In January 2024, a major flood from Batang Merao River occurred in Sungai Penuh City, submerging residential areas and agricultural land to a depth of 0.5–1.5 m. One of the most severely impacted areas was Hamparan Rawang District with a total of 3985 houses and 866.025 ha of agricultural land inundated. This research aims to identify effective flood management alternatives to reduce inundation area and mitigate flood losses. The research was carried out through hydrological analysis, hydraulic analysis using HEC-RAS, and loss analysis using the ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) method. The study found that with Q25 discharges of 48.34 m³/s upstream and 720.62 m³/s downstream, an existing inundation area of 968.64 ha occurred, resulting in total losses of IDR 95.239 billion. Therefore, two flood management scenarios were developed, scenario 1 (river normalization) and scenario 2 (combination of river normalization and retention pond). Modeling results showed the inundation area under scenario 1 was 802.78 ha, reduce losses to IDR 43.604 billion (45.78% reduction). Under scenario 2, the inundation area was 780.51 ha, reduce losses to IDR 42,001 billion (44.10% reduction). Scenario 2 is effective for reducing inundation area, but for reducing financial losses, scenario 1 is more effective.

Nicholas Kaldor is widely recognized for his seminal contributions to post-Keynesian growth theory. However, his intellectual trajectory reveals a significant transition from formal, full-employment-based growth models (such as those from 1957–1958) to a robust focus on the problems of development economics. This paper investigates the catalysts for this evolution, hypothesizing a probable role for Kaldor's interactions with Raúl Prebisch and the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA). The analysis traces the shift in Kaldorian thought, arguing that his 1956 visit to ECLA and his consulting experiences in developing countries (notably Chile) had an impact. We demonstrate how Kaldor progressively incorporated key elements of the structuralist agenda, including a critique of comparative advantage, the advocacy of industrialization as the engine of growth (based on increasing returns), the importance of balance-of-payments constraints, and the analysis of structural inflation. The article concludes that the dialogue with Prebisch and ECLA was part of Kaldor's transition from an economics of "growth" to an economics of "development".

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 2.7 million companies closed, and with-it unemployment worldwide increased 25%, 18.6% for The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD-OCDE) and The Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA-CEPAL) countries, and 26.9% for Mexico. Therefore, the workforce presented difficulties in assessing employment, which forced them as an option to join informal employment, which grew on average by 59% during the pandemic. Given this scenario, [1] [2] entrepreneurship is a a real alternative to create jobs and promote economic development. However, they require an ecosystem as a linking agent to collaborate with its materialization, permanence and success in the market. Therefore, a descriptive study was carried out applying to 384 public and private universities in the 32 states of Mexico, to identify the actors with which universities are linked through incubators

Gender inequality in science remains a persistent phenomenon with deep historical roots and continues to be shaped by structural barriers that limit women’s participation, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean, but also in other regions of the world. Throughout the centuries, women have been marginalised, rendered invisible, and systematically excluded from scientific production, despite their valuable contributions. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN ECLAC) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) (2024) [1, 2], this inequality is sustained by four structural knots: socioeconomic inequality and poverty, the sexual division of labour, the concentration of power, and patriarchal cultural norms. These factors have shaped and reinforced women’s exclusion from decision making and leadership spaces, perpetuating the dominance of “boys’ clubs” in science. Intergenerational belonging to these closed structures has consolidated a distorted perception of intellectual potential, where talent and capability have been wrongly associated with gender rather than merit. In light of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Regional Gender Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean (Gender Indicators 2023), this presentation will examine the transformation of the scientific community into a space that is psychologically and emotionally healthier, as well as more inclusive and diverse for today’s and tomorrow’s global scientific diaspora.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 2.7 million companies closed, and with-it unemployment worldwide increased 25%, 18.6% for The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD-OCDE) and The Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA-CEPAL) countries, and 26.9% for Mexico. Therefore, the workforce presented difficulties in assessing employment, which forced them as an option to join informal employment, which grew on average by 59% during the pandemic. Given this scenario, (OCDE, 2021)(CEPAL, 2018) entrepreneurship is a a real alternative to create jobs and promote economic development. However, they require an ecosystem as a linking agent to collaborate with its materialization, permanence and success in the market. Therefore, a descriptive study was carried out applying to 384 public and private universities in the 32 states of Mexico, to identify the actors with which universities are linked through incubators.

This article seeks to deepen discussions on dependency and public fund in the Brazilian and Latin American contexts. It assumes that the capital cycle in dependent economies presents peculiarities due to the massive presence of foreign capital and the role of the state, which must ensure instruments and conditions for the reproduction of capital internally and the maintenance of value transfers to central countries. In this context, the export-oriented pattern of productive specialization and the characteristics of economic policy that support this pattern of capital reproduction are discussed. Methodological procedures include a bibliographic survey on public fund, dependency, and taxation, and qualitative and quantitative data were mobilized from reports by the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service (RFB), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (DIEESE), and data extracted from The Atlas of Economic Complexity. The analysis shows that the collection and allocation of public fund are impacted by overexploitation and value transfers, with taxation used to favor the extractive and rentier sectors of elites historically uninterested in national development or stimulating the domestic market. The conclusion is that asserting sovereignty requires a plan to overcome dependency, limiting value transfers and keeping rent within national economies, socializing the wealth currently concentrated among local and foreign elites.

This article presents an ontological and pragmatic analysis of the development of public policies in education, physical activity, and sports—key spheres of social life in South American nations. It covers essential aspects of policy design and implementation processes, with a focus on public financing and its relationship with outcomes. The objective was to describe the regularities in the design and implementation process of public policies in education and sports in the region. The study included six countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru), utilizing bibliographic, content, and statistical analysis based on data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in the period 2001-2020. The findings indicate that secondary education coverage levels, educational investment, and recreational and sports processes remain inadequate in the region, with uneven performance across countries. Relationships between secondary education coverage and public spending were determined through linear regression analysis. The lack of robust data complicated the analysis, representing a significant limitation for the effective design, implementation, and monitoring of public policies.

Abstract Based on an analysis of the social organization of early childhood care in Chile and Uruguay, as well as the agreements systematically adopted in the Regional Gender Agenda in Latin America, this article presents an analytical framework for future research on advances in comprehensive care systems focused on early childhood. It considers three components of the care agenda: care leave policies, early childhood education and care services, and paid domestic work. This exploratory analysis is grounded in five principles systematized by UN Women and the Economic Commission for Latin America for the consolidation of comprehensive care systems. Specific indicators were applied to analyze policies, secondary, and contextual data. We identified varying levels of progress in the construction of these systems in each country, analyzed their advances, and discussed to what extent the analytical exercise proved useful in examining public policies for early childhood from a care perspective.

The 2022 Sylhet flood significantly impacted the economy of Sunamganj District in northeastern Bangladesh, revealing inadequate local resilience despite familiarity with flash floods. This study investigates vulnerability across six subdistricts in Sunamganj using the Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI). Vulnerability factors: adaptive capacity, sensitivity, and exposure, are assessed through 34 indicators grouped into seven components: socio-demographics, livelihood, social network, health, food, water, and natural disasters. The range of LVI varies depending on the calculation method: when using the composite index, it spans from 0 to 1, while using the IPCC’s factors, it ranges from − 1 to + 1, both representing different levels of vulnerability. The composite index model yields LVI values of 0.555 to 0.610, and LVIipcc values range from 0.066 to 0.129, both indicating significant vulnerability. A rigorous damage and loss assessment has been conducted for the study area to determine monetary losses, employing ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) and D-form (Damage and Loss Assessment Form) methodologies. The study found agriculture, housing, business, and transport as damage sectors, and agriculture, housing, business, transport, income, and health as loss sectors. Agriculture and housing bore the brunt, with average per-upazila damage exceeding 8 million BDT (Bangladeshi Taka) and loss of over 3 million BDT, totalling over 11 million BDT. LVI values correlated with average damage and loss, revealing proportional vulnerability. Vulnerability indicators to flash floods include lack of preparedness, training, disaster management knowledge, and assistance accessibility. Strengthening community connectivity, preparedness, early warning dissemination, and reconstruction assistance can reduce vulnerability significantly.

This paper examines the tourism value-added chain across nine Latin American countries, assessing tourism’s economic impact across industries and borders. It highlights interactions among service providers (lodging, transportation, hospitality) and distribution intermediaries (tour operators, travel agents, online platforms) that generate complex economic flows. Using data from the Tourism Satellite Accounts of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, and Paraguay, and trade information from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s (ECLAC) multi-country Input-Output matrix, the study approximates Latin America’s tourism value-added chain. An adapted methodology enables the simultaneous analysis of multiple countries, providing insights into their roles within global tourism flows. The results lay a foundation for policies promoting economic inclusion in the tourism sector.

This book review essay analyses and builds on the work of Margarita Fajardo on the history of the establishment of the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC)2 and the growth and decline of its influence in the region and around the world in the two decades following its founding.

Abstract This article examines the pioneering contributions of a generation of women civil servants, diplomats, and intellectuals—referred to as Cepalinas—to economic thought at the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) between the late 1960s and early 1980s. These women experts, including statisticians, economists, sociologists, and demographers, played a critical role in reshaping CEPAL’s development agenda by advocating for the integration of gender perspectives into regional policies. Through extensive fieldwork and data collection, they highlighted the economic and social contributions of women, particularly those from marginalised communities, and challenged the prevailing male-dominated models of development. Despite the progress made following the 1975 UN International Conference on Women, the Cepalinas often remained on the periphery of institutional power and have been largely overlooked in the historiography. This article brings their work to the forefront, analysing their publications and mission reports to reveal how their efforts transformed both the Commission’s economic frameworks and broader global development policies.

Background Trade openness shows a positive impact on economic growth, supported by economic theory, and export diversification and economic complexity show a positive dynamic in trade openness in the world; however, a specificity is generated in South American countries. Therefore, the objective of the research is to analyse the macroeconomic determinants of trade openness in Latin American countries. Methods The research approach was quantitative and explanatory using panel data methodology from the databases of the World Bank, Harvard University and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean for the period 2000-2020. Results The fixed effects panel data model showed that the variables that had a negative impact on trade openness were GDP, the economic complexity index and the logistic performance index, while the variables that had a positive impact were exports of high-tech products (a proxy for innovation), exports, imports, research and development expenditure and interregional trade in goods. Conclusions Therefore, during the analysis period of 2000-2020 in South America, based on the panel data analysis under fixed effects, a total of 8 countries had a negative impact on trade openness, and only the economies of Chile, French Guiana, and Brazil had a positive impact on trade openness; these economies are characterized by their better performance in the economic complexity index, their higher percentage of budget for research and development expenses, and their trade policies oriented towards the industrialization of their value-added products.

Margarita Fajardo, The World That Latin America Created: The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America in the Development Era

The World that Latin America Created: The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America in the Development Era by Margarita Fajardo (review)

ABSTRACT Furtado, one of the founding fathers of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), can be considered both a classical developmentalist and an ECLACian. However, in view of the independence and originality with which he analyzed the problem of underdevelopment, leading to exhaustion his emphasis on historical, economic, and social particularities in the formulation of explanatory theories of development and the tendency to stagnation in periphery countries, it is acceptable to surrender to the pleonasm that Furtado bequeathed a Furtadian theory of development. This paper analyses Furtado’s main thesis on underdevelopment, development, and stagnation. The study has two main contributions: first, to emphasize that, by having formulated an analytical approach in which underdevelopment and development are strongly conditioned by historical and social factors, Furtado’s theory is still relevant for understanding many economic problems of periphery countries like Brazil and other Latin American countries today; and second, which is my another contribution, to show that it was Furtado (and not other economists) who, by investigating the issue of natural resources abundance in the Venezuelan economy at the end of the 1950s, pioneeringly elaborated a refined theory on the phenomenon that would later be termed the “Dutch disease” and “the resource curse”.

This article is focused on the hypotheses of Raúl Prebisch and Hans Singer regarding the centre-periphery model, which is the cornerstone of development theory for peripheral countries. The article emphasizes aspects of theory and policy related to the political economy of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) from the early 1950s to the present. It shows how, since the 1980s, ECLAC economists —influenced by evolving neo-Schumpeterian models and equipped with sophisticated microeconomic instruments— have undertaken a critical appraisal of the import substitution model in Latin America while retaining Raúl Prebisch’s original hypotheses on the external forces restricting the economic development of peripheral countries.

The research examines the development of Electronic Government (EG) in Ecuador between 2018 and 2022, aiming to assess progress in the digitalization of public administration in the country and identify remaining challenges. A multidimensional model is applied, which measures Electronic Government as outlined by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL), examining fundamental aspects such as access to public information, citizen participation, online services, regulatory framework, and technological infrastructure. To collect representative data for this study, various questionnaires were administered as part of the methodology, targeting both public institutions and citizens. Additionally, the study highlights progress in areas such as simplifying administrative procedures, enhancing electronic channels to foster greater citizen engagement, and investments in technological infrastructure, which have facilitated access to online services and reduced the digital divide. Despite these advancements, challenges remain in implementing policies that ensure information security and user privacy, while also recognizing the need for a secure regulatory framework. In conclusion, Ecuador has made significant strides toward inclusive and efficient digital government in the long term, yet the research underscores the importance of consolidating policies and regulations by the State to sustain these advances.

Raúl Prebisch and Celso Furtado were two important contributors to development economics and to the theories and policies defended by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC). In this article, we argue that understanding their ideas, and how industrialization became a key concern, requires paying closer attention to the geopolitical changes brought by World War II. We discuss how Argentina and Brazil, their home countries, navigated the troubled waters brought by the war and the international trade disruptions and turned state-led industrialization into a key development strategy. After the war, the United States became the new hegemonic power and adopted a universalist foreign policy, based on the newly created international agencies. At home, the internationalist businessmen promoted the partnership capitalism that became central to the foreign policy during the Truman administration and onward, making industrialization a key interest. Internationalism was also what Latin American countries used to counteract the US hegemony even before the war, which culminated in the creation of ECLAC after the war. The intellectual paths of Prebisch and Furtado toward industrialization policies were shaped by the changing international order and by local developments in their countries including the building of a more scientific statistical system that would better help the state to design development policies.

Background Trade openness shows a positive impact on economic growth, supported by economic theory, and export diversification and economic complexity show a positive dynamic in trade openness in the world; however, a specificity is generated in South American countries. Therefore, the objective of the research is to analyse the macroeconomic determinants of trade openness in Latin American countries. Methods The research approach was quantitative and explanatory using panel data methodology from the databases of the World Bank, Harvard University and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean for the period 2000-2020. Results The fixed effects panel data model showed that the variables that had a negative impact on trade openness were GDP, the economic complexity index and the logistic performance index, while the variables that had a positive impact were exports of high-tech products (a proxy for innovation), exports, imports, research and development expenditure and interregional trade in goods. Conclusions Therefore, during the analysis period of 2000-2020 in South America, based on the panel data analysis under fixed effects, a total of 8 countries had a negative impact on trade openness, and only the economies of Chile, French Guiana, and Brazil had a positive impact on trade openness; these economies are characterized by their better performance in the economic complexity index, their higher percentage of budget for research and development expenses, and their trade policies oriented towards the industrialization of their value-added products.