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- Volume 2005, Issue 86, 2005
CEPAL Review - Volume 2005, Issue 86, 2005
Volume 2005, Issue 86, 2005
Cepal Review is the leading journal for the study of economic and social development issues in Latin America and the Caribbean. Edited by the Economic Commission for Latin America, each issue focuses on economic trends, industrialization, income distribution, technological development and monetary systems, as well as the implementation of reforms and transfer of technology. Written in English and Spanish (Revista De La Cepal), each tri-annual issue brings you approximately 12 studies and essays undertaken by authoritative experts or gathered from conference proceedings.
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Exchange rate regimes and macroeconomic performance in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico
Authors: Martin Grandes and Helmut ReisenThis paper deals with the ways in which the exchange rate regimes of Argentina, Brazil and Mexico shaped the macroeconomic performance of those countries over the period 1994-2003. The purpose of the analysis is to draw lessons for Latin American and other countries on whether and how the choice of the exchange rate regime can help sustained growth. As it is impossible to isolate the growth effect of the exchange rate regime in a comparative country study, the paper emphasises those macro variables that have been identified in the theoretical and empirical literature as important channels through which the choice of exchange rate regime affects economic performance, namely, investment, trade openness, capital flows and fiscal or institutional rigidities
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Decentralization, territorial transfers and local development
Author: Iván FinotConcerted action by political, social and private actors at the local level can be very useful for promoting economic competitiveness, but in order for it to become a reality it would be essential for the local communities to have greater autonomy and resources, as well as equal opportunities. This article begins by investigating the conditions required in order to ensure that the deeper political decentralization needed for local development will promote efficiency and equity, as well as the ways in which transfer systems can become decisive means for increasing equity and generating greater efficiency. Within this theoretical framework, an analysis is then made of the basic transfer systems used in the older and/or more advanced decentralization processes of the region, and some guidelines are proposed not only for making local development viable in the conditions in question but also for progressing in building fuller citizenship.
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Is there room for local development in a globalized world?
Author: Sergio BoisierThis article seeks to answer the question asked in the title: no easy task, as we shall see. To this end, it will be necessary, firstly, to clarify what “globalization” means in this context; secondly, to identify the relations between the globalization process and local areas: a matter which some people consider to be ambiguous or (falsely) solved through the “death” of the local dimension and of geography in general; thirdly, to determine whether something like “local development” belongs in the logic of globalization, clarifying in the process the different interpretations made of this concept, and finally, to examine the contributions (if any) made by the universities and local development itself to globalization, to the functioning of supranational blocs (such as MERCOSUR, for example), to competitiveness, and to development itself.
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The settlement of disputes under the WTO. The experience of Latin America and the Caribbean
Author: Gonzalo BiggsThis article analyses the implications for the Latin America region of the dispute settlement procedure approved in 1994 by the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO). These implications are important because the region has become involved in a growing number of commercial disputes as its international trade has increased. The procedure applies to disputes between any of the 148 member countries over matters covered by the Agreement and the 29 multilateral agreements annexed to and forming an integral part of this. The present article highlights the ways in which the procedure differs from the old GATT rules and other international dispute settlement procedures. It describes the agreements that have generated the most disputes (anti-dumping, subsidies and countervailing measures, and safeguards), discusses United States policy in this area and details the disputes in which the Latin American countries have participated, with particular reference to Brazil.
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Conditional cash transfer programmes: Experiences from Latin America
Author: Pablo VillatoroThis article analyses the experience of five conditional cash transfer programmes established in Latin America to reduce poverty and increase human capital in the form of education, health and nutrition. These innovative programmes should help towards the Millennium Development Goals, and some have become pillars of their countries’ anti-poverty efforts. The article begins by presenting some of the concepts that underlie conditional transfer programmes. It then goes on to examine the following experiences: the Bolsa Escola programme and the Programme for the Eradication of Child Labour (Brazil), Families in Action (Colombia), the Social Protection Network (Nicaragua) and the Oportunidades programme (Mexico), analysing their goals, components, targeting mechanisms, impact and efficiency. The article concludes by offering some policy recommendations and identifying design components that might serve as good practice when programmes of this kind are implemented.
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The human capital endowment of Latin America and the Caribbean
Author: Gregorio GiménezAlthough there are a great many theoretical and empirical studies which use the concept of human capital, there is no generally accepted definition of this term, and in many cases it is simply equated with formal education. This article will try to clarify the concept of human capital more precisely, with special reference to the ways in which it can be acquired. It will also provide an international indicator that takes account of all the shades of meaning of the definition proposed here, which are usually left out of the traditional indicators. Thus, the proposed indicator will take into account health, formal and informal education, and experience. Analysis of the human capital endowments of the Latin American and Caribbean countries reveals a certain backwardness with respect to other regions. It should be noted, however, that there are big differences between countries, although these have been reduced in the last few decades through a process of regional convergence.
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Adolescent reproduction: The case of Chile and its policy implications
Author: Jorge Rodríguez V.Adolescent fertility and maternity are a source of concern in the Latin American and Caribbean region, because they imply situations of adversity, have not gone down as in other age groups, and are more frequent among poor teenagers. Analysis of the micro-data from the last three censuses in Chile also shows: i) a generalized tendency for adolescent maternity to be out of wedlock; ii) the protective effect of staying in school, which comes into play after passing an educational threshold which is rising with time; iii) the leading role played by the parents of the households where most adolescent mothers live, and iv) the need for specific programmes and integral actions to reduce adolescent maternity, since although access to information and sexual health and reproduction services avoids pregnancies, it is not enough when there is a lack of alternatives to maternity or there are cultural and psychological obstacles to the proper use of contraceptive methods.
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The dynamic of employment in Chilean industry
Author: Sebastián Vergara M.This paper uses descriptive and parametric information to analyse the dynamic of employment in Chilean industry at the industrial plant level between 1979 and 2000. It examines job creation, destruction and turnover and investigates the link between these and the business cycle, sectoral characteristics and plant size. It finds evidence of procyclical job creation and countercyclical job destruction; of countercyclical labour turnover associated inversely with size; of marked heterogeneity between sectors; of the great importance of corporate demography in employment changes, and of the predominant role played by large companies in employment flows. It then goes on to analyse the impact of trade liberalization, the exchange rate and comparative advantages on sectoral employment flows. It concludes that a tariff reduction increases job destruction and thence turnover, and that comparative advantages and exchange-rate depreciation have a positive effect on job creation and turnover.
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Uruguay 1998-2002: Income distribution during the crisis
Authors: Marisa Bucheli and Magdalena FurtadoFollowing a period of growth in the 1990s, Uruguay experienced a 17.5% fall in output between 1998 and 2002. This study sets out to analyse the distribution of income in that period of crisis and to ascertain which population groups were worst affected. The results indicate that a tendency towards income concentration which had begun in the mid- 1990s became more pronounced. Furthermore, analysis of different population groups by sociodemographic and socio-economic characteristics reveals two other ongoing phenomena: a widening of the income gap between people from households with different levels of education, and between people from households dependent on pensions and allowances on the one hand, and earnings on the other. This was reflected in the age structure of the population: minors were worse affected than older adults, so that the tendency for children to concentrate in the lower income strata was entrenched.
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Social and economic problems in Cuba during the crisis and subsequent recovery
Author: Carmeio Mesa-LagoUp to 1989, social policy in Cuba achieved very notable advances in education, health, social security, employment and income distribution. The collapse of the socialist bloc and other internal and external factors, however, gave rise to a severe crisis, which reached its bottom in 1993 and led to a deterioration in almost all the social indicators. The modest market-oriented reforms introduced in 1993-1996 generated a partial recovery but were later interrupted and have been reversed since 2003. The social indicators improved after 1994, but in 2003 some of them had still not regained their 1989 levels and poverty and inequality had increased. This article evaluates the economic and especially the social evolution of Cuba between 1989 and 2004, on the basis of Cuban statistics and publications, ECLAC documents, and a recent study of economic and social aspects in 1997-2002 jointly published by ECLAC, the National Economic Research Institute of Cuba, and the United Nations Development Programme.
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