ECLAC presents the results of the Panorama of Productive Development Policies at the IDB forum

In a forum organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) presented the results of its study on the Panorama of Productive Development Policies. This event brought together experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the region, highlighting a new vision for productive development policies.

Context and presentation of the new vision of ECLAC

Nicolo Gligo, Economic Affairs Officer at ECLAC, began the meeting by highlighting that the region faces three structural traps that hinder its development: high inequality, low productivity and limited institutional capacities. In a context in which the region barely grew 0.9% in the last decade, Gligo highlighted that the stagnation of productivity has been a determining factor.

Given this panorama, ECLAC called for scaling up and improving productive development policies and proposed a new approach for productive development policies in the region. In this context, “we identify that policies have multiple areas such as science, technology, innovation, technological extensionism, digital transformation, entrepreneurship and closing human capital gaps, among others. According to Gligo, “a systemic view that covers all sectors is necessary.”

As Gligo expressed, a central aspect of this new strategy is governance, which prioritizes multi-actor and multi-level collaboration, combining vertical and horizontal approaches. ECLAC also emphasizes experimentation and internationalization as key elements.

Diagnosis of current policies

The analysis presented, based on the main findings of the Panorama of Productive Development Policies, covered five countries—Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico—responsible for 80% of the regional GDP. Among the results, more than 26 ministries and multiple direct support instruments were identified such as subsidies, capital contributions and extension services, among others. Among the findings, Gligo highlighted that:

Tax instruments predominate, except in Chile, where subsidies are the majority.
There is a disconnection between instruments and productive priorities.
Lack of coordination and atomization of resources, which questions the efficiency of current policies.

Institutionality and coordination

Marco Dini, also an Economic Affairs Officer at ECLAC, complements the presentation by addressing the institutionality and governance of productive development in the region. In the analysis, he explained, 197 ministerial entities involved in productive development in 33 countries were identified. According to Dini, this element is crucial since “unlike other public policies, productive development policies require coordination between multiple actors and sectors. This phenomenon, called “polyarchy”, reflects the intrinsic complexity of productive development.

Likewise, 74 instances of public-private collaboration were analyzed, of which the majority have a consultative nature, while only a few have the power to make decisions and guide policies. A critical aspect identified is that only a third of these entities operate under a multilevel coordination approach, which shows that the territorial dimension still does not occupy a central place in the institutional structure of the region, reflecting a limited integration between the different levels of government.

Recommendations for the region

The presentation concluded with some practical recommendations to strengthen productive development policies, among which the following stood out:

1. Increase resources and efforts in productive development.
2. Establish multi-level and multi-actor governance.
3. Strengthen institutional capacities.
4. Prioritize territorial articulation initiatives.
5. Encourage private sector commitment.
6. Focus strategies towards internationalization and territorial cooperation.

The ECLAC analysis constitutes a significant advance in the systematization and analysis of productive development policies in the region. By sharing their findings with the IDB, concrete tools were presented to address the complexities of economic and productive development, promoting regional cooperation in the matter.