Latin America and the Caribbean in the World Economy 2014: Regional integration and value chains in a challenging external environment

The 2014 edition of Latin America and the Caribbean in the World Economy: Regional integration and value chains amid challenging external conditions has four chapters. Chapter I examines the main features of the international context and their repercussions for world and regional trade. Chapter II looks at Latin American and Caribbean participation in global value chains and confirms that the region, with the exception of Mexico and Central America, has only limited linkages with the three major regional value chains of Asia, Europe and North America. This chapter also looks at how participation in value chains may contribute to more inclusive structural change, by analysing three core microeconomic aspects. Chapter III identifies various spheres in which regional integration and cooperation can help strengthen production integration between the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean. The fourth chapter explores the intra- and extraregional trade relations of the countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and considers how to strengthen production integration in the subregion by taking advantage of linkages beyond trade and building on commercial and production complementarities among the members. The chapter also reviews the differences between the countries in terms of income, population and production and export structure, in a context of marked macroeconomic vulnerability.

Balanço Preliminar das Economias da América Latina e do Caribe 2014. Resumo executivo

This version of the Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean provides a development overview of the region’s economy in 2014 and growth projections for 2015.

The employment situation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Labour productivity and distribution issues

Although the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean grew more slowly in 2011 than in 2010, there were some improvements on the employment front. Workers benefited from the region’s satisfactory economic performance in an increasingly complex international setting. The unemployment rate fell from 7.3% in 2010 to 6.7% in 2011 thanks to a halfpercentage- point gain in the urban employment rate. Both rates are at levels that have not been seen for a long time. The proportion of formal jobs with social benefits rose as well, and underemployment declined. The average wage and the minimum wage both increased in real terms, albeit only moderately. Economic performance and the employment situation varied widely among the subregions. The unemployment rate dropped by 0.6 percentage points in South America but 0.4 percentage points in the countries of the northern part of Latin America. In the countries of the Caribbean, the employment rate was up by 0.2 percentage points. The data show that substantial labour market gaps and serious labour-market insertion issues remain. This is especially the case for women and young people, for whom unemployment rates and other labour indicators are still unfavourable. The second part of this report looks at whether the fruits of economic growth and rising productivity have been distributed equitably between workers and companies. Between 2002 and 2008 (the most recent expansionary economic cycle), wages as a percentage of GDP fell in 13 of the 21 countries of the region for which data are available and rose in just 8. This points to redistribution that is unfavourable to workers, which is worrying in a region which already has the most unequal distribution of income in the world. Underlying this trend is the fact that, worldwide, wages have grown less than productivity. Beyond the ethical dimension of this issue, it jeopardizes the social and economic sustainability of growth. For example, one of the root causes of the recent financial crisis was that households in the United States responded to declining wage income by borrowing more to pay for consumption and housing. This turned out to be unsustainable in the long run. Over time, it undermines the labour market’s contribution to the efficient allocation of resources and its distributive function, too, with negative consequences for democratic governance. Among the triggers of this distributive worsening most often cited in the global debate are market deregulation and its impact on financial globalization, technological change that favours capital over labour, and the weakening of labour institutions. What is needed here is a public policy effort to help keep wage increases from lagging behind increases in productivity. Some countries of the region, especially in South America, saw promising developments during the second half of the 2000s in the form of a positive trend reversal in wages as a percentage of GDP. One example is Brazil, where a minimum wage policy tailored to the dynamics of the domestic market is considered to be one of the factors behind an upturn in the wage share of GDP. The region needs to grow more and better. Productivity must grow at a steady pace, to serve as the basis for sustained improvements in the well-being of the populace and to narrow the gap between the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean and the more advanced economies. And inequality must be decreased; this could be achieved by closing the productivity gap between upgraded companies and the many firms whose productivity is low. As set out in this report, the region made some progress between 2002 and 2010, with labour productivity rising at the rate of 1.5% a year. But this progress falls short of that seen in other regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa (2.1%) and, above all, East Asia (8.3%, not counting Japan and the Republic of Korea). Moreover, in many of the countries of the region these gains have not been distributed equitably. Therein lies a dual challenge that must be addressed: continue to increase productivity while enhancing the mechanisms for distributing gains in a way that will encourage investment and boost worker and household income. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimate that the pace of economic growth in the region will be slightly slower in 2012 than in 2011, in a global economic scenario marked by the cooling of several of the main economic engines and a high degree of uncertainty concerning, above all, prospects for the euro zone. The region is expected to continue to hold up well to this worsening scenario, thanks to policies that leveraged more favourable conditions in the past. This will be felt in the labour markets, as well, so expectations are that unemployment will edge down by as much as two tenths of a decimal point.

Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2009

Includes bibliography.

Avaliação da desmineralização dentária por meio da densidade óptica e difração de raio X em dentes submetidos a clareamento exógeno

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The new digital revolution: From the consumer Internet to the industrial Internet

The new digital technologies have led to widespread use of cloud computing, recognition of the potential of big data analytics, and significant progress in aspects of the Internet of Things, such as home automation, smart cities and grids and digital manufacturing. In addition to closing gaps in respect of the basic necessities of access and usage, now the conditions must be established for using the new platforms and finding ways to participate actively in the creation of content and even new applications and platforms. This message runs through the three chapters of this book. Chapter I presents the main features of the digital revolution, emphasizing that today’s world economy is a digital economy. Chapter II examines the region’s strengths and weaknesses with respect to digital access and consumption. Chapter III reviews the main policy debates and urges countries to take a more proactive approach towards, for example, regulation, network neutrality and combating cybercrime. The conclusion highlights two crucial elements: first, the need to take steps towards a single regional digital market that can compete in a world of global platforms by tapping the benefits of economies of scale and developing network economies; and second, the significance of the next stage of the digital agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean (eLAC2018), which will embody the latest updates to a cooperation strategy that has been in place for over a decade.

Exports from the Brazilian automotive sector to the Southern Common Market: Trade diversion or cost reduction?

The automotive sector is one of the sectors in which trade between mercosur countries has grown most strongly. This article examines the possibility that trade diversion occurred in that sector during the period 1991-2010, assuming that product costs fell as a result of market expansion. The analysis is based on the concepts of “cost reduction” and “trade suppression” coined by Corden (1972), which capture the effects of economies of scale. Indices of regional orientation and revealed comparative advantages are used in combination to assess whether the trade bloc is evolving in line with comparative advantages. The results suggest efficiency gains for automotive-sector products, exports of which from Brazil to mercosur grew more vigorously because the expanded and relatively protected market made it possible to exploit the economies of scale that are characteristic of the automotive industry.

Efeito de elementos intersticiais nas propriedades anelásticas do aço 316L usado como biomaterial

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Metodologias para estimativa da dimensão fractal do crescimento de aglomerados urbanos: uma contribuição ao estudo da expansão urbana da região metropolitana de São Paulo entre 1905 e 2001

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estresse de manejo criatório em rãs-touro: aspectos hormonais, hematológicos e morfológicos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Síntese e caracterização de vidros teluritos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Modelagem em simulação computacional do cristal e superfícies do BaZr'O IND. 3' e SrZrO IND. 3': propriedades eletrônicas e estruturais

Pós-graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia de Materiais - FC

Aplicação das técnicas de geoprocessamento na análise dos impactos ambientais e na determinação da vulnerabilidade ambiental no litoral sul do Rio Grande do Norte

Pós-graduação em Geociências e Meio Ambiente - IGCE

O pólo industrial de Manaus como modelo de desenvolvimento econômico avaliado sob o enfoque da Lei de Kaldor-Verdoorn

Este estudo tem como objetivo mensurar e avaliar a dinâmica econômica do Pólo Industrial de Manaus como um modelo de desenvolvimento sob o enfoque da Lei de kaldor-Verdoorn. Especificamente, analisar a relação entre produção e produtividade, sob as condições preconizadas por esta lei, aplicadas às indústrias do Pólo Industrial de Manaus. A Lei de Kaldor-Verdoorn propõe que à medida que a produção aumenta, há uma forte tendência, ao longo do tempo, de crescimento da produtividade. Economias de escala são geradas endogenamente por mudança técnica e aprendizagem tecnológica (learning by doing), fruto do crescimento da demanda que permite que se explore as economias de escala dinâmicas presentes, principalmente, no setor manufatureiro. Dessa forma, estima-se a produtividade total de fatores e a produtividade parcial. Analisa-se a dinâmica dessa economia efetuando-se teste empírico para a indústria do Pólo Industrial de Manaus, no período de janeiro de 1995 a dezembro de 2004, através de um modelo de correção de erros, teste de causalidade de Granger e modelo VAR estrutural,. Os resultados obtidos indicam um razoável grau de dinamismo dessa economia, dado que a combinação de efeitos de curto e longo prazo fez com que a produtividade crescesse num ritmo mais acelerado, com respostas rápidas no curto prazo, da produtividade a choques de mudanças no valor total da produção e emprego. Comprovam também a existência de fontes endógenas de crescimento da produtividade, evidenciando economias de escala crescente.

Análise da cadeia produtiva da indústria moveleira na Região de Imperatriz

Este trabalho tem por objetivo analisar o atual estágio de desenvolvimento em que se encontra a indústria moveleira na região de Imperatriz que além de Imperatriz, inclui os municípios de Acailândia e João Lisboa no Maranhão, bem como, a sua importância social e econômica, por considerar que o ambiente reúne vários elementos capazes de caracterizá-lo como um arranjo produtivo local de relativa grandeza, especialmente pela tradição, quantidade de empreendimentos existentes e a proximidade entre eles. O que se denomina de arranjo produtivo local, refere-se aos diferentes tipos de aglomerações produtivas tratados na literatura e servirá de base teórica para as outras fundamentações a seguir. Analisa-se o grau de cooperação entre as firmas da região de Imperatriz, e as instituições de apoio e promoção do setor de madeira e móveis, e os possíveis ganhos característicos das economias de aglomeração, por se considerar que a capacitação produtiva em tese, não tem maiores progressos em ambientes isolados. A evolução dos arranjos produtivos locais, historicamente vem acontecendo em espaços que adotam como regra a cooperação e a interação entre os agentes, sempre no sentido de se criar a ambiência institucional capaz de promover mudanças positivas. Por fim, de forma individualizada, analisa-se os municípios de Acailândia e João Lisboa, enfocando as suas respectivas peculiaridades durante a trajetória da industrialização de madeira e móveis.