We’ve all heard about health benefits of “super foods” such as quinoa, chia, and amaranth, but how many of us know the stories behind the companies that make it possible for us to buy these products? Find out more about a surprising company that managed to cross borders with the help of ConnectAmericas, the online platform run by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to … [Read more...] about From the Andes to the World: How a Peruvian Company Conquered Global Value Chains
Regional Integration
How trade, investment and cooperation between Japan and Latin America and the Caribbean can inspire our future trade relationship with Asia
From the perspective of Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) trade, the first decade of the 21st century was all about Asia. Driven by China’s strong growth and soaring demand for natural resources, trade between LAC and Asia grew at an annual average rate of 24 percent between 2003 and 2011. However, this once-dynamic relationship has now encountered serious headwinds. Trade … [Read more...] about How trade, investment and cooperation between Japan and Latin America and the Caribbean can inspire our future trade relationship with Asia
Indirect Exports: A Simple Route to Internationalization for SMEs?
In practically every country in the world, the percentage of large companies that export is much higher than the share of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that do so. This is due, among other factors, to the fact that large companies tend to have higher profit margins than SMEs and can thus underwrite the additional costs associated with the export process (e.g., … [Read more...] about Indirect Exports: A Simple Route to Internationalization for SMEs?
How Will New Technologies Impact Integration in Latin America?
Handling large volumes of information that are constantly being updated is one of the major challenges that we will be facing in the near future. Large companies use big data techniques every day to get to know their consumers better and to hone their marketing strategies. Countries are also using big data to update their investment attraction policies and promote trade … [Read more...] about How Will New Technologies Impact Integration in Latin America?
Local or Imported? What Behavioral Economics Has to Say about Integration
Pepsi or Coca-Cola? In 2003, the neuroscientist Read Montague at Virginia Tech relaunched the so-called cola wars between the world’s two best-known soft drinks when he invited volunteers to compare the taste of the two. Just like the first time the two brands faced off in a blind taste test, back in 1975, over half the volunteers claimed they preferred the taste of Pepsi, a … [Read more...] about Local or Imported? What Behavioral Economics Has to Say about Integration