The latest PISA assessment confirms that Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic, the only countries in the region to appear in its ranking, are far from the average results obtained by the OECD group of nations.
Although in the last ten years the average expenditure per primary and secondary student increased by about 15% in OECD countries, most of their states do not report significant progress in education.
Reducing trade barriers and procedures, increasing legal security and improving productive infrastructure are part of the changes required by the business sector for the region's economic development.
In Guatemala, the 12th Ibero-American Business Meeting is held, in which the private sector presents proposals to face the current challenges and generate opportunities for the countries of the region.
The private sector proposal includes building a new port in the Caribbean and improving existing ones, reviewing electricity tariffs, and creating a special tourist area in San Juan del Sur and Tola.
The private union has submitted a proposal for development in 2020 that focuses on five areas: financing; infrastructure and services; public management and facilitation; education system and human capital; and innovation in business management.
Leasing plots of land in the country that are not being used could be an alternative for owners who do not have the resources nor the technology to exploit them.
Nicaragua has almost the same amount of unused land as plots farmed with corn, beans, rice and sorghum.
In Costa Rica a 650 MW hydropower project in which $129 million has already been invested, has made no progress in 20 years, pending an "intercultural dialogue" which has not even begun.
EDITORIAL
The problem is not that infrastructure is to be built in indigenous territories without dialogue . Nor it is that the dialogue is fruitless. A conflict has not even arisen.
The construction of the new container terminal in Moin has rekindled business hotels, corporate machinery, transportation and others, in an area deprived of development factors.
Renting working machinery, hiring companies for events and renting hotel rooms are just some of the new business deals being generated in Limon, since construction of mega-port project at Moin started. Added to this are the 380 people hired by APM Terminals, which is also "... contracting, indirectly, truck drivers, maritime and land transport services, food services and fumigation."
Low productivity in Central American economies is the barrier which needs to be overcome if we want to grow in a sustainable way.
A study prepared by the Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic and Social Development (Funides) analyzes the evolution of productivity in different production factors in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
The Central Cruise Summit 2015 will be held in El Salvador, from 13 to 15 May, where it is expected that 15 corporations from the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association will be involved.
The Salvadoran Chamber of Tourism (CASATUR) hopes to have the participation of 30 union members who will be publicizing various tour packages offered by shipping lines.
Adpoting the PISA tests as a basic tool for the management of education systems is essential if you want to push back the boundaries of underdevelopment.
EDITORIAL
It is not uncommon to hear from officials in Latin American educational corporations that the PISA assessment system is "unfair" because it compares results with those obtained in advanced countries.
Out of the $80 million awarded in Costa Rica to the Limón Port City Project 5 years ago, only 12% of it has been spent, mainly on paying the salaries of public officials connected to the project.
Editorial
A few months ago a controversy arose in Spain over the allocation of funds for development, such as low-interest financing for development projects by a private construction company. Keeping in mind the poor results in the Limon Port City Project in Costa Rica, it might not be such a bad idea to give these kind of soft loans to private enterprise, who stand to to lose (or gain) if the project fails, and not the public officials who supposedly do a better job because they are not motivated by profit, but don't have the incentive to carry out their work either, because whether they do so or not, they will still get their wages paid at the end of the month. The economic impact of the implementation of the projects would be achieved just the same, and most importantly, the projects would definitely be finished.
A road connecting Bluefields in the east to the Pacific will be the main factor for development in the area.
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (MTI) will invest $20 million on building an 80-kilometer track that will connect the Nicaraguan Caribbean with the Pacific, while it obtains financing for the construction of a paved road.
Consumer sensitivity to prices implies that tax cuts would promote access and use, contributing to social and economic development.
A report on Telecommunications Taxation in Latin America presents the results of research conducted on behalf of the Latin American Association of Research Centers and Telecommunication Enterprises (AHCIET by its initials in Spanish) on taxation and telecommunications in 11 countries in Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia , Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Uruguay).
During recent decades the country has experienced slow growth in the production of goods for domestic consumption and export.
An analysis piece by Eddy Betanco B. for Laprensa.com.ni notes:
"Sluggish domestic production explains why Nicaragua generates a GDP that is lower than other countries in the region and very similar to Haiti. Regarding production of goods for domestic consumption, Nicaragua continues to be heavily dependent on imports of manufactured `products, agribusiness, agriculture, etc., which can be seen in supermarkets and other businesses in which the supply of Nicaraguan products is very low. "
Experiences in trying to obtain self-produced grains at affordable prices for the population have been real disasters, with China being the best example.
A draft Law for the Approval of the National Integrated Rural Development of Guatemala proposes that "food security be based on the production of basic grain, under the concept of autarky, defined as food sovereignty, i.e. that food sufficiency is based on the ability to produce all grains consumed, rather than generating income so that families can buy these grains, without thinking about their origin. "
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