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- Volume 2021, Issue 133, 2021
CEPAL Review - Volume 2021, Issue 133, 2021
Volume 2021, Issue 133, 2021
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The role of productive and technological capabilities in export dynamics in developing countries
Author: Sebastián Vergara M.Productive and technological capabilities are major engines of export. But how they affect export behaviour at the microeconomic level is less clear and many questions remain. This paper empirically investigates their role in export dynamics in 40 developing countries. The analysis shows that, within sectors, countries with greater productive capacities have more exporters, and the exporters are larger and charge higher prices for their products. The results also confirm a positive relationship between technological capabilities and diversification: within sectors, exporters in countries with stronger capabilities tend to export a higher number of products and to more destination markets. Lastly, technological capabilities also play a specific role in the diversification of products and market destinations of high-technology sectors. Thus, even comparing exporters’ behaviour only among developing countries, productive and technological capabilities are found to be strongly related to the extensive and intensive margins of exports, and to diversification and product quality.
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Constrained integration in Latin America: Analysis based on a twenty-first-century centre-periphery vision
Author: Marcos Vinicius Chiliatto-LeiteThe early twenty-first century in Latin America was characterized by a “pink tide”, in which a reorientation of national policies produced positive social outcomes and changed both the regional order and the role of regional integration in the different countries. Alongside this process, the international economy provided relief from the external constraint, which meant that growth paths were not interrupted by balance-of-payments crises. Nonetheless, the progress made in regional integration falls well short of political intentions. This article posits that major transformations occurring at the centre of the international economy prevented the region’s production structure from becoming more diversified. Unfortunately, as existing production structures were reproduced (or reprimarized), external engagement outside the region became deeper and Latin American integration remained constrained and confined to a secondary role.
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Challenges for optimizing social protection programmes and reducing vulnerability in Latin America and the Caribbean
Author: Javier Bronfman H.This article provides a reflexive analysis of the design and implementation of social protection systems and anti-poverty programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean. It focuses particularly on the expansion of the conditional cash transfer and non-contributory pension programmes implemented over recent decades. The aim of this study is to distil policy lessons and foster debate on the challenges and opportunities that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development currently poses for social protection systems. The article argues that more of the same will not be enough to maintain progress and achieve higher levels of development in the future. Using examples, the discussion turns to the challenges lying ahead under the paradigm of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These include excluded groups, life cycle needs, better coordination between sectors and fiscal constraints. It ends with a number of questions to foster discussion and a conclusion with policy recommendations.
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Globalization and national development paths: Stylized facts for analysing the Argentine case
Authors: Lorenzo Cassini, Gustavo García Zanotti and Martín SchorrThis paper uses stylized facts to analyse the production paths and socioeconomic performance of a group of countries over the last few decades, with a view to making a comparative analysis of the Argentine case. Nine countries were selected for this purpose (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, India, Mexico, Norway and the Republic of Korea); and a long-term analysis was performed by constructing indicators that synthesize the production paths and performance of these economies. The paper concludes that two major types of production paths have predominated during this period. The first is based on dynamic advantages concentrated in high-technology goods, which results in a positive performance. The second is based on static advantages, such as cheap labour or natural resource abundance, which leads to more heterogeneous outcomes.
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Greening small businesses in small States: The case of Barbados
Authors: Winston Moore and Christopher KinchBarbados has embarked on a bold initiative to green its economy and has already made significant progress in some economic sectors (e.g. energy). This study investigates the extent to which small- and medium-sized enterprises (one of the largest segments of economic activity) on the island have adopted green initiatives and the factors that have prompted them to do so. A probit model is estimated using a firm-level database extracted from the Productivity, Technology and Innovation in the Caribbean (PROTEqIN) database maintained by Compete Caribbean. The results suggest that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have lagged behind larger firms in adopting green strategies. One of the key constraints was found to be the limited availability of technical skills and support within such enterprises. The study concludes that, if the island is to have any success in greening its SMEs, technical support will need to be made more accessible for these enterprises.
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Labour productivity and Central American economic integration: The case of El Salvador
Author: Luis René CáceresThis paper seeks to identify the variables that determine labour productivity in El Salvador. The results show that the extreme openness of the Salvadoran economy, combined with the decline in its investment rate since the mid-1990s, have dampened labour productivity growth —as also has happened in other Central American countries. The study also finds that a country’s productivity is positively influenced by the vitality of quality employment and investment in neighbouring countries. This article concludes by advocating the restoration of protection to the subregion’s production sectors, the promotion of quality education, technology and the acquisition of knowledge and skills.
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Production fragmentation, foreign trade and structural complexity: A comparative analysis of Brazil and Mexico
Starting in the 1980s, Brazil and Mexico adopted diverging trade and production strategies, which had significant effects on their respective production and trade structures. This study investigates how the two countries’ different patterns of trade specialization affected the complexity of their respective production structures between 1995 and 2011. Although the foreign trade profiles of Brazil and Mexico differ mainly in their export structures, the processes of trade liberalization and integration into global value chains made the network of interrelationships between the different sectors less complex. Since these are Latin America’s two largest economies, a reduction in the complexity of their production structures not only has repercussions on the dynamics of their respective national economies, but also affects those of other countries in the region.
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Inequality and social polarization in Chilean municipalities
Authors: Jessica Candia Cid, José Merino Escobar, Claudio Bustos and David MartínezThe social inequality associated with the current pattern of income distribution in Chile remains a subject of interest, as much remains to be learned about the trends in this connection in differing contexts. The aim of this study is to analyse the existing degrees of inequality and social polarization at the municipal (comuna) level arising from the current pattern of income distribution in the country. The measurements used for this purpose are autonomous per capita income and total per capita income. Seventy-eight municipalities in five regions of northern, central and southern Chile were studied. The results confirm the existence of a significant degree of inequality in terms of income distribution and a marked degree of polarization at the municipal level. These findings underscore the need for targeted income redistribution policies at this level to address inequality and polarization, both of which have been linked to social discontent stemming from the conflicts and social injustices that are created and intensified by these phenomena.
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The effect of the economic crisis on the labour market for women in Mexico, 1987–2016
The goal of this study is to analyse the impact of the economic crisis in Mexico on the labour market for women. The analysis is carried out using data from the National Urban Employment Survey (ENEU) and the National Survey of Occupation and Employment (ENOE) for 1987–2016 and applying the decomposition of wage differentials technique proposed by Juhn, Murphy and Pierce (1991 and 1993). Key findings include persistent gender wage gaps in the country, albeit with a slight downward trend, explained largely by unobservable factors, with countercyclical patterns.
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Why do conditional cash transfer programmes fail to target the poor? The case of urban areas in Mexico
Author: Pierre LevasseurGiven the limited financing capacity of developing countries, conditional cash transfer (CCT) programmes are an affordable means of providing a social safety net to vulnerable households. However, compliance with conditionalities may limit participation and increase dropouts, particularly when compliance-related constraints are high and cash incentives are relatively low. This empirical analysis determines how cash transfer amounts affect the probability that participating households will remain in a programme or drop out, looking at the case of Mexico, a developing country that has gradually expanded its CCT programme from rural to urban areas. Using longitudinal household surveys, this study finds that the poorest households are most likely to drop out of the programme. Interestingly, the level of cash transfers increases this probability for the poorest participants compared to the richest ones. It is concluded that the programme does not successfully retain the poorest households in the programme, because the cash incentives are too low in urban settings.
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