Latin America's Emergence in Global Services

Latin America's Emergence in Global Services PDF Author: René A. Hernández
Publisher: UN
ISBN: 9789211218442
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
Business services have been one of the fatest growing export areas in emerging economies over the past decade. The spread of information and communication technologies and the rise in trade liberalization have facilitated the global unbundling and offshoring of services activities from advanced to developing countries, including those in Latin America. This offshoring has gradually evolved into more sophisticated forms of business process outsourcing. Several countries in the region are now in the process of further upgrading their services exports to participate in knowledge process outsourcing, which includes research and development, product development and more advanced vertical functions and activities in the value chain. The empirical and analytical insights in this volume document how several countries in Latin America have entered the offshore services sector both through the attraction of multinational companies and the internationalization of domestic service suppliers. The future of the offshore services sector in Latin America will depend on its ability to upgrade its knowledge- and skill-intensive product offerings. This will call for the development of domestic technical capabilities, the adoption of renewed industrial policies, the promotion of backward and forward linkages, and the continued upgrading of human capital and information technology-integrated manufacturing.

Latin America's Emergence in Global Services

Latin America's Emergence in Global Services PDF Author: René A. Hernández
Publisher: UN
ISBN: 9789211218442
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 244

Get Book Here

Book Description
Business services have been one of the fatest growing export areas in emerging economies over the past decade. The spread of information and communication technologies and the rise in trade liberalization have facilitated the global unbundling and offshoring of services activities from advanced to developing countries, including those in Latin America. This offshoring has gradually evolved into more sophisticated forms of business process outsourcing. Several countries in the region are now in the process of further upgrading their services exports to participate in knowledge process outsourcing, which includes research and development, product development and more advanced vertical functions and activities in the value chain. The empirical and analytical insights in this volume document how several countries in Latin America have entered the offshore services sector both through the attraction of multinational companies and the internationalization of domestic service suppliers. The future of the offshore services sector in Latin America will depend on its ability to upgrade its knowledge- and skill-intensive product offerings. This will call for the development of domestic technical capabilities, the adoption of renewed industrial policies, the promotion of backward and forward linkages, and the continued upgrading of human capital and information technology-integrated manufacturing.

Economic Mobility and the Rise of the Latin American Middle Class

Economic Mobility and the Rise of the Latin American Middle Class PDF Author: Francisco H. G. Ferreira
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821397230
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description
After decades of stagnation, the size of Latin America's middle class recently expanded to the point where, for the first time ever, the number of people in poverty is equal to the size of the middle class. This volume investigates the nature, determinants and possible consequences of this remarkable process of social transformation. We propose an original definition of the middle class, tailor-made for Latin America, centered on the concept of economic security and thus a low probability of falling into poverty. Given our definition of the middle class, there are four, not three, classes in Latin America. Sandwiched between the poor and the middle class there lies a large group of people who appear to make ends meet well enough, but do not enjoy the economic security that would be required for membership of the middle class. We call this group the 'vulnerable'. In an almost mechanical sense, these transformations in Latin America reflect both economic growth and declining inequality in over the period. We adopt a measure of mobility that decomposes the 'gainers' and 'losers' in society by social class of each household. The continent has experienced a large amount of churning over the last 15 years, at least 43% of all Latin Americans changed social classes between the mid 1990s and the end of the 2000s. Despite the upward mobility trend, intergenerational mobility, a better proxy for inequality of opportunity, remains stagnant. Educational achievement and attainment remain to be strongly dependent upon parental education levels. Despite the recent growth in pro-poor programs, the middle class has benefited disproportionally from social security transfers and are increasingly opting out from government services. Central to the region's prospects of continued progress will be its ability to harness the new middle class into a new, more inclusive social contract, where the better-off pay their fair share of taxes, and demand improved public services.

Global Latin America

Global Latin America PDF Author: Matthew C. Gutmann
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520965949
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 375

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Book Description
Latin America is home to emerging global powers such as Brazil and Mexico and has important links to other titans including China, India, and Africa. Global Latin America examines a range of historical events and cultural forms in Latin America that continue to influence peoples’ lives far outside the region. Its innovative essays, interviews, and stories focus on insights from public intellectuals, political leaders, artists, academics, and activists from the region, allowing students to gain an appreciation of the global relevance of Latin America in the twenty-first century.

Employment in Crisis

Employment in Crisis PDF Author: Joana Silva
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464816913
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
A region known for its volatility, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has suffered severe economic and social setbacks from crises—including the COVID-19 pandemic. These crises have taken their toll on careers, wage growth, and productivity. Employment in Crisis: The Path to Better Jobs in a Post-COVID-19 Latin America provides new evidence on the effects of crises on the region’s workers and firms and suggests several policy responses that can bolster long-term and inclusive economic growth.This report has three key findings. First, crises lead to persistent employment losses and accelerate structural changes away from the formal sector. This change occurs more through reductions in the creation of formal jobs than through job destruction. Second, some workers recover from crises, while others are permanently scarred by them. Low-skilled workers can suffer up to a decade of lower earnings caused by crises, while high-skilled workers rebound fast, exacerbating the LAC region’s high level of inequality. Formal workers suffer smaller employment and wage losses in localities with higher rates of informality. And the reduced job flows caused by crises decrease welfare, but workers in localities with more job opportunities, whether formal or informal, bounce back better. Third, crises’ cleansing effects can increase efficiency and productivity, but these effects are dampened by the LAC region’s less competitive market structure. Rather than becoming more agile and productive during economic downturns, protected sectors and firms gain market share and crowd out others, trapping valuable resources.This report proposes a three-pronged mix of policies to improve the LAC region’s responses to crises:•Create a more stable macroeconomic environment to smooth the impacts of crises, including automatic stabilizers such as unemployment insurance and short-term compensation programs;•Increase the capacity of social protection and labor programs to respond to crises and coalesce these programs into systems that complement income support with reemployment assistance and reskilling opportunities; and•Tackle structural issues, including the lack of product market competition and the spatial dimension behind poor labor market adjustment—a “good jobs and good firms” agenda.

The Emergence of Latin American Science Fiction

The Emergence of Latin American Science Fiction PDF Author: Rachel Haywood Ferreira
Publisher: Wesleyan University Press
ISBN: 0819570834
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
A fantastic voyage through the early science fiction of Latin America Early science fiction has often been associated almost exclusively with Northern industrialized nations. In this groundbreaking exploration of the science fiction written in Latin America prior to 1920, Rachel Haywood Ferreira argues that science fiction has always been a global genre. She traces how and why the genre quickly reached Latin America and analyzes how writers in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico adapted science fiction to reflect their own realities. Among the texts discussed are one of the first defenses of Darwinism in Latin America, a tale of a time-traveling history book, and a Latin American Frankenstein. Latin American science fiction writers have long been active participants in the sf literary tradition, expanding the limits of the genre and deepening our perception of the role of science and technology in the Latin American imagination. The book includes a chronological bibliography of science fiction published from 1775 to 1920 in all Latin American countries.

Democracies and Dictatorships in Latin America

Democracies and Dictatorships in Latin America PDF Author: Scott Mainwaring
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107433630
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 371

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Book Description
This book presents a new theory for why political regimes emerge, and why they subsequently survive or break down. It then analyzes the emergence, survival and fall of democracies and dictatorships in Latin America since 1900. Scott Mainwaring and Aníbal Pérez-Liñán argue for a theoretical approach situated between long-term structural and cultural explanations and short-term explanations that look at the decisions of specific leaders. They focus on the political preferences of powerful actors - the degree to which they embrace democracy as an intrinsically desirable end and their policy radicalism - to explain regime outcomes. They also demonstrate that transnational forces and influences are crucial to understand regional waves of democratization. Based on extensive research into the political histories of all twenty Latin American countries, this book offers the first extended analysis of regime emergence, survival and failure for all of Latin America over a long period of time.

Latin America and the Global Cold War

Latin America and the Global Cold War PDF Author: Thomas C. Field Jr.
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469655705
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 437

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Book Description
Latin America and the Global Cold War analyzes more than a dozen of Latin America's forgotten encounters with Africa, Asia, and the Communist world, and by placing the region in meaningful dialogue with the wider Global South, this volume produces the first truly global history of contemporary Latin America. It uncovers a multitude of overlapping and sometimes conflicting iterations of Third Worldist movements in Latin America, offers insights for better understanding the region's past and possible futures, and challenges us to consider how the Global Cold War continues to inform Latin America's ongoing political struggles. Contributors: Miguel Serra Coelho, Thomas C. Field Jr., Sarah Foss, Michelle Getchell, Eric Gettig, Alan McPherson, Stella Krepp, Eline van Ommen, Eugenia Palieraki, Vanni Pettina, Tobias Rupprecht, David M. K. Sheinin, Christy Thornton, Miriam Elizabeth Villanueva, and Odd Arne Westad.

Privatization in Latin America

Privatization in Latin America PDF Author: Alberto Chong
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821383507
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 530

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Book Description
Privatization is under attack. Beginning in the 1980s, thousands of failing state-owned enterprises worldwide have been turned over to the private sector. But public opinion has turned against privatization. A large political backlash has been brewing for some time, infused by accusations of corruption, abuse of market power, and neglect of the poor. What is the real record of privatization and are the criticisms justified? 'Privatization in Latin America' evaluates the empirical evidence on privatization in a region that has witnessed an extensive decline in the state's share of production over the past 20 years. The book is a compilation of recent studies that provide a comprehensive analysis of the record of and accusations against privatization, with important recommendations for the future. Seven countries are investigated: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. This book will be vital to anyone interested in the privatization debate but especially to those involved in civil service reform, corporate governance, economic policy, finance, and anticorruption efforts. 'Privatization is important but controversial. While economists typically favor it, others are skeptical. This book provides strong scientific evidence that privatization has been beneficial for many Latin American countries, although some privatizations failed and some groups in society lost out. As usual, the devil is in the details: how privatization is carried out and what reforms accompany it are crucial to its success. The book is definitely an invaluable contribution to the privatization debate.' --Oliver Hart, Andrew E. Furer Professor of Economics, Harvard University

Toward a Global History of Latin America’s Revolutionary Left

Toward a Global History of Latin America’s Revolutionary Left PDF Author: Tanya Harmer
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 1683402839
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
This volume showcases new research on the global reach of Latin American revolutionary movements during the height of the Cold War, mapping out the region’s little-known connections with Africa, Asia, and Europe. Toward a Global History of Latin America’s Revolutionary Left offers insights into the effect of international collaboration on the identities, ideologies, strategies, and survival of organizers and groups. Featuring contributions from historians working in six different countries, this collection includes chapters on Cuba’s hosting of the 1966 Tricontinental Conference that brought revolutionary movements together; Czechoslovakian intelligence’s logistical support for revolutionaries; the Brazilian Left’s search for recognition in Cuba and China; the central role played by European publishing houses in disseminating news from Latin America; Italian support for Brazilian guerrilla insurgents; Spanish ties with Nicaragua’s revolution; and the solidarity of European networks with Guatemala’s Guerrilla Army of the Poor. Through its expansive geographical perspectives, this volume positions Latin America as a significant force on the international stage of the 1960s and 1970s. It sets a new research agenda that will guide future study on leftist movements, transnational networks, and Cold War history in the region. Contributor:s José Manuel Ágreda Portero | Van Gosse | James G. Hershberg | Gerardo Leibner | Blanca Mar León | Eduardo Rey Tristán | Arturo Taracena Arriola | Michal Zourek

At a Crossroads

At a Crossroads PDF Author: María Marta Ferreyra
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 146481015X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
Higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean has expanded dramatically in the past 15 years, as the average gross enrollment rate has more than doubled, and many new institutions and programs have been opened. Although higher education access has become more equitable, and higher education supply has become more varied, many of the 'new' students in the system are, on average, less academically ready than are their more advantaged counterparts. Furthermore, only half of higher education students, on average, complete their degree, and labor market returns to higher education vary greatly across institutions and programs. Thus, higher education is at a crossroads today.Given the region's urgency to raise productivity in a low-growth, fiscally constrained environment, going past this crossroads requires the formation of skilled human capital fast and efficiently. 'At a Crossroads: Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean' contributes to the discussion by studying quality, variety, and equity of higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean. The book presents comprehensive evidence on the recent higher education expansion and evolution of higher education labor market returns. Using novel data and state-of-the-art methods, it studies demand and supply drivers of the recent expansion. It investigates the behavior of institutions and students and explores the unintended consequences of large-scale higher education policies. Framing the analysis are the singular characteristics of the higher education market and the market segmentation induced by the variety of students and institutions in the system. At this crossroads, a role emerges for incentives, information, accountability, and choice.