- Home
- A-Z Publications
- CEPAL Review
- Previous Issues
- Volume 1996, Issue 59, 1996
CEPAL Review - Volume 1996, Issue 59, 1996
Volume 1996, Issue 59, 1996
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.
-
-
The interplay of macro- and microeconomics
Author: Gert RosenthalFirst of all, I would like to express my satisfaction at being here in Central America, and to thank our hosts warmly and sincerely for their support. The United Nations in general and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in particular owe a great deal to Costa Rica for its unwavering support over the years, especially since President Jose Figueres Olsen assumed office. Our gratitude is also due to this country for its important contributions to intraregional cooperation and especially to Central American integration. This occasion demonstrates again the unfailingly constructive contribution which President Figueres and his Administration have made to strengthening our relationship of interdependence.
-
-
-
Economic policy, institutions and productive development in Latin America
Author: Osvaldo Rosales V.ECLAC has submitted an overall assessment of the economic reforms implemented during the past 15 years to the Governments of the region and, based on that assessment, a proposal for strengthening the development process. The central message that emerges from this analysis is that the region needs to work towards forming closer linkages among its macroeconomy, microeconomy and institutional structure by reinforcing the complementarities between macroeconomic and microeconomic sources of competitiveness and fortifying the institutional framework for the development of production activity. Without jeopardizing existing macroeconomic sources of competitiveness -low and declining inflation, incentives for saving and investment, and a competitive exchange rate- the region needs to design microeconomic policies that will open the way for new sources of competitiveness: training and productivity, technological dissemination and innovation, investment abroad and infrastructure.
-
-
-
Systemic competitiveness: A new challenge for firms and for government
Authors: Klaus Esser, Wolfgang Hlllebrand, Dirk Messner and Jõrg Meyer-StamerThis 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.
-
-
-
Education in basic skills and training for productive work
Author: Guillermo LabarcaThe success of global policies and strategies aimed at training for productive work depends to a large extent on the level of development of basic skills among the work force and, likewise, training costs will vary according to the level of general preparation of those entering on the process. In view of the close relationship between the structure of the school system, the development of basic skills and actual training, different options are available for attempting to resolve imbalances between training for productive employment and previous basic education. These range from expanding and upgrading formal education to hiring persons with a low level of education and compensating for their weaknesses through training, with a number of variants that lie somewhere between those two alternatives.
-
-
-
Social investment funds in Latin America
Author: Gabriel SiriThis article deals with various aspects relating to social investment funds, especially their financing, the sustainability of the resulting projects, and the role of funds vis-à-vis ministries and the political authorities. The links between such funds and non-governmental organizations and the role played by external cooperation are also examined. Social investment funds were set up in order to relieve poverty and soften the effects of the adjustment policies of the 1980s. They have proved to be effective means of channeling flows of external finance and ensuring that they result in concrete projects. The main strategy used for transferring resources to the poor has been the creation of temporary jobs in connection with the execution of projects in the areas of social and economic infrastructure, as well as projects designed to satisfy basic needs.
-
-
-
Water rights markets: Institutional elements
Author: Miguel SolanesWater is a scarce resource which has an economic value and fulfills important ecological and social functions. For this reason, it is normally considered a public good of the State, which grants user rights to private individuals. These rights arc usually protected by constitutional provisions regarding private property, since it is assumed that the private sector will not make investments unless it has guaranteed ownership rights. On the other hand, the water in respect of which user rights arc granted must indeed be used for socially beneficial purposes: otherwise the rights arc revoked. There are some systems where the user rights are unconditional, but this is not usual. The legal elements affecting the stability of water rights are of a structural nature: they include rules ensuring stability, those concerning the transfer of such rights, and rules on the recognition of prior uses and rights.
-
-
-
The Caribbean countries and the Free Trade Area of the Americas
Authors: Trevor Harker, Sidya Ould El-Hadj and Lucio Vinhas de SouzaThe 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.
-
-
-
The Argentine experience: Development or a succession of bubbles
Author: Hugo NochteffThis 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.
-
-
-
Potential and limits of health management reform in Chile
Author: Ana SojoAgainst a background of increased expenditure and improved equity, this reform of public health management in Chile, set in the context of a dual health system, aims to consolidate a cost advantage over the private sector. Emphasis has been placed on the distinction between the regulatory, financial and supply functions in the public sector, and a relative opposition of interests between them has been encouraged, with a view to generating quasi-markets. The “management commitments” entered into between the Ministry of Health and the Health Services mark a departure from the strategy of resource allocation guided by historical budgets and make results the decisive factor of funding.
-
Volumes & issues
-
Volume 2023
-
Volume 2022
-
Volume 2021
-
Volume 2020
-
Volume 2019
-
Volume 2018
-
Volume 2017
-
Volume 2016
-
Volume 2015
-
Volume 2014
-
Volume 2013
-
Volume 2012
-
Volume 2011
-
Volume 2010
-
Volume 2009
-
Volume 2008
-
Volume 2007
-
Volume 2006
-
Volume 2005
-
Volume 2004
-
Volume 2003
-
Volume 2002
-
Volume 2001
-
Volume 2000
-
Volume 1999
-
Volume 1998
-
Volume 1997
-
Volume 1996
-
Volume 1995
-
Volume 1994
-
Volume 1993
-
Volume 1992
-
Volume 1991
-
Volume 1990
-
Volume 1989
-
Volume 1988
-
Volume 1987
-
Volume 1986
-
Volume 1985
-
Volume 1984
-
Volume 1983
-
Volume 1982
-
Volume 1981
-
Volume 1980
-
Volume 1979
-
Volume 1978
-
Volume 1977
-
Volume 1976