With responsible policy management, Latin American governments can use industrial clusters to shift from over-reliance on commodity production to more value-added sectors.
What can Latin America and the Caribbean gain from cluster formation and development?
By Javier Gutiérrez / jantgut /
Economics, Trade & Development
Can Latin America harness its cities for growth?
By Javier Gutiérrez / jantgut /
In the most urbanized region in the world, Latin American policymakers need to ensure urbanization goes hand in hand with development.
China
What happened to Chinese development projects in Latin America?
By William Naylor / wm_naylor /
For years, concern has mounted over the growing economic influence of China in the region, but investment is comparatively small and not a single major infrastructure project has come to fruition.
Economics, Trade & Development
Universal Basic Income: An alternative path to development?
By Javier Gutiérrez / jantgut /
Providing a fixed, unconditional income to the poor seems a radical idea. But it’s gaining traction. Could it work in Central America?
Economics, Trade & Development
Central American integration: it’s about the practical issues
By Javier A. Gutiérrez /
Climbing out of the commodities trap and building inclusive economies will require establishing a substantive, coordinated regional policy on integration, investment, immigration, and policy reform.
Economics, Trade & Development
Civil society is confronting difficult times… and silence
By Christopher Sabatini / chrissabatini /
Latin America has gone global, but not just in its trade and diplomacy. A growing number of governments are copying from autocrats around the world how to restrict democratic civil society. Sadly, democrats in the region have been slow to react.
In the Media
China goes global with development banks
By Kevin Gallagher / KevinPGallagher / MENU
In just over a decade, China has become a global leader in development finance. China has established a number of bilateral and multilateral funds across the world, in addition to two policy banks. China has also led efforts to establish new multilateral development banks that promise to provide significant financing capabilities into the regime as well.
Economics, Trade & Development
Beyond the Zapata scandal: outsourcing Bolivia’s national development to China
By Evan Ellis / REvanEllis /
Personal contacts and questionable contracts between the government and the Chinese company CAMC Engineering reveal both the problems with public procurement in Bolivia and how far Chinese companies have advanced in the country.
Economics, Trade & Development
Everybody loves infrastructure
By Juan Nagel / juannagel /
Latin America invests about 2% of GDP on infrastructure. Between 1992 and 2011 China invested an average of 8.5% of GDP in infrastructure per year. Given the demonstrated effects of infrastructure on development and poverty reduction, it’s time for the region to make a concerted effort to attract foreign investors.
Cuba
Doing business in Cuba–don’t forget opportunity costs
By Jerry Haar /
The new, the exotic, the previously forbidden fruit may appear to be the most tantalizing, but objective criteria should form the realist metric on which to measure all business decisions. The incremental and marginal changes in trade with Cuba are just that—incremental and marginal.
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