Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Dependent societies and crisis in Latin America: The challenges of social and political transformation
The authors propose an analysis of dependent economies and societies in Latin America. They begin by discussing current forms of dependency, both in terms of the internationalization of the domestic market and in terms of structure of dependent capitalism.
Productive absorption of the labour force: An ongoing controversy
The concept of the productive absorption of labour is a central aspect of ECLAC’S analyses, since one of the main challenges of development is to provide productive employment for the unemployed and underemployed labour force, which is deprived of work through the use of more modern methods of production, and is constantly increasing owing to population growth.
Origin and magnitude of the recessionary adjustment in Latin America
Notwithstanding the enormous efforts made by the Latin American countries in the last five years to adjust their economies and despite the fact that the citizens of the developed nations are enjoying the benefits of the longest expansionary phase in the postwar period, the great majority of the peoples of the region find themselves immersed in one of the most profound economic crises in their history. They are enduring simultaneously a severe external constraint; levels of production and employment substantially and increasingly below their trend values; and, in many cases, inflations of exceptional virulence, although since mid-1985, several countries have achieved spectacular advances towards price stabilization.
New technological frontiers of management in Latin America
The crisis affecting the countries of the region has heightened the demand for effective management in the public apparatus, as well as in the private sector. In addition, the recent move towards democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean is creating a need for specific types of effective management. In view of these demands, some questions have been raised as to whether or not the region’s present managerial capacity is capable of meeting these requirements in the situation as it now stands.
Planning and government
The comprehensive planning of a government’s actions is useful only if it takes the form of a calculus which precedes and then provides for the monitoring of these actions so that day-to-day planning tasks become part of a practical process. The author asserts, however, that in the processes of government seen in the Latin American countries, a considerable gap generally exists between such plans and the actual process of discussion and decision-making which guides government action.
A note on new directions in planning
Any analysis of new directions for planning should not only point out the obvious shortcomings of free-market policies but also refer to the results of earlier periods of government interventionism.
Youth as a social movement in Latin America
In this article the author depicts in general terms the main directions taken by youth social movements in the history of Latin America in this century. He begins by sketching in the student, military and political movements in and around the 1920s, when youth played a leading role, in university reform for example, together with some of the main doctrines, such as anti-oligarchism, Latin Americanism and the concepts of people and nation.
Planning and the market during the next ten years in Latin America
The issue of the relationship between planning and the market has given rise to fruitless theoretical contention over the relative merits of central planning versus a laissez-faire market. At the practical level, this disagreement has manifested itself in sharp swings in policy, which at times have favoured State intervention while mistrusting private enterprise, and at other times have curtailed State action on the grounds that it is inherently ineffective and inappropriate. The author argues that one of the major lessons to be learned from the region’s postwar economic experiences is that a correct balance must be struck between the market and State action on the basis of an objective analysis of the strong and weak points of each.
New directions in planning: an interpretative balance
The Colloquium whose documents are presented in this issue of the R ev iew provided an excellent opportun ity to look at and discuss some of the aspects of planning theory and practice in mixed market economies, in search of new directions which could lead to more effective planning action to deal w ith the serious problems o f the region brought on by the international crisis. The debate was not easy, however, because the presenters adopted different systems of analysis: some took a general theoretical view, whereas others were more concerned w ith the specific contents of their proposals.
ILPES in its 25th year
The vigorous conceptual, methodological and technical retooling of public policy planning and co-ordination being carried forward by the Latin American and Caribbean Institute for Economic and Social Planning (ILPES) has involved a greater concentration on market economies, which are in the majority in the region. I shall confine myself here to discussing some of the considerations which the Institute has brought to the attention of the governments in various forums during the past three years, rather than dwelling on some of the more traditional criticisms of planning.
External debt and the reform of the international monetary system
On the basis of an analysis of the historical evolution of real international interest rates, the author asserts that the main factor which increased the external debt burden in the 1980s was the excessively and unexpectedly high levels reached by such rates. This increase, which took both bankers and debtor countries by surprise, so that they do not appear to bear major responsibility for this process, mainly originated in the economic policy followed by the United States Government. Through mechanisms which are analysed by the author, this policy increased the debt service burden and reduced the volumes and prices of commodity exports, giving rise to a transfer of resources from the debtor countries which exceeds 3% of their gross domestic product per year.
Modification of the industrialization model in Latin America
A part from its intrinsic value, this article has the added merit of providing a straight forward presentation of a prominent German scholars views on Latin American industrialization. It is divided into four chapters. The first two outline the main interpretations of this process from the 1930s up to the present, while the last two address the central issue of the modification of the predominant industrialization model. The author takes a critical view, not only in terms of a long-term historical perspective, but also of the policies implemented during recent years in response to the crisis, which are generally marked by “stabilization without creativity” and the hope of resuming economic growth with the help of direct foreign investment.
The conversion of foreign debt viewed from Latin America
Conversion of foreign debt is an econom ic policy instrument of both positive and negative potential for the regional economy. The positive potential includes reduction of the cumulative value of the debt and of the interest payments, improvement of the financial situation of enterprises, repatriation of fugitive capital, and direct foreign investment in priority sectors. The negative potential includes a net adverse effect on the balance of payments, increased inflation resulting from increased issue of money, denationalization of the economy using subsidized capital, and crowding out in the use of foreign exchange. The final mix resulting from conversion is determined mainly by the modalities with which this tool is used.
Orthodox adjustment programmes in Latin America: A critical look at the policies of the International Monetary Fund
Since its inception, the International Monetary Fund has been harshly criticized for the policy measures it has recommended. In most cases, this criticism has taken the form of an outright rejection of IMF policies, mainly because of the high economic, social and political costs they entail.
The political and social outlook for Latin America
Taking a down-to-earth view of the probable evolution of the main economic conditioning factors affecting the countries of the region, especially the external debt, the author sketches the broad outlines of a strategy for stimulating medium- and long-term development. As regards the external debt he forecasts an increasingly conflictive situation, to the point at which its seriousness will lead to the acceptance of more flexible proposals by the creditor banks and countries. The conflicts will themselves hasten the historical process and help to generate the situations and actors that will strive to relieve the present stifling situation.
Industrial policy and promotion of competitiveness
The debate in the region on industrial policy is currently centered on policies to promote competitiveness in the context of open economies. It gives priority to the use of horizontal policies, is based on the market, and attaches great importance to the maintenance of macroeconomic balance. It continues to suffer from weaknesses in its treatment of sectoral issues, however, continues to be reluctant to assimilate the Asian experience of giving support to pioneering firms and seeking closer coordination between the public and private sectors, and still does not give sufficient importance to measures to strengthen the technological base and human resources.
The creation of the United Nations and ECLAC
When the countries which fought in the 1914-1918 war -considered at that time to be the most brutal conflict in human history- signed the Versailles peace accords, it was said that nothing like it could ever happen again. Seventeen years later, however, a second world war broke out which was truly universal and ten times bloodier than its predecessor.
The cultural industry and new codes of modernity
Within the context of the globalization of the economy, communication and culture and the transition towards societies based on information and knowledge, the sustained development of the cultural industry stands out as a priority means for the articulation of society. For at least the last three decades, culture has been increasingly linked with the growth of the social communication media. Indeed, the cultural industry is becoming a strategic sector for competitiveness, employment, consensus-building, the style of politics and the circulation of information and knowledge.
Trade policy and international linkages: A Latin American perspective
This article looks at the trade policy guidelines that the region should follow in order to achieve dynamic international economic linkages, in the light of the international context, the main normative conclusions that could be drawn from the theoretical debates on this subject, and some lessons that may be learnt from the study of successful cases. It is posited that in the countries of the region, trade policy can be an instrument for macroeconomic management, fiscal management and, at the microeconomic level, resource allocation; its use as a second-best instrument is justified when there are constraints on the use of the best possible solutions (in exchange rate policy, for example).
Rules of origin: New implications
As a subject of international negotiations, rules of origin have been of interest since the early 1970s, but in recent years they have come to be regarded as a new form of protectionism and have figured prominently in the spate of trade negotiations which have been initiated or carried forward in the Americas since the late 1980s. The trade schemes negotiated under the terms of the new treaties thus adopted make it possible to extend the protection of intermediate inputs from one signatory country to another. Therefore, the advantages associated with a free trade area are no longer determined solely by each country’s system of protection but have instead come to depend upon their trading partners having low trade barriers as well. Moreover, any country gaining access to a trading partner’s market must “share the preference” with the party benefiting from the rules of origin in the other country.
Capital flows: Lessons from the Chilean experience
This article examines the capital regulation system used in the Chilean economy in recent years. It begins by describing the factors determining international capital movements in recent times and the role of the financial system in the intermediation of such flows. It then considers the Chilean policy on the regulation of capital flows, which seeks to solve the problem of how to reconcile the reduction of inflation with the maintenance of a real exchange rate compatible with export competitiveness. The policy instruments used include intervention by the Central Bank, which is reflected in a strong increase in the international reserves, together with open-market money sterilization operations.
Stability and structure: Interactions in economic growth
The recent economic development of the region confirms that stability has not yet been firmly consolidated in it. There are still some structural factors of macroeconomic instability, various sequels of the debt crisis have not yet been overcome, and fresh macroeconomic tensions of various origins have made their appearance. The challenge currently facing economic policy is to implement reform and growth policies while maintaining the recent achievements in terms of stability. A prior requisite for this is a proper understanding of the way macroeconomic and microeconomic factors interact: the mutual influence of constraints in terms of macroeconomic consistency, on the one hand, and the imbalances generated in the reform process and the consequent changes in the production base, on the other.
Pension system reform in Latin America
When reforming pension systems, the arguments used must be carefully studied, since changes may involve substantial economic, social and political costs. The reforms which are being carried out in the region reflect this dilemma and are the result of various compromises affecting the new system as regards: i) the degree to which the benefits provided by the system and the administration of its reserve funds are isolated from the political process; ii) the necessary regulation and supervision of the markets with which the system interacts in order to effect the financial intermediation of its funds; iii) the appropriate combination of fiscal resources and pension fund surpluses to be used to pay the debt owed to pensioners of the former system and the commitments in terms of minimum pensions; iv) the provision of insurance schemes against disability and survival contingencies and possible fluctuations in the financial market, as well as covering the lifetime annuity option; v) the need to supply information so that members can take free and informed individual decisions, and vi) ensuring a capital market with a suitable combination of financial instruments to protect the system against inflation risks.
Economic relations between Latin America and the European Union
Two opposing trends are currently shaping relations between the European Union and Latin America. On the one hand, political signals in both regions are positive and point the way to closer ties in the future; on the other hand, the situation with regard to the Union’s trade with Latin America has worsened appreciably, with the region’s trade surplus giving way to a deficit for the first time in four decades. This trend may jeopardize the progress made thus far. If we do not act now, trade-related tensions, the reduction of development assistance and the appearance of social or environmental trade restrictions may cast a shadow over the bilateral situation, causing the two regions to become what we might describe as distant friends.
Governance, competitiveness and social integration
This article seeks to set forth the grounds for an approach integrating political governance, economic competitiveness and social integration as interdependent variables. To this end, it looks at the possibilities for Latin American society to simultaneously increase its capacity for democratic self-government, improve its economic competitiveness and tackle the main problems of social exclusion and poverty, since if this is not done the region will find it more difficult to take its place in the concert of modem democratic nations. In order to analyse the evolution of those variables from a systemic standpoint, each of them is first of all reviewed separately and then an attempt is made to construct an interactive scheme for their mutual relations, bearing in mind the economic and cultural conditions for productivity growth and the need for a social and political matrix which will give a sense of direction to the overall set of variables.
Women and migrants: Inequalities in the labour market of Santiago, Chile
Social policies aimed at reducing inequalities in the labour market need to be founded upon a solid understanding of the factors that generate disadvantageous conditions for specific segments of that market. This article describes inequalities in the occupational and income structure affecting economically active women and, in particular, economically active women migrants in Santiago, Chile, and provides some insights into the reasons why these disadvantages exist. Chile’s economic growth process is seen by some as setting an example for other Latin American countries which are opening up their economies to international markets. Steps have to be taken, however, to prevent still greater concentration of wealth, the persistence of high levels of poverty, an increase in the heterogeneity of the labour market and inequalities in wage levels.
The present state and future prospects of the environment in Latin America and the Caribbean
Most studies of the region’s economy say little or nothing about the status of its environment and natural resources; few references are made to the environmental quality of population centres or to fluctuations in natural resource stocks, especially of renewable resources, despite their crucial importance for the region’s development options. The no more than moderate pace of the region’s absorption of technical progress, the intensification of its international trade and the declining value of the region’s products in the international marketplace have all brought increased pressure to bear on its resources.
Youth expectations and rural development
The greater openness to the outside world exhibited today by rural, peasant and indigenous groups is particularly notable among the young people in those populations, whose behavioural patterns, referents and expectations differ from those of preceding generations. At the same time, living conditions in the farming sector have improved very little, and agricultural producers’ self-images have worsened; both of these factors prompt young people to leave the sector. Today, only half the people born in rural areas in the 1960s still live there. Not enough attention has been devoted to this situation, which leads, among other things, to the types of problems associated with lack of preparation and difficulties of adaptation on the part of migrants. In those areas from which emigration is the heaviest, the ageing of the population is quite marked; this hampers any attempt to pursue a dynamic form of development and in some cases even leads to the dismantling of existing infrastructure and services (and, hence, an even greater loss of population).
Property rights and the rural land market in Latin America
Land distribution in Latin America is characterized by striking inequality. Notwithstanding the emergence of modem structures in some regions, a few huge land holdings are found alongside a large number of small ones. This situation has long been considered undesirable for reasons of social equity as well as for reasons of efficiency. The topic remains high on the political agenda. The ultimately disappointing results of past redistributive reforms have caused contemporary policy-makers to search for alternatives. In recent years attention has focused on the institution of private property rights and land transactions through market mechanisms.
Systemic competitiveness: A new challenge for firms and for government
This article analyses the concept of systemic competitiveness by examining its determining factors and the way in which they interrelate. The author puts forward the view that industrial competitiveness is the product of the complex and dynamic interaction between four social and economic levels in a national system, namely: the micro level, consisting of enterprises, many of them interlinked in mutual assistance networks, which aim to achieve simultaneously efficiency, quality, flexibility and speed of response; the meso level, corresponding to the State and social actors, which develop specific support policies, promote the establishment of structures and coordinate learning processes at the level of society; the macro level, where pressure is exerted on the enterprises through performance requirements; and finally, the level referred to in this article as the “meta” level, which is made up of solid basic patterns of legal, political and economic organization, an adequate social capacity for organization and integration, and the capacity of the actors to achieve strategic integration.
Liberalization or financial development?
The Latin American countries’ reorientation towards market economies and their efforts to open their economies up to the international market since the 1970s have given rise to various sorts of financial policies. This article reviews some selected experiences in three areas of the financial sector: i) in the area of banking, eight different cases arc examined in which financial liberalization measures led to various problems in terms of bank solvency during the past 20 years; ii) in respect of the capital market, the rapid development of this market in Chile since the start of the 1980s is analysed; and iii) with regard to inflows of private external financial capital, the high rates exhibited by Mexico since the late 1980s are evaluated. Basing his approach on concepts that place financial liberalization within the context of the types of regulatory systems that establish the ground rules in this sector, the author emphasizes the need to develop the institutional structure of the financial system in a carefully planned manner in order to ensure the solvency and efficiency of financial institutions.
New trends in wage policies
Up to a few years ago, wages policy was a central instrument of macroeconomic policy in Latin America, and there was a great deal of State intervention in it Now, in the early part of the 1990s, however, the countries of the region are mostly in a more balanced macroeconomic situation and have gone a long way in their process of trade openness. Both these factors heighten the importance of costs, in view of the need to maintain the competitiveness of national production, so that the search for instruments to facilitate control over costs, including labour costs, is now a constant concern.
How much can we spend on education?
The technology employed by Latin America’s educational systems was developed by the countries which are now industrialized. This technology is labour-intensive, with expenditures being concentrated in the salaries of teaching staff and administrative personnel, and its effective utilization -as it is applied in the industrialized countries-entails a high level of expenditure per student. In line with recommendations made by international agencies, many Governments in the region have voiced their intention to raise the amount they spend on education to between 6% and 8% of the gross domestic product.
Central America: Inflation and stabilization in the crisis and post-crisis eras
The small, open economies of the Central American countries have all, to a large extent, been subject to the same determinants of inflation. The oil shocks of the 1970s brought the era of stable prices and steady growth in the subregion to an end. External factors continue to have a significant influence on price movements. In addition to the direct impact of international prices, the availability of external resources, which cases supply and demand pressures, also plays a role. It is true, however, that the nature of the national economic policies adopted to deal with fiscal imbalances have led to a progressive differentiation of the inflationary processes experienced by each country.
ECLAC and the sociology of development
The principal sphere in which ECLAC’S theses are situated is that of economics. However, as befits an integrated approach to development, the theories it has propounded also include sociological and political aspects. The social aspects of development have been a focus of attention at ECLAC since its creation, and in this area too it has endeavoured to avoid the mechanical transposition of existing theories to the region. Through an interchange of ideas with specialists from other institutions, it has sought to identify the specifically regional dimension of the problems dealt with and to determine the precise social and political conditions conducive to economic development.
The Caribbean countries and the Free Trade Area of the Americas
The Caribbean countries are acutely conscious of their small size, whether judged by one or all of the criteria of land area, population or gross domestic product (GDP). Paradoxically, this impels them to join a larger trading group for fear that they might otherwise be denied a place in the mainstream of international activity. This article analyses several characteristics of small countries, with particular attention to those that seem especially relevant to the Caribbean. The paper notes that small size does indeed place greater demands on the national leadership as regards appropriate and consistent economic management, while the citizens of small countries live at higher levels of risk, whether due to the vagaries of the weather or to the turmoil of international markets.
False dilemmas and real options in current Latin American debate
This article points out the apparent inevitability that any controversy will lead to a reductio ad absurdum, that is to say that the points of view under discussion will be carried to an extreme which distorts them and renders the discussion sterile. This seems to apply to a number of dilemmas which taken to their opposing extremes, become false dilemmas or disjunctive propositions which do not reflect the true nature of the options and causes at the heart of the real controversy.
Foreign trade and the environment: Experiences in three Chilean export sectors
Social policy paradigms in Latin America
In recent years, a new development model has arisen in Latin America whose spread has been facilitated by the changes which have taken place in the world economy (globalization, technological innovation) and their repercussions on the region. A consensus has been generated in respect of the model’s economic tenets, and there is also widespread agreement -which is gradually being reflected in concrete measures- on the role that should be assigned to the State. With regard to social policies, an awareness has been growing -with some difficulty- of the limitations of the traditional way of implementing them and the need to develop new criteria on their design and application.
Decentralization and democracy: The new Latin American municipality
Macroeconomic policies for growth
This article analyses the interrelation between the macro-economic framework and growth. After reviewing the recent macroeconomic environment, highlighting progress and shortcomings, it focuses on the implications of the existence of gaps between production capacity and its degree of utilization or effective demand; the way in which persistent disparities in this respect affect the speed of expansion of the production frontier is illustrated by examples from the 1980s and 1990s. It then reviews economic policies that affect the degree of proximity between the production frontier and effective demand, with particular reference to the cases of anti-inflationary policies and external shocks.
The Argentine experience: Development or a succession of bubbles
This article adopts the premise that development is endogenously driven by innovation mechanisms, of which the economic elite is an eminent vehicle in that it efficiently fulfils the function of generating innovation by seeking technological quasi-rents which creative competition permanently erodes. In order for this to happen, the necessary conditions must be present so that the search for technological quasi-rents predominates over other types of profit-seeking. The interaction between the Argentine economic elite and the institutional system has enabled it to acquire non-technological quasi-rents, being essentially quasi-rents from scarce natural resources, combined with political quasi rents.
Biodiversity prospecting: A new panacea for development?
Biodiversity has been touted by some as the developing countries’ new competitive advantage because these countries have sovereignty over the majority of the world’s biodiversity, the value of which is yet to be determined. Biodiveisity prospecting is the examination of biological resources in search of active compounds for pharmaceutical development, agricultural and industrial use. In this article, five cases of biodiversity prospecting are described, their future prospects are analysed, and policy options for other institutions and countries interested in pursuing such prospecting are discussed. The market for essential oils (particularly for cosmetics), phytopharmaceuticals and herbal preparations, agricultural chemicals, and industrial enzymes is much greater and easier to get into than that for new compounds to be tested for possible pharmaceutical use.
The macroeconomic context and investment: Latin America since 1980
This article analyses the evolution of regional investment within the context of general macroeconomic trends. First, trends in the macroeconomic context of investment between 1980 and 1994 are examined, and it is concluded that the economies’ vulnerability to external shocks was crucial to the decline in the rate of investment and its subsequent slow recovery: in countries where indebtedness and external account imbalances were lower, investment levels and rates fell less sharply. Next, the factors determining trends in private investment are reviewed, and it is concluded that over and above those traditionally taken into account by economic theory, a further three also played a part: the stability of policies and their consistency with structural reforms, which ensures the sustainability of regulations over time; access to the infrastructure, where public sector investment has traditionally been supplemented by private investment; and the availability of Financing.
Manufactured exports from small Latin American economies: The challenges ahead
This article explores the challenges that small, less industrialized Latin American countries face in achieving sustained growth of manufactured exports. The improvement of export performance was one of the aims of the policy reforms adopted since the 1980s in line with the so-called Washington Consensus. The economic environment for manufacturing firms improved significantly, and growth of industrial production and exports was stimulated. Nevertheless, the manufacturing sector has not yet become a major engine of growth, and industrial exports have only recently started to increase. Moreover, manufactured exports depend to a high degree on strategies of foreign firms and arc mainly concentrated in relatively less dynamic sectors of world trade. Notwithstanding the broadness and comprehensiveness of the Washington Consensus, additional measures are needed in order to achieve the systemic competitiveness of manufacturing industries.
Some changes in United States attitudes towards CEPAL over the past 30 years
CEPAL, the Director of the Review commissioned from Professor David Pollock an article analyzing the changing attitudes of the United States towards CEPAL since its establishment. Mr. Pollock is in an excellent position to write such an article, because of his knowledge of the subject and his long and important career in our organization. A Canadian, he joined CEPAL in the 1950s and has worked in Washington, Mexico City and Santiago, in addition to cooperating closely for some time with the Secretary-General of UNCTAD in Geneva.
Accumulation and creativity
Surplus and creativity are two fundamental components of development whose relationships are complex and interdependent. If any new surplus broadens the horizon of life and calls for creative and innovative re sponses, the latter in turn need the surplus as the essential material medium through which they can come into being. Every culture, however, sets limits on the development of creativity which are in keeping with the process of reproduction of the society to which that culture belongs. The limits of the creativity specific to the culture which stemmed from the bourgeois revolution are fixed by the predominance of instrumental rationality, by the progressive subordination of all forms of creativity, and particulary science and art, to the process of accumulation.
The competitive challenge for Brazilian industry
This article defines the stages of development reached by industries that account for half of Brazil’s total output and identifies the competitive challenges they face, including those associated with the country’s industrial policy. Between 1980 and 1994, Brazilian industry experienced persistent macroeconomic instability as the country’s trade liberalization efforts proceeded. By means of a series of adjustments, however, the sector did manage to adapt to this hostile environment; in fact, it not only survived but actually succeeded in maintaining its ability to help cover the existing deficit, meet domestic demand and aid the country in achieving balanced linkages with the external economy.
Economic trends in Central America
Development in the Central American countries in the past quarter-century has shown positive features, which are brought out by the author: an annual average rate of economic growth of more than 5% , a near-doubling of real income per capita, expansion and diversification of exports, a surge forward in industrialization, the extension and improvement of communications and social services, and so on. Nevertheless, long-standing problems have remained, and new ones have arisen: external dependence, a tendency towards external disequilibrium, uneven distribution of the benefits of economic growth, with its consequences of poverty, unemployment, underemployment and marginal status, growing difficulties encountered by the political systems in coping with the divergent pressures of a rapidly diversifying society, and inconsistencies and conflicts between the public and private sectors. To this has been added, in recent years, the problems caused by the rise in the price of oil, inflation and growing external indebtedness.
Equity in education in El Salvador
In terms of equity of educational opportunities, the region displays great problems, and El Salvador is no exception to this. The analysis given here of the shortcomings in respect of equity of education in that country begins with a general description of the fundamental lines of action proposed in the educational reform process. A study is then made of the differences in access to education, the intergenerational transmission of educational opportunities, and disparities in the quality of education. It is noted that education has an instrumental function -economic reproduction- but it also has a function of promoting change in pursuit of a more equitable society. It is asserted that the contribution education can make to development has its limits, and the effect of poverty on educational opportunities and hence on individuals’ real possibilities of getting on in the world is highlighted. Finally, some ideas are put forward for maximizing the contribution of education to the development of El Salvador.