A Mexican spends his days in his tiny room in Tijuana trying to control the flight path of a helicopter by hacking it using an Arduino board that he bought for less than US$20. In Buenos Aires, a teenager discovers he can manufacture prosthetic hands at a very low cost with the help of a 3D printer. In Peru, a woman who has not yet turned 30 dreams of helping unemployed women … [Read more...] about Integration and Innovation: the Creative Economy Boom
Regional Integration
Why Are We Celebrating the Entry into Force of the Additional Trade Protocol to the Pacific Alliance?
Ever since the presidents of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru signed the Framework Agreement for the Pacific Alliance in June 2012 at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, the four countries have been hard at work to create an area of deep integration in Latin America that will increase trade openness, boost competitiveness, and foster growth. May 1, 2016, marked the coming … [Read more...] about Why Are We Celebrating the Entry into Force of the Additional Trade Protocol to the Pacific Alliance?
Why is export diversification so urgent?
Recent estimates have revealed that in 2015, exports from Latin America and the Caribbean decreased at an annualized rate of 14%, the greatest contraction recorded since the trade collapse of 2009. This trend is affecting not only the region but the global economy as a whole. As a result, economists have begun to wonder if global trade has reached a peak that points to a change … [Read more...] about Why is export diversification so urgent?
What does integration mean for Latin Americans?
What do Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela have in common, apart from being members of the MERCOSUR? The fact that they are all countries where, as in Ecuador, there is significant public demand for greater integration with the world. Thanks to the new alliance between the Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean (INTAL) and Latinobarómetro (link … [Read more...] about What does integration mean for Latin Americans?
Infrastructure, Trade, and Integration: the Case of the Pacific Alliance
A study published in 2013 by the IDB showed that high internal transport costs are a conditioning factor for exports in Latin America. They also encourage the concentration of economic activity and limit regional integration. These high internal transport costs are caused by limited investments in transportation infrastructure, the region’s challenging geography, and the type … [Read more...] about Infrastructure, Trade, and Integration: the Case of the Pacific Alliance