribbean countries carried out by the ECLAC subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean in collaboration with UNIFEM. It also coincides with the launch of the Regional Coalition on Women and AIDS in November 2005.

Review of CARIFORUM-EU EPA - Implicatons for the British and Dutch Caribbean OCT's

The European Commission (EC) recently tabled a Green Paper on the future relations between the European Union (EU) and the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs). The document is intended to spark a broad public debate on the opportunity of replacing the current Overseas Association Decision (OAD) of 2001 with an “innovative partnership” for the territories when the present agreement expires on 31 December 2013. The Commission will hold an online consultation covering the issue from 1 July to 17 October 2008. This remains without prejudice to a possible revision of the OAD before the end of 2011, in accordance with its article 62. The need for the launch of the debate arose out of the recognition that the current OCT-EU association is based on an outdated development cooperation logic, whereas the OCTs potential and the challenges they are facing would require an approach that focuses on the strengthening of their competitiveness, the facilitation of regional integration and the reduction of the impact of the factors that contribute to their vulnerability.

Ecuador: return from migration and entrepreneurship in Loja

Drawing on data from a survey of returning migrants, this study examines the factors behind the decision to launch a business in Loja, Ecuador. The possible explanations fall under various headings: demographic characteristics, work experience abroad, reasons for returning, current situation, intention to re-emigrate, and activity before, during and after migration. The study also considers different concepts of “entrepreneur”, as own-account worker and as employer. The results are analysed, first, using univariate tests and then estimating probit models. The variables most closely associated with a high probability of starting a business after returning from migration are entrepreneurial experience during the migration, and the fact of having returned voluntarily, as well as having worked in the host country in agriculture or the hospitality sector. Having university training and having worked in public administration before migrating are negative factors. Other influential variables are age and the wage or salary received abroad, but these are more nuanced.