CEPAL Review - Current Issue

This paper explores the effect of uncertainty on economic growth in Latin American from 1960 to 2016. Uncertainty is found to be positively correlated to inflation and the volatility of three macroeconomic variables: inflation rate, GDP and the real exchange rate. The empirical evidence indicates that uncertainty is detrimental for growth, particularly at higher levels. In line with existing consensus in the literature, the results appear to show that macroeconomic instability has been a major hindrance explaining the poor economic performance of the region. Economic policy recommendations include applying more stringent countercyclical policies to stabilize prices and output fluctuations.

The different fluctuations recorded in the balance of payments of emerging economies reflect the vulnerability of these economies, dependent as they are on the balance of capital and trade flows. This study analyses the relationship between commodity prices and some capital movement phenomena in a group of selected emerging economies. Probit and cloglog models are estimated to establish the likelihood of these phenomena occurring and their main determinants over the period from 1995 to 2016. The results allow us to identify the main global and country-level factors shaping the phenomena, as well as the importance of the contagion effect. The study concludes that countries which export large volumes of commodities, such as soybeans, minerals and oil, are subject to phenomena of reduction in foreign capital inflows.

This study seeks to determine whether the increased earnings of Brazil’s trading partners that benefited from the boom in commodity prices during the 2000s spurred Brazilian exports of manufactures to those countries. It begins with the hypothesis that there is a positive link between Brazil’s exports of manufactured goods and the increased revenues of its trading partners derived from the robust performance of their exports of natural resources. A two-stage hierarchical statistical model based on a panel data structure is used to estimate a crosss-section data model. To our knowledge, this strategy has not been used before to study the behaviour of Brazilian manufactured exports during the economic boom of the 2000s fuelled by the commodity supercycle.

Several studies have argued economic complexity is an alternative way to understand well-being. There is a growing literature using standard data envelopment analysis (DEA), but we did not find studies comparing them with more advanced models, such as slack-based measure (SBM), or considering economic sophistication as an input in human development. To fill the gap, this article aims to compare standard models with SBM DEA models as tools for measuring countries’ efficiency in converting economic complexity into human development. We developed the Composite Index of Human Development and Economic Complexity (CIHD-EC) and used it to analyse 50 countries with data from 2013, finding that the standard models overestimated countries’ efficiency, especially that of developed and prosperous countries. In contrast, the SBM model provides a better ranking. Lastly, the CIHD-EC shows that Singapore is the only economy in the world that is efficient at transforming economic complexity into human development.

This article seeks to draw connections between Fernando Fajnzylber’s approach and certain elements of the neo-Schumpeterian systemic approach to innovation, to show that there is longstanding discussion of many of the ideas underlying the development of both approaches in a variety of contexts. The results of the analysis revealed six similar features: the historical determinants of technological development; the similarity between the elements that sustain long-term technical progress; the relationship between technological development and the “non-economic spheres”; the relationship between technological development and the idiosyncrasies of each sociopolitical context; the proactive nature of government action; and the sector-level aspects of technical progress.

Latin American economies need higher productivity to escape from the middle-income trap. This article analyses the drivers of innovation at the firm level, which is a critical driver of productivity growth. The article estimates a two-step-model where firm characteristics affect firm engagement with innovation inputs, and such engagement then generates innovation outputs. We use World Bank Enterprise Survey data to analyse this two-stage process for a pooled panel of matched firms in 2006, 2010 and 2017 for five Latin American economies (Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay). The findings indicate that here is no missing link per se between innovation inputs and outputs in Latin American firms to explain innovation underperformance at the aggregate level. However, a comparison with China’s firms suggests possible differences in firms’ innovation behaviour. The results support the use of horizontal and vertical government policies to advance firm-level innovation.

This article analyses the key determinants of enterprise profitability in Ecuador’s crop-growing sector in 2007–2017. It presents data showing that productivity has a positive effect on the profitability of the firms in the sector, which suggests that higher productivity confers a competitive advantage that is reflected in higher profit levels. In contrast, capital stock, land valuation, foreign direct investment, exports and firm age are variables that are negatively related to profitability. Lastly, per capita GDP growth boosts enterprise profitability by increasing the aggregate demand for food products, which stimulates the sector’s performance.

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the Global Kids Online research network data from Brazil and Chile in 2016 relating to children’s digital access, uses and skills. Results show that high-frequency users tend to be from higher socioeconomic groups. Girls and higher-income children perceive higher levels of risk on the Internet. The most common areas of use are related to learning and social life. The type of guidance that children receive matters: active mediation strategies at home and school are vital for increasing children’s digital opportunities, while restrictive mediation tends to reduce them. Also, parental mediation appears to be unequally distributed, showing differences by age, gender and socioeconomic group. These results contribute to discussions on promoting digital opportunities and reducing risks.

Economic growth is produced by stimuli arising from supply and demand. On the supply side, growth depends on the accumulation of factors and their productivity. On the demand side, it is determined by government consumption, investment and spending and net exports. Input-output tables can be used to explain the contributions made by the growth of the components of each of the variables and to find the growth path followed by the economy. From this path it can be gauged whether the type of growth is more supply- or demand-led. This paper uses input-output tables to show that growth in Mexico has relied on more dynamic supply-side components, which is not conducive to the good performance of the economic system.

The aim of this article is to analyse the main characteristics of the Argentine automotive sector and its performance during the first part of the twenty-first century. The article begins by describing the essential aspects of the links in the chain. It then provides a brief historical overview of the Argentine automobile industry from its beginnings until the convertibility crisis of late 2001. Lastly, it analyses the evolution of the sector in the subsequent stages, those of post-convertibility (2002–2015) and the Cambiemos government (2015–2019). This review is based on the specialist literature and different statistical sources. The article ends with a reflection on the structural difficulties faced by the Argentine automobile industry and the way these manifested themselves during the stages analysed.