At the end of 2020, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador remained at the bottom of the Human Development Index ranking, while Costa Rica and Panama were better evaluated.
The report entitled The Next Frontier, Human Development and the Anthropocene, which was published on December 15, 2020 at the global level, updates the Human Development Index (HDI) that is calculated by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Gaps in GDP per capita between different countries are directly related to the productivity gaps between their respective economies, with education being the main factor in these differences.
The OECD report "Promoting inclusive growth of productivity in Latin America" says that although the region made progress in reducing poverty over the past 20 years, it still stands out at the global level, because of the unequal income its inhabitants.
Accepting personal responsibility for your own and your family's progress is a direct result of the knowledge of the fundamentals of economics and finance.
In order to manage the personal wealth in an adequate way and to properly assess the economic policies governments apply, it is essential to have an economic and financial education since primary school.
The only routes to success that exist, "whether they are right wing or left wing, are those requiring structural reforms to boost value, and prudence in the administration of the State".
"In Latin America, ... not all countries take advantage of the bonanza in the same way ... [the bonanza] in prices of raw materials, low interest rates, easy access to the international financial markets and in receiving FDI are abundant ...
State universities should be accountable for the money they spend and how this investment supports national productivity.
Protected by their academic autonomy, educational institutions at tertiary level in Costa Rica are slow and inflexible in adapting to the demands of the Costa Rican economy.
A study commissioned by Cinde and conducted by INCAE, entitled "Human Resource Development: The key to compete in attracting foreign direct investment," analyzes the availability in the present and until 2014, of talented human resources in the areas of services, life sciences and advanced manufacturing.
In 2012, CADE will analyze the synergy between education and economy, because in order to have sustained economic growth it is necessary to have quality education and an emphasis on labor market requirements.
CADE is a conclave or annual summit meeting of executives and entrepreneurs in general, from across the country which brings together all members of the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE), with active participation of all Chapters and whose main purpose is to discuss, analyze and seek solutions to national problems.
Out of all the countries on the isthmus, only Panama’s Human Development Index follows the upward trend set by Latin America and the Caribbean.
Since the 1990 publication of the Human Development Index (HDI), the number has shown an upward trend for the vast majority of nations. This overall positive trend has been exceeded by some countries, such as South Korea and China, while others, such as Zimbabwe and Lesotho, have actually moved in a negative direction.
According to the UN Development Program (UNDP) index, within Central America Panama comes first at no. 58 followed by Costa Rica (69), El Salvador (105), Honduras (121), Nicaragua (129) and Guatemala at no. 131.
While Panama's ranking has moved up one spot since the last time the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI) was published, Costa Rica and Honduras have slipped back a place.
Latin America is barely ahead of Africa in quality standards and conditions affecting local businesses.
As a region, Central America, is located in the second half of the list entitled ‘Doing Business 2012’.
Doing Business 2012, a report by the World Bank this year added a new area of analysis, which is the ease of obtaining an electrical connection, along with the traditional items which include: ease of starting a business, management of construction permits, registering property , getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, cross border trade, enforcing contracts, and insolvency resolution.
Main conclusions regarding the Central American economy between 2008 and 2011.
The State of the Region Report is a tool by Central America for Central America, which analyzes and tracks the major challenges of sustainable human development. In this fourth report, the titles of the main conclusions on the topic Economy are presented:
- Intra-regional migration is concentrated between Nicaragua and Costa Rica
Position in 2010 Rankings: Panama 72 (62 in 2009), El Salvador 86 (80), Guatemala 101 (100), Nicaragua 117 (119), Costa Rica 125 (121), Honduras 131 (128).
With the exception of Nicaragua, which rose two places, the Doing Business 2011 ranking shows that easiness of doing business in the Central American countries has deteriorated, at least in relation to other countries.
In the Global Human Development Index 2010, Panama is ranked 54, Costa Rica 62, El Salvador 90, Honduras 106, Nicaragua and Guatemala 115 and 116 respectively.
The Central American countries, like others in Latin America, continue to improve in most variables measuring human development and the HDI Program published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
In Latin America, children have far less development opportunities than kids growing up in Europe, the United States or Canada.
Chile and Uruguay are the best placed Latin American nations in the 2010 Human Opportunity Index, but they are way below the so called “first world countries”, in having the necessary conditions for human development.
We already knew this empirically, but it is important to analyze what creates opportunities for developing, not just as businessmen worrying over a depressed and poor market for our products, or as authorities in charge of developing policies, but as responsible parents.
This is how we are raised in Latin America, disapproving or disliking those who earn a lot of money as businessmen.
Latin America does not foster entrepreneurship. Education, specially high school, rises us with the goal of getting a good job, as opposed to owning a business.
The problem is cultural, and has its roots in our educational systems, which pay a lot of attention to the protection of workers, leaving aside those who undertake business project and became businessmen.
Abraham Lowenthall rediscovered the isthmus 25 ago and analyzes the changes that have occurred during that period.
In his column published in America Economia, the analyst asks us to "Imagine that your twin brother will wake up today from a 25 year coma and asks you for a report on the main changes that have occurred in Central America, what will you tell him?