Within the framework of the commemoration of five decades of joint work between the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the importance of productive development policies was highlighted as key tools for address the region’s structural challenges in terms of growth and productivity.
During his speech, Marco Llinás, director of the Productive Development Division of ECLAC, stressed that Latin America and the Caribbean faces a historical problem of low growth capacity, the result of decades of stagnant productivity. Given this panorama, he called for scaling up and improving productive development policies as an essential part of the strategies to overcome development traps and promote sustainable economic transformations over time.
Llinás presented a new vision of productive development policies, which transcends the traditional sectors of industry and manufacturing to encompass driving sectors such as agriculture, agro-industrial, services, mining, among others. These policies are conceived as collaborative efforts that involve the public and private sectors, academia and civil society. In essence, they are intensive articulation tools that seek to coordinate actions between different actors at the national and regional level, with emphasis on a solid governance model that combines horizontal and vertical efforts. This allows strategic sectors to be prioritized and productive bets to be established that promote sustainable development and regional competitiveness.
A crucial element of this vision is the subnational approach, which places local territories and actors as protagonists of change. “A large part of the productive transformations must originate in the territories. Under this approach, policy implementation should be conceived as a trial and error process that allows for the continuous evaluation and adjustment of institutional instruments and arrangements to maximize their effectiveness,” stated Llinás.
From this perspective, ECLAC has defined seven priority fronts to promote productive development in the region. These include the need to align efforts with a new strategic vision to maximize impact, strengthen multi-actor and multi-level governance schemes, and strengthen the technical, operational, prospective and political (TOPP) capacities of the institutions in charge of leading these agendas. In addition, the creation and consolidation of cluster initiatives linked to strategic productive priorities is proposed, as well as the strengthening of the commitment of all the actors involved, with special emphasis on the participation of the private sector. Territorialization, as an approach that places local actors at the center of policies, and the adoption of a strategic line of internationalization also appear as key elements in this framework of action.
These fronts, however, should not be considered independent efforts. Rather, they are part of a comprehensive strategy that seeks to emphasize local productivity, foster collaboration between various actors, and strengthen governance and coordination mechanisms at all levels.
In his final message, Llinás highlighted that productive development policies are essential not only to achieve more sustained economic growth, but also to promote social inclusion and sustainability. In this context, the joint work between ECLAC and IPEA is positioned as a fundamental pillar to build a more inclusive, competitive and sustainable future for Latin America and the Caribbean.
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