MARCH 1999
No. 3

1 Natural disasters
and their impact
on the region

1 The inevitableof
restructuring
state-run ports

2 Latin America
OPINION

and globalization

4 The problem

HIGHLIGHTS

of traffic congestion

5
7 Prospects for investment
in Argentinian gas and oil
INDICATORS

8
8

I

n 1998, Latin America
and the Caribbean
suffered the onslaughts
of nature as rarely before in
the region’s history. “El Niño”
once again struck several
countries, possibly with greater
force than at any time since
the mid-sixteenth century. In
September, Hurricane Georges
lashed several Caribbean
islands, and a month later
Hurricane Mitch ravaged
Central America in the worst
natural disaster suffered by
some of the countries of the
isthmus this century. The
scale of these disasters, and
the kinds of damage they
caused, showed the region’s
extreme vulnerability to such
events and underlined the
indissoluble link between

development, environmental
sustainability and the risk of
catastrophic damage.
The governments most
affected by these disasters
approached ECLAC –either
directly or through the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP)– for advice in
assessing damage and working
out proposals for rehabilitation
and reconstruction. Missions
co-ordinated by ECLAC were
sent to seven countries. Each of
these missions prepared a
detailed report for the government in question, based on a
methodology developed by the
Commission over more than 25
years of work analysing the socio-economic effects of natural
disasters.
The Pacific coasts of South

America, Central America and
the Caribbean are particularly
prone to natural catastrophes. In
the early 1990s it was estimated
that hydro-meteorological,
seismic and vulcanological
disasters caused losses of at least
US$ 1.5 billion annually in the
subregion, and claimed nearly
6,000 lives. ECLAC’s reports to
the governments therefore put
special emphasis on the need to
draw lessons from these most
recent, and especially severe,
events.
El Niño struck first. The
product of alternating warm and
cold temperatures in the Pacific
Ocean, it affected the region
with unusual intensity from the
first quarter of 1997, causing
damage in the Andean region
(continued on page 3

)

RECENT TITLES
CALENDAR

This publication is also available
in Spanish and on the Internet:
www.eclac.cl

United Nations

E C L A C
Economic Commission for
Latin America and the Caribbean

1

NATURAL DISASTERS
AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE REGION

THE INEVITABLE RESTRUCTURING
OF STATE-RUN PORTS

S

tate-run ports in the developing countries
are in crisis. Many of them are bureaucratic and corrupt, as a result of excessive
regulation, too many dockworkers, involvement
by governments as owners, operators and
administrators, and because they are seen as
sources of political power and part of national
defences.
But the advent of a globalized economy, the
adoption of export-oriented macroeconomic
policies and advances in technology all make it
essential for ports to break free of restrictions
that render them uncompetitive. Restructuring
is inevitable and must take place in accordance
with market laws.

This is the central argument of the book,
Privatización portuaria: bases, opciones y consecuencias (Port Privatization: Bases, Options
and Consequences), by Larry Burkhalter, chief
of ECLAC’s Transport Unit and one of the
region’s leading specialists on ports. Burkhalter
argues that the changes currently taking place
are so far-reaching that they are bringing about
structural changes affecting ports, their clients
and the functions of government.
The dilemma for state-run ports is that they
are required to function as commercial enterprises, while being treated as fiscal entities subject
to control in areas ranging from operations to
(continued on page 6

)

O P I N I O N
LATIN AMERICA AND GLOBALIZATION
RICARDO FFRENCH DAVIS

E

n recent years, the world
economy has been undergoing
intensive globalization. This offers
opportunities for development, but also
limits the scope of national policies.
Many reforms and different modes of
relationship with the outside world are
being adopted across the planet in the
name of globalization.
But to jump to the conclusion that
this means the “end of geography” or
“the end of history” is misguided and
risky. Globalization is intense, but
partial; heterogeneous and unequal. It is
not new, and has experienced marked
ups and downs over time. In some
respects it has gone too far and, in
others, not far enough.
International trade and foreign direct
investment (FDI) are still notoriously
less than domestic trade and national
investment. World FDI, for example,
represents under 10% of investment in
production, while exports make up only
some 15% of world GDP.
Patterns of consumption have
become more uniform, but not
consumption levels. Average incomes in
Latin America are 80% lower than in
the developed countries; and since
inequality is obviously greater here than
there, most people in the middle and
lower classes of our countries are even
further removed from their counterparts
in the developed nations.
At the same time, we are again
witnessing one of the recurrent crises
and waves of destabilization that afflict
the world economy. How far we are
from the end of history, and how many
tasks of construction and change await
us if we are to progress towards the
future!

Globalization undoubtedly offers
many opportunities, but it also brings
dangers of national disintegration and
exacerbated inequality. If carried out
ideologically, the result is that the
highest-income sectors in our countries
become more and more integrated into
the most developed economies, while
our societies disintegrate in the process.
As a result, it is completely true that
our countries should continue to
promote trade and greater integration
into the world economy. But this is not

Globalization undoubtedly
offers many opportunities,
but it also brings dangers
of national disintegration.
a panacea, nor an end in itself; there is
no single way of going about it, and it is
not without costs and risks. This is why
the exact nature of national policies and
national, and regional, integration
efforts is so important.
The great challenge for Latin
America is to move ahead with
globalization while strengthening
national integration, affirming the
region’s identity, filtering out
destabilizing elements and, as a matter
of priority, selecting those factors that
help improve the quality of life and
bring about integral and equitable
development.
This is no easy task. The region
faces four challenges in relation to
economic globalization:
1. Finding ways of increasing its
presence in foreign markets that will
also enhance internal integration and

stimulate a more equitable
distribution of productivity.
2. Exporting more goods, but
better. The recent experience of small
economies shows that the advantages
of specialization and scale offered by
exports have been one of the main
driving factors behind their success.
Our exports, however, are still very
much based on traditional natural
resources, whose prices are falling
and unstable.
3. Concentrating on Latin
American integration. Today, there
are signs of economic and political
danger in the region. But its potential
for future growth, rich in reciprocal
exports of increasing added value, is
enormous.
4. Achieving sustainable
macroeconomic stability as a basis
for development. Put briefly, this
means that instead of opting passively
for indiscriminate unilateral
liberalization, we can act positively to
improve the quality of our integration
into the international economy and,
within our national economies, create a
more favourable environment for
investment in production and increased
productivity (which should also be
better distributed in the world of
labour and among small and
medium-sized enterprises). Such an
effort requires sustainable
macroeconomic balances, functional
for development, and a will to move
forward in developing markets in
long-term capital, technology and
workforce training.
The author is the Chief Regional Adviser to ECLAC.

2

Natural disasters...

Breakdown of damage caused by
Hurricane Mitch in Central America, 1998
USM$3,739.6
1.23%
Environment
Production
Infrastructure and services
Social sector
69.00%

USM$
978.7
USM$
USM$
USM$
0.87%
747.8
398.1
92.5
18.19%
37.36%
0.68%
1.76%
0.0%
77.40%
34.44%
11.58%

Honduras

3

27.33%

Nicaragua

70.13%

69.0%

15.49%

18.66%

27.1%

6.43%

9.44%

3.86%

Guatemala

El Salvador

Costa Rica

80.49%

Overview of the damage caused by Hurricane Mitch in Central America, 1998

No. of dead
No. of injured

48.83%

% of the population affected

Honduras

Damage as % of GDP

Nicaragua

Guatemala

amounted to the equivalent of 14% of the
country’s gross domestic product in 1997
and nearly half that year’s exports.
But the most concentrated destruction
was caused in Central America by Hurricane
Mitch, which affected Honduras, Nicaragua,
El Salvador, Guatemala and Costa Rica,
killing 9,214 people, injuring 12,845 and
affecting 10.9% of the population of this
area, which is only just beginning to recover
from decades of armed conflict. Missions
coordinated by ECLAC analysed the
situation in all of these countries, estimating
direct and indirect damage at US$ 6 billion.
Honduras was the country worst affected.
Mitch raged over its territory for more than
two days, causing rivers to flood to levels
unseen this century. The storm took a toll of
5,657 lives, 12,275 injured and had primary
or secondary effects on more than 24.2% of
the population, the highest figure for any
disaster in the country’s history. Estimated
damage amounted to nearly US$ 4 billion,
the equivalent of 80.5% of GDP, with
agricultural production and the transport
sector especially affected.
In Nicaragua, there were 3,045 deaths
and an initial count of 867,000 people
affected. Damage amounted to US$ 988
million, equivalent to 48.8% of GDP. In
Guatemala and El Salvador, the impact was
numerically less, with 268 and 240 deaths
respectively, more than 730,000 people
affected in the first country and 346,910 in

El Salvador

0.95%

0.6%

4
3

2.34%

5.7%

240
n.a.

4.19%

6.3%

280

268

19.5%

3,045
287

24.2%

that has so far exceeded US$ 7.54 billion.
In Ecuador, excessive rainfall (which in
the port of Guayaquil reached an annual
total of over 4000 millimetres, a level
occurring only once every 500 years) caused
flooding, destroyed crops and town centres,
triggered landslides, harmed marine fauna
and gave rise to a wave of migration with
far-reaching consequences. Sixty percent
of the population suffered a deterioration in
living conditions and 286 people died.
Damage is estimated at US$ 2.87 billion and
will produce a drop of US$ 660 million in
the balance of payments, as well as a fall in
the growth rate from 3.5% to 1.0%.
In Costa Rica, an estimated 65% of the
population was indirectly affected, while
27% suffered more severe hardship.
Damage amounted to US$ 91 million,
affecting agriculture, animal husbandry and
fishing most of all.
Hurricane Georges was the most
destructive of ten tropical cyclones that
formed between August and September in
the Atlantic Caribbean region. With winds
of up to 150 miles per hour, it crossed the
islands of Antigua and Puerto Rico, then hit
the Dominican Republic, where it caused
235 deaths, injured another 595 people,
created 300,000 refugees and left damage
estimated at US$ 2.19 billion. The next day,
it continued its path of destruction in Haiti,
Cuba and the state of Florida in the USA.
Damage in the Dominican Republic

12,275

)

5,657

(from page 1

Costa Rica

the second, and damage amounting to US$
748 million and US$ 398 million. But the
consequences for society and production are
worse than the figures suggest, given the
stage of reconstruction and reconciliation
reached by these countries in their processes
of pacification and democratization.
The reports include estimates of damage
and reconstruction costs by sector. The effects
of the disasters on the environment are also
analysed and a financial value placed on
damage to the countries’ natural reserves.
Finally, each report includes a series of
projects by sector, intended to cover the two
stages of rehabilitation and reconstruction.
ECLAC stresses that contributions from
the international community will be necessary if these goals are to be achieved, as they
are beyond the capacity of the countries
themselves. Just as many countries sent
practical aid in the immediate aftermath of
the disasters, their continued solidarity and
that of the world’s financial organ-izations,
through foreign debt relief and other means,
will be vital in the future. There will also
be a need for cooperation with subregional
projects in Central America aimed at
reducing the area’s vulnerability to natural
disasters of all kinds.

For more information on documents relating to these
natural disasters in Latin America, consult the ECLAC
Document Distribution Unit, publications@eclac.cl.

H I G H L I G H T S

THE PROBLEM OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION
IAN THOMSON

T

raffic congestion is not a new problem, but in the
last few years it has worsened considerably in
many Latin American and the Caribbean cities, due
to a substantial increase in the ownership and use of
cars. No adequate solution to the problem has yet been
found. The best approach appears to consist in a package of measures.
Macroeconomic changes in the region have brought
vehicle prices down, while raising the incomes of many
citizens, especially the middle class. Many people are now
in a position to buy a car for the first time in their lives, if
only second-hand.
In cities such as Lima or Santiago, the number of
vehicles on the road has grown by almost 9% a year. In
1996, there were 3.77 million cars registered in the
Municipality of Sao Paulo, a ratio of 0.37 per person, similar to that in some cities in the industrialized countries.
Traffic flow in Sao Paulo now reaches an average speed of
no more than 19 kph at any time of day; and at peak times
this is obviously much less.

Who is worst affected?
Those most affected by increasing traffic belong to two
groups: a relatively small number of wealthy citizens who
are now having to share limited road space with the new
motorists; and the great majority who continue to travel by
bus, either because they do not have a car or driving licence,
or because they have nowhere to park.
For this second group, congestion is costly not only in
time but also in money, since the lower productivity of
buses, drivers and conductors is translated into higher fares.
In practically all of the region’s larger cities, more people
still travel by bus than by car.
The root of the problem lies in the fact that when a
vehicle enters an already congested road it delays others,
thus increasing maintenance and fuel costs and, above all,
wasting more time. In cities such as Lima or Santiago, the
value placed on their personal time by motorists is as much
as US$ 8 an hour. While all motorists incur increased costs
for others, they do not pay the marginal social cost for their
occupation of the road. In other words, there is no efficient
system of charging for road use.

The merits and complexities of road tolls
Road use charges became a possible option some thirty
years ago, with the appearance of electronic mechanisms
for toll collection. But it is very hard to obtain legislative
authority to implement this solution. In London the issue
has been debated for more than twenty years. A British
Government White Paper published in 1998 proposed that
urban local authorities should be able to charge for the use
of congested roads, but nothing has yet been done to put
this into practice.
In 1991, the Chilean Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications submitted a bill to Congress to authorize
road tolls. In 1996, the Chamber of Deputies approved an
amended version of the bill, but at the end of 1998 it was
still being studied by various Senate committees.
Some objections to road tolls are mistaken, but others
are valid. The criticism that they extend the principle of
marginal cost pricing to road-use but not to other scarce urban
resources, such as green spaces, is especially pertinent.
Rates of motor vehicle ownership in selected countries
in Latin America and the Caribbean,
and the industrialized world, 1998
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Ecuador
El Salvador
Haiti
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Paraguay
Dominican Rep.
Germany
Australia
Austria
Canada
Denmark
Spain
U.S.A.
France
Italy
Japan
Portugal
United Kingdom
Sweden
0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

No. of vehicles
0.8 per person

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 1998, World Bank,
Washington D.C., 1998.

4

INDICATORS
Rate of car ownership in different cities in Latin America
No. of cars
0.40
per person
0.35
0.30
0.25

Road tolls should be introduced together with measures to
ensure they do not lead to any deterioration of the urban environment, such as the destruction of green areas or of older buildings of
architectural importance, by making space available for new roads
or encouraging urban activity to spread beyond traditionally
congested areas.

The author is an urban transport economist with the Transport Unit of ECLAC.

5

Sao Paulo (1996)

Santiago (1997)

Rio de Janeiro (1996)

0.00

Mexico City (1995)

0.05

Lima (1996)

0.10

Curitiba (1996)

0.15

What should not be done
New road building, a measure frequently suggested to relieve rush-hour traffic congestion, is definitely not a solution. The
extra capacity tends to be used by motorists who previously made
their journeys at other times, to other destinations, or by other
means. Moreover, democratization and growing cultural maturity
in Latin America now makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to
run new roads through sectors that are already consolidated.
The construction of metro systems is some help, but once again
does not provide lasting relief. At first, road space is freed in the
rush hours as journeys are transferred from road to rail, and parking spaces are also freed. But the scanty space made available is
soon taken over by other motorists, and congestion tends to revert
to levels approaching those before the metro was brought into service.
Stricter control of parking is another possibility, either through
surcharges or restrictions on the number of places available.
However, unlike road tolls, this affects the convenience of
vehicles at their destination rather than on the road, where
congestion is generated, and is thus a relatively blunt instrument.
Nor does it offer hopeful prospects for a quick solution without
drastic change in legislation.
The case of Santiago illustrates this point. In the city centre,
13% of parking is on the streets with parking meters, where the
authorities can easily take action. But the remaining 87% of parking places are in parking lots, private buildings or spaces made
available by the authorities, and is much less easy to control.
The problem of urban congestion occupies an important place in the work of ECLAC’s Transport Unit. Although we
recognize the practical limitations of road tolls, which are used
only in Singapore and the Norwegian city of Trondheim, we
would tend to support it among the possible options. But, as
noted already, the best approach consists of a package of measures
of the types we have described.

Buenos Aires (1997)

0.20

Source: Author, based on official figures and preliminary data
from the respective urban authorities.

Rate of car ownership in the Metropolitan Area
of Santiago, 1980-1997
No. of cars
per person 0.40
0.35
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
1980

1985

1989

1994

1997

Source: National Institute of Statistics (INE), Compendio Estadístico,
Santiago de Chile, 1981, 1986, 1990, 1995 and 1998.

Number of daily trips made by residents of the Metropolitan Region
of São Paulo, by principal mode of transport, 1980-1997
25.000.000

20.000.000

15.000.000

Mechanized-mode journeys
per day (total)
Daily mechanized-mode
journeys principally by
public transport

10.000.000

Daily mechanized-mode
journeys principally by
individual transport

5.000.000

No. of inhabitants
0
1980

1985

1989

1994

1997

Source: Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, Pesquisa Origem e Destino de 1997, Preliminary
Results, May 1998, METRO, STM, Government of the State of São Paulo, BNDES.

(from page 1

)

The inevitable restructuring...

financing. They are also called upon to fulfil
innumerable sociopolitical functions.
In the author’s view, a port revenuegenerating policy has direct repercussions
on a country’s economy. High port costs
reduce the level of national economic
activity and may even create shortages of
essential goods. He cites the example of
Port-au-Prince, in Haiti, where in 1997,
because of the inefficiency of the system, it
cost US$ 985 to load a 20-foot container,
compared with US$ 125 in European ports.

Characteristics of a modern port
What should a modern state-run port be
like? “Private firms should take part in
providing services and facilities, the labour
force should be very well trained and
responsive to market signals, machinery and
equipment should be modern, access for
maritime transport should be adequate, and
there should be electronic document transmission systems”, says Burkhalter.
And how is this goal to be achieved?
“Governments should adopt a regulatory
framework establishing a basis for private
participation in the provision of services,
machinery and facilities, and in labour
reform of a commercial nature. At the same
time, they should retain sufficient control

over port activities to ensure that no group
can insulate itself from market forces,
impose monopolistic charges or ignore
externalities such as the marine environment”, he suggests.
Without competition, privatization
merely results in the transfer of absolute
control from the state to the private sector.
In the Peruvian port of Callao, for example,
workers made important wage concessions,
but the resulting gains were retained by the
shipping agents rather than being reflected
in the port dues charged. “Efforts to
improve a port’s efficiency fail when one
group gives up certain privileges and they
are taken over by, or allowed to fall into
the hands of, another group,” comments the
ECLAC expert.

Compensation of workers
Perhaps one of the most difficult changes
to bring about is the liberalization of the
labour force, as dockers are well placed to
exert political influence. It is important to
break down the myth that new regimes mean
high social costs, and that port workers will
bear the whole burden of adjustment,
Burkhalter argues.
Governments that have carried out
privatizations and/or labour reforms have

paid large amounts of compensation to
workers to reduce the costs of moving from
one job to another. In 1981, the Chilean
Government paid out US$ 30 million in
compensation, an average of US$ 14,300 per
worker, with rates ranging from US$ 10,000
to US$ 20,000; in 1991, Colombia allocated
US$ 50 million for the compensation of
8000 dockers; Mexico spent US$ 30 million
to liquidate collective agreements which
granted dockers exclusive rights to handle
cargo. Ecuador estimates it will need some
US$ 40 million.
In Chile, Burkhalter argues, experience
shows that the major obstacles to modernization were not the lack of advanced technology or investment capital, but incompetent
port administration and overmanning. He
calculates that, if 1981 productivity levels
had been maintained, it would have been
impossible to move nearly 12 million tons
of fruit, general cargo and forestry products
currently being handled without enlarging
the installations in the country’s main ports
at a cost of more than US$ 500 million.
The author is optimistic about the prospects for port privatization and concludes
that the experience of state-run ports from
Argentina and Panama to Malaysia and New
Zealand send a positive message. But he also
warns that there is one thing that governments must not do: believe they can escape
the demands of the global economy or that
these demands do not apply to them because
they are a special case.

This article is based on a book by Larry Burkhalter
Privatización portuaria: bases, opciones y consecuencias, LC/G.2045-P, to be published later this year.

Produced by ECLAC Information Services
EDITOR: Laura López, assisted by Pilar Bascuñán,
Malcolm Coad and Lucía Contesse
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Vesna Sekulovic

The icons used in this newsletter represent the various indigenous cultures of the Americas
and some of the milestones in the region’s history. The symbols are engraved on
the outside of the conference rooms at the ECLAC headquarters in Santiago, Chile.

ADDRESS: Av. Dag Hammarskjöld s/n, Vitacura, Santiago, Chile.
TELEPHONE: (562) 210-2380 or (562) 210-2300.
FAX: (562) 228-1947. WEBSITE: www.eclac.cl
E-MAIL: dpisantiago@eclac.cl

Los Bandeirantes
Opening up the territory
Lake Sacsahuaman
Agricultural terraces

Magical dance

6

PROSPECTS FOR INVESTMENT IN ARGENTINIAN
GAS AND OIL

A

rgentina is a pioneer in Latin
America in the hydrocarbon sector,
where it has made far-reaching and
very rapid changes. Prospects of attracting
new investment are now very promising.
The changes began in 1990 with market
deregulation and the privatization of large
state-owned companies. The results of the
reform have been positive, and the indicators
for reserves, production, costs, refining and
foreign trade show notable improvement.
This renovation process, including its
historical background and the challenges it
faces in the future, are the subject of the
study “Determinantes de la inversión en el
sector petróleo y gas de la Argentina”, by
Nicolás Gadano, published as No. 7 in the
ECLAC series, Reformas Económicas.
The highly competitive conditions of
today’s world economy have brought a
marked trend towards internationalization.
This can be seen in foreign trade operations
in general, in foreign investment in Argentina, and in a new willingness to invest
abroad by those Argentinian companies
which have managed to survive.

Argentinian companies
are going international
Internationalization has put intense
pressure on private Argentine companies,
which are small by world oil industry
standards, forcing many of them to sell out.

Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPF)
and Pérez Companc are two of those which
have not been absorbed by third parties.
On the contrary, they have extended
production and exploration to other Latin
American countries, such as Bolivia, Brazil,
Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru
and Venezuela.
The ECLAC study found common
denominators in the forms of vertical integration adopted by the oil companies, from
oil and gas production to petrochemicals and
electricity generation. As an example,
Gadano mentions the case of YPF, which
acquired Petroquímica La Plata, has a stake
in the Polo de Bahía Blanca and is
developing two petrochemical projects,
Mega and Profértil. In the electricity market,
YPF has cogeneration projects in some of
its refineries and in the Polo Petroquímico
de Bahía Blanca. Pérez Companc has done
something similar.

Scarcity of new oil wells
Between 1998 and 2000, the hydrocarbon sector will receive US$ 12.8 billion
in direct investment, most of which will go
to gas, given its relative abundance and the
prospects for exporting it to neighbouring
countries.
According to Gadano, the challenge for
oil production in the next few years will be
to increase, or at least maintain, the levels

of production achieved so far. In spite of
considerable investment in exploration, no
large wells have been discovered.
He suggests that any fall of production
due to the lack of new wells may be taken
as a sign that the deregulation and privatization process itself has failed, undermining the existing consensus on the basic
rules governing the sector.
Notng the challenges facing the hydrocarbons sector in Argentina for the future,
Gadano argues the need to “find new incentives to step up investment in exploration,
which is so essential if a reasonable horizon
of reserves is to be maintained”. The new
Hydrocarbons Act, as it comes into force,
offers a good opportunity to achieve this,
by bringing greater flexibility into the
taxation of private concessions. In the marketing of fuel, on the other hand, deregulation “is not yet translating into full
levels of competition, to the detriment of
consumers”. This situation could be
improved through “the consolidation of new
competitors, regularization of imports, and
consumer education”.

This article is based on “Determinantes de la inversión en el sector petróleo y gas de la Argentina”, by
Nicolás Gadano, No. 7 in the ECLAC series, Reformas Económicas, LC/L.1154, 1998.

Argentina: Projected direct investment, 1998-2000
(in millions of dollars)
Expansion
Foreign
National
Petroleum and gas products
Gas (transport and distribution)
Oil pipelines, gas pipelines
Oil and gas (extraction)
Petrochemicals
Total

Purchases
Foreign
National

Total

2,111

400

0

37

360

0

2,908

363

240

1,132

485

135

200

2,555

0

0

517

222

0

0

739

2,026

1,373

0

131

175

140

3,845

859

186

655

1,033

46

0

2,779

5,359

2,199

2,304

1,908

716

340

12,826

Source: Production Research Centre, Secretariat of Industry, Commerce and Mining, Argentina.

7

Greenfield
Foreign
National

Los mercados laborales
en América Latina: su
evolución en el largo plazo y
sus tendencias (ECLAC series,
Reformas Económicas, No. 11),
LC/L.1160, Spanish. Main
employment trends in Latin
America in the 1990s are
reviewed, in comparison with
developments in labour markets
in previous decades. www

1

publication includes articles
on the analysis of fertility in
the region, incomes and poor
households, and reproductive
health and poverty. US$ 12
(annual subscription: US$ 20).

3

Social Dimensions of
Economic Development
and Productivity:
Inequality and Social
Performance, LC/R.1873,
English. Essays on the need
to achieve social
development as a necessary
condition for sustainable
economic development.
Enquiries to:
bcarlson@eclac.cl
Guidelines for the
Identification and
Formulation of Urban
Roadway System Projects,
LC/IP/L.131, English and
Spanish. A practical
handbook on identifying,
preparing and evaluating
urban road projects.

4

Notas de Población
No. 66, LC/DEM/G.179,
Spanish. This latest edition of
the Latin American Demographic
Centre (CELADE)’s periodical

C A L E N D A R R

2

MONTH
March
16-17

Instruments, tools and
techniques are explained,
with the help of exercises
and concrete examples.
Enquiries to:
jbullemore@eclac.cl

6

Las debilidades del marco
regulatorio eléctrico en materia
de los derechos del consumidor
(ECLAC series, Medio ambiente y
desarrollo, No. 14), LC/L.1164,
Spanish. Analyses progress and
shortcomings in meeting the rights of
electricity consumers in Chile.
El factor institucional en
reformas a las políticas de
crédito y financiamiento de empresas
de menor tamaño: la experiencia
colombiana reciente (ECLAC series,
Financiamiento del desarrollo, No. 75),
LC/L.1163, Spanish.

7

Países industrializados:
resumen de las proyecciones
1998-9, LC/R.1875, Spanish.
5 El régimen de
contratación petrolera Enquiries to: gryd@eclac.cl
de América Latina en la
To order:
década de los noventa
Distribution Unit, ECLAC,
(Cuadernos de la CEPAL
Casilla 179-D, Santiago, Chile.
No. 84), LC/G.2025-P,
Fax: (56-2) 210 2069.
Spanish. Discusses the most
publications@eclac.cl
important changes in oil
www : available at the following
legislation in ten countries
websites: www.eclac.cl and
over recent decades. US$ 8.
www.eclac.org

8

FUTURE EVENTS

VENUE

Meeting of Experts of the Automotive Production Cluster “Industrial Restructuring
and International Competitiveness in Latin America and the Caribbean”,
ECLAC/IDRC project.

Santiago, Chile

24-26

Meeting of Directors of Statistics from the Americas, ECLAC.

Santiago, Chile

29-31

Globalization of Financial Markets and its Effects on the Developing Countries
ECLAC/Jacques Maritain Institute

Santiago, Chile

Ford Project workshop on Successful Countries and Financial Crises, ECLAC

Santiago, Chile

march-April

April
Fifth Meeting of Government Trade Policy Officers, ALADI/ECLAC/SELA

Lima, Peru

Course-workshop on port modernization, ECLAC

Dominican Rep. and Cuba

12-14

Second symposium on Regulation and Monitoring of Transport in Latin America,
ECLAC/GEIPOT

Brasilia, Brazil

25-28

Third Regional Workshop of the Programme to Improve Surveys of Living Conditions
in Latin America and the Caribbean (MECOVI) on “Measurement of Spending in
Household Surveys”, ECLAC/IDB/World Bank/INEGI

Aguascalientes, Mexico

Social aspects of high seas fishing, ECLAC

Santiago, Chile

May

80 grs.
recycled paper

United Nations Regional Interagency Coordination Meeting, ECLAC

Santiago, Chile

Return to: Distribution Unit, ECLAC, United Nations building,
Av. Dag Hammarskjöld s/n, Vitacura, Santiago, Chile.

8