Foundations of macroeconomic policy coordination: fostering dialogue as a policy tool in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Coordination of public expenditure in transport infrastructure: analysis and policy perspectives for Latin America

Includes bibliography

Active labor market programs for the integration of youths and immigrants into the labor market: the Nordic experience

Incluye Bibliografía

Market failure and technological policy

Includes bibliography

Marginality and social integration in Uruguay

Includes bibliography

Regional integration and macroeconomic coordination in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Analysis of trade flows between Puerto Rico and CARICOM and prospects for integration

Includes bibliography

Renewable energy sources in Latin America and the Caribbean: situation and policy proposals

Includes bibliography

Competition Policy and Trade Agreements in the Region: Exploring Forums for Cooperation and Convergence

The similarities of competition provisions in integration and other intraregional agreements and the dissemination of this information could serve as a basis for progress in cooperation and convergence on this issue in the region. The negotiation processes that have taken place for these agreements have also enhanced communication between the national agencies concerned, leading to processes of learning and harmonization; these processes could be strengthened as part of the current efforts of administrating and implementing trade agreements. This edition of the FAL Bulletin reviews the information available in order to see how progress can be made on this issue on the basis of the analysis and bibliography of Álvarez and others (2006), and Silva and Álvarez (2006).

Integration in Latin America - Trends and Challenges

Regional trade agreements have had a significant presence in the design of international and productive policies in Latin American and Caribbean countries since the early 1950s. Fifty years later, the region has not reached the degree of economic inter-relation found, for instance, in Western Europe, but the concern with promoting regional integration has been a tradition in an impressive amount of speeches and declarations by policy makers in the last decades. The weakening of multilateral negotiations and the multiplicity of bilateral agreements with countries in other regions might affect regional trade both via trade diversion and through investment decisions, considering a larger time horizon. International capital movement might affect exchange rates and output growth, hence influencing trade. At the same time the need for new, broader negotiating agenda, from simply dealing with trade issues to taking into consideration topics not directly related to trade but rather to competition, labour standards, environmental issues and others increase the difficulties in designing integration strategies. Even more so if the group of countries that aim at integrating their economies present markedly different characteristics. This article – an extension of a presentation made at the German Development Institute Conference on Regional Economic Integration Beyond Europe held in Bonn in December, 2007 - discusses these and other aspects related to regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Climate change in Central América: Potential impacts and public policy options

Since 2008 we have supported the collaborative initiative "Economics of Climate Change in Central America" aimed at demonstrating the impacts of climate variability and change and fostering a discussion on public policies in key sectors. The initiative has been led by the Ministries of Environment and Treasury or Finance of Central America, with the support of their ministerial councils, CCAD, COSEFIN, and Economic Integration Secretariat, SIECA. The Ministries of Agriculture and of Health, with their councils, CAC and COMISCA, have also joined the effort; and the Dominican Republic came on board in 2015.

Logistics observatories and regional integration indicators: the Mesoamerica project

This FAL Bulletin analyses the development of logistics observatories and the construction of regional integration indicators in Latin America and the Caribbean. To this end, it examines experiences, in the region and worldwide, in relation to the construction of indicators and presents a set of policy recommendations for proper implementation. The Mesoamerica Project is used as a case study to construct a set of indicators for logistics infrastructures.

Logistics and mobility policies for sustainable development and regional integration: conceptual framework and regional experiences

This FAL Bulletin summarizes the main findings and proposals contained in the document “Políticas de logística y movilidad para el desarrollo sostenible y la integración regional”, recently published by the Natural Resources and Infrastructure Division (NRID), ECLAC. It contains a proposal for a paradigm shift in the formulation of national logistics and mobility policies, with common guidelines for Latin American and Caribbean countries.

The Grounding of Regional Integration for Brazil: Universalism, Sovereignty and Elite Perception

The aim of this article is to analyse the meaning of Mercosur for Brazilian foreign policy. To this end, we discuss the perceptions of the Brazilian elites concerning the regional integration process. The defence of the principle of inter-governmentalism is related to the conception of Mercosur's place within Brazil's international relations. The fact that principles such as universalism and sovereignty are very highly valued ends up affecting the deepening of the integration. The hypothesis of this article is that the Mercosur structure is in line with the perceptions of part of the Brazilian elites, which has put less emphasis on integration since the late 1990s. Our argument is that the current structure is insufficient to guarantee the dynamics of integration.

The Changing Nature of Multilateralism and Brazilian Foreign Policy

An important characteristic of the current international setting is the crisis of the structure in existence, rather than the emergence of a new order. The rise of new interests and demands, as well as the speed of the transformation make the current understanding of global governance more complex. Brazil, like other medium powers, has an interest in institutionalised multilateralism as a means of increasing its bargaining capacity and hindering the unilateralism of major powers, without being antagonistic to them. It is attempting to increase its weight in traditional international bodies, which provide the grounding for international legitimacy, as well as in new informal arrangements. While this strategy could lead to the establishment of a new hierarchy that brings in countries of growing relative importance, it has put the weight of regional integration into another perspective in Brazilian foreign policy.