América Latina y el Caribe: Migración interna muestra signos de transformación

Sólo disponible en formato electrónico.

Una promesa y un suspirar: políticas de innovación para PYMES en América Latina

A partir del levantamiento realizado en cuatro países de la región (Argentina, Colombia, México y Uruguay), el presente documento examina las principales reformas y políticas de innovación y pymes realizadas en los últimos años. De este análisis se desprende la escasa vinculación que existe entre estos ámbitos de acción, lo que, dados los rets que enfrenta el mundo de hoy, deben ser vinculados más estrechamente con la sustentabilidad ambiental.

A periodization of Latin American development in the Robinsonian tradition

This paper analyzes Joan Robinson's growth model and then adapts it in order to provide an explanatory taxonomy of Growth Eras. The Growth Eras or Ages were for Robinson a way to provide logical connections between output growth, capital accumulation, the degree of thriftiness, the real wage and illustrate a catalogue of growth possibilities. This modified taxonomy follows the spirit of Robinson's work, but it takes different theoretical approaches. which imply that some of the classifications do not fit perfectly the ones here suggested. Latin America has moved from a Golden Age in the 1950s and 1960s to a Leaden Age in the 1980s, having two traverse periods, one of which the process of growth and industrialization accelerated in the late 1960s and early 1970s, which is referred to as a Galloping Platinum Age, an one in which a process of deindustrialization and reprimarization and maquilization of the productive structure took place, starting in the 1990s, which could be referred as the Creeping Platinum Age.

The economic infrastructure gap and investment in Latin America

This edition of the FAL Bulletin aims to present and encourage the use of the economic infrastructure investment database for Latin America and the Caribbean (EII-LAC-DB), built by the Infrastructure Services Unit of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The information contained refers to the period 1980-2012, in keeping with measurements undertaken by the World Bank, ECLAC and under the cooperation agreement between ECLAC and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).

Capital Flows to Latin America and the Caribbean: Recent Developments

For six years, the global economy has been driven by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policies of easy money. Liquidity has flowed from developed to developing economies, financing infrastructure and corporate investment and allowing consumers to indulge in credit-fuelled retail spending. Thus the effective ending of the Fed’s third round of asset purchases (QE3) at the end of October represents both a watershed and the beginning of a new stage in the world economy. The end of asset-purchases comes at a challenging time for emerging markets, with China’s economy slowing, the Euro zone struggling to avoid a recession and the Japanese economy already in recession. The unwinding of the U.S. monetary stimulus, while the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan step up their monetary stimulus, has underpinned an appreciation by the U.S. dollar, in which most commodities are priced. An appreciated dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive to buyers, thereby creating pressure for sellers to lower their prices. Latin American markets ended the third quarter of 2014 under pressure from a stronger U.S. dollar. In this changing external context, there are many signs that a slowdown in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) financial markets, particularly debt markets, which have been breaking issuance records for the past six years, may slowdown from now on. Commodity prices – including those of oil, base metals and some goods – are in a prolonged slump. The Bloomberg commodity price index, a benchmark of commodity investments, has fallen to a five-year low as China’s economy slows down, and with it the demand for commodities. Investment into the LAC region has decelerated, in large part because of a deceleration of mining investments. Latin American currencies have suffered depreciations, as current account deficits have widening for a number of countries. And LAC companies, having issued record amounts of foreign currency bonds may now struggle to service their debt. In October, credit-rating agency Moody’s downgraded the bonds of Brazil’s Petrobras to tow notches above speculative grade because of the impact of falling oil prices and the weaker real on its debt. Growth prospects look brighter in 2015 relative to 2014, but a strengthening U.S. dollar, uneven global growth and weakness in commodity prices are skewing the risk toward the downside for the 2015 forecasts across the region. The Institute of International Finance expects the strengthening of the dollar to have a divergent impact across the region, however, depending on trade and financial linkages. The Institute of International Finance, Capital Flows to Emerging Markets, October 2, 2014. A stronger dollar lifts U.S. purchasing power, supporting exports, growth and capital inflows in countries with close trade links to the U.S. economy. However, rising dollar financing costs will increase pressure on countries with weak external positions. Given the effects of falling oil prices and a stronger dollar, some companies in the region, having issued record amounts of foreign currency bonds, may now struggle to service their debts. Prospects of Fed rate hikes resulting in tighter global liquidity amid the rapid rise in the corporate external bond stock has indeed raised concerns over some companies. However, there is still a shortage of bonds at a global level and the region still enjoys good economic policy management for the most part, so LAC debt markets may continue to enjoy momentum despite occasional bursts of high volatility – even if not at the record levels of recent years.

Carta Circular de la Red de Cooperación en la Gestión Integral de Recursos Hídricos para el Desarrollo Sustentable en América Latina y el Caribe N° 41

El tema del diseño de sistemas apropiados de gestión del agua reviste enorme importancia para América Latina y el Caribe. En este documento, se destaca la asistencia técnica dada a un gran número de países en la formulación y puesta en marcha de leyes, regulaciones y políticas públicas relacionadas con los recursos hídricos. Esto siempre hecho bajo la óptica de que la inserción sustentable del agua en la economía y en la sociedad depende de un adecuado equilibrio entre intereses públicos, ambientales, económicos, sociales y privados.

Broadband in Latin America: Beyond Connectivity

Incluye bibliografía

Esbozo de la dinámica histórica y algunos aspectos de los sistemas nacionales de formación profesional en América Latina

En el presente documento se analizan diferentes aspectos vinculados a los Sistemas Nacionales de Formación Profesional y Capacitación (SNFPC). Se aborda una reseña histórica de las IFP, características generales de dichas Instituciones, la propuesta para los grupos vulnerables centrados en las juventudes, la educación formal y la evaluación de la capacitación para el empleo.

The employment situation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Advances and challenges in measuring decent work

At 6.4%, the unemployment rate for the Latin American and Caribbean region overall was the lowest for the past few decades, down from 6.7% in 2011. This is significant, in view of the difficult employment situation prevailing in other world regions. Labour market indicators improved despite modest growth of just 3.0% in the region’s economy. Even with sharply rising labour market participation, the number of urban unemployed fell by around 400,000, on the back of relatively strong job creation. Nevertheless, around 15 million are still jobless in the region. Other highlights of 2012 labour market performance were that the gender gaps in labour market participation, unemployment and employment narrowed, albeit slightly; formal employment increased; the hourly underemployment rate declined; and average wages rose. This rendering was obviously not homogenous across the region. Labour market indicators worsened again in the Caribbean countries, for example, reflecting the sluggish performance of their economies. The sustainability of recent labour market progress is also a cause for concern. Most of the new jobs in the region were created as part of a self-perpetuating cycle in which new jobs and higher real wages (and greater access to credit) have boosted household purchasing power and so pushed up domestic demand. Much of this demand is for non-tradable goods and services (and imports), which has stimulated expansion of the tertiary sector and hence its demand for labour, and many of the new jobs have therefore arisen in these sectors of the economy. This dynamic certainly has positive implications in terms of labour and distribution, but the concern is whether it is sustainable in a context of still relatively low investment (even after some recent gains) which is, moreover, not structured in a manner conducive to diversifying production. Doubt hangs over the future growth of production capacity in the region, given the enormous challenges facing the region in terms of innovation, education quality, infrastructure and productivity. As vigorous job creation has driven progress in reducing unemployment, attention has turned once again to the characteristics of that employment. Awareness exists in the region that economic growth is essential, but not in itself sufficient to generate more and better jobs. For some time, ILO has been drawing attention to the fact that it is not enough to create any sort of employment. The concept of decent work, as proposed by ILO, emphasized the need for quality jobs which enshrine respect for fundamental rights at work. The United Nations General Assembly endorsed this notion and incorporated it into the targets set in the framework of the Millennium Development Goals. This eighth issue of the ECLAC/ILO publication “The employment situation in Latin America and the Caribbean” examines how the concept of decent work has evolved in the region, progress in measuring it and the challenges involved in building a system of decent work indicators, 14 years after the concept was first proposed. Although the concept of decent work has been accompanied since the outset by the challenge of measurement, its first objective was to generate a discussion on the best achievable labour practices in each country. Accordingly, rather than defining a universal threshold of what could be considered decent work —regarding which developed countries might have almost reached the target before starting, while poor countries could be left hopelessly behind— ILO called upon the countries to define their own criteria and measurements for promoting decent work policies. As a result, there is no shared set of variables for measuring decent work applicable to all countries. The suggestion is, instead, that countries move forward with measuring decent work on the basis of their own priorities, using the information they have available now and in the future. However, this strategy of progressing according to the data available in each country tends to complicate statistical comparison between them. So, once the countries have developed their respective systems of decent work indicators, it will be also be important to work towards harmonizing them. ECLAC and ILO are available to provide technical support to this end. With respect to 2013, there is cautious optimism regarding the performance of the region’s labour markets. If projections of a slight uptick —to 3.5%— in the region’s economic growth in 2013 are borne out, labour indicators should continue to gradually improve. This will bring new increases in real wages and a slight drop of up to 0.2 percentage points in the region’s unemployment rate, reflecting a fresh rise in the regional employment rate and slower growth in labour market participation.

Panorama da Inserção Internacional da América Latina e Caribe 2013: Lenta pós-crise, meganegociações comerciais e cadeias de valor: o espaço de ação regional. Documento informativo

A edição 2013 do Panorama da inserção internacional da América Latina e Caribe, intitulado “Lenta pós-crise, meganegociações comerciais e cadeias de valor: o espaço de ação regional”, se divide em três capítulos. O primeiro capítulo revisa os principais traços da persistente debilidade que mostram a economia e o comércio mundial. Em seguida, se examina a evolução e as perspectivas do comércio mundial e regional. No segundo capítulo faz-se um exame das principais transformações da organização da produção e do comércio mundial associadas ao fenômeno das redes internacionais de produção, que estão na raiz das atuais negociações megarregionais. À continuação se revisam três processos de particular importância: o Acordo Transatlântico sobre Comércio e Investimento entre os Estados Unidos e a União Europeia; o Acordo de Associação Transpacífico, que inclui 12 países de América Latina, América do Norte, Ásia e Oceania; e a Associação Econômica Integral Regional, que reúne dez países membros da Associação de Nações do Sudeste Asiático (ASEAN), Austrália, China, Índia, Japão, Nova Zelândia e República da Coreia. O capítulo III analisa a participação dos países da América Latina e do Caribe em redes internacionais de produção e cadeias de valor.