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).
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.
Informality in the labor sector, low levels of taxation and little investment in innovation and development are some of the obstacles the country is facing in terms of competitiveness.
The Ministry of Economy presented the "First National Competitiveness Report", which analyzes more than 200 indicators obtained from indices prepared by international organizations such as Doing Business, Competitiveness Index, Trade Facilitation, Global Innovation, Connectivity and Index of Performance of Energetic Structure.
The drama over the bulk of exports being primary products without added value is unfolding not only in Nicaragua.
The new president of the Association of Producers and Exporters of Nicaragua (APEN), Guillermo Jacoby, has carried out a lucid analysis of the difficulties faced by Nicaraguan exporters in increasing both the volume and the value of its sales abroad, and especially how to make this productive effort sustainable.
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.
In the nineties a village in Costa Rica was populated by dreams of a promising future driven by the exploitation of a gold mine. Today there are only 27 inhabitants, left without hope.
EDITORIAL
An article on Nacion.com reports on the ups and downs of the gold mine project in Crucitas, in Costa Rica, which eventually fell through because environmental forces prevailed over sustainable development, leaving a long series of damages to the country in terms of confidence in the security of investments, tax losses, and mainly in the hopes of human beings who believed in and supported the mine being a catalyst for progress in the area. As usually happens, the only winners were the lawyers who litigated and continue litigating for both sides.
Employers in the region are complaining about a lack of long-term development policies, and are asking for Government transparency, effectiveness and legal certainty, so that they can continue investing in the region.
During a meeting between businessmen and government called 'Expanding opportunities: promoting the private sector and job creation', entrepreneurs from different sectors shared their concerns and views on the investment climate in the region.
A survey carried out by CID-Gallup on the perceptions of Central Americans regarding the direction of their countries shows pessimism in Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Honduras.
From a statement issued by CID-Gallup:
The Dominican Republic, Panama and Nicaragua are the nations in the region with the best direction for the country.
This is the result of a series of public opinion surveys that CID / Gallup Latin America carries out every year in September in Central America and the Dominican Republic. The survey has a minimum reach of 1200 households and is a representative sample of the national population.
The US Department of Agriculture projects that global production from the 2014/15 harvest will be 475.5 million tons, 1.1 million tons less than the 2013/14 production.
Excerpted from Reportearroz.com:
International Panorama
The USDA has released the information on expectations for the global rice sector for the upcoming 2014-15 campaign. According to records from the USDA, global production of milled rice in 2014-15 will be 475.5 million tons, representing a figure lower than 2013-14, when the total reached 476.1 million tons. The main reason for the decrease is due to a reduction in yield per hectare.
Every year Switzerland sells about 50 thousand tons for which it receives $1.98 billion, earning a return on its coffee exports which is 5 times higher than in Germany.
An article on Msn.com reports on a not well known phenomenon practiced in Central America: the value of generating and accumulating knowledge and practicing innovation is much higher than owning and exploiting natural resources.
SMEs in developing countries could generate jobs and significant growth by taking advantage of the market opportunities offered by clean technologies.
From a report by the World Bank:
SMEs in developing countries could generate significant growth and jobs if they take advantage of market opportunities that offer clean technologies, which reach up to $1.6 trillion.
Avoiding the generation of power using fossil fuels is a necessary goal, but alleviating the energy poverty in which millions of Central Americans find themselves is a priority.
EDITORIAL
Bjorn Lomborg's article published in Laprensagrafica.com analyzes the difficult choice between taking measures to prevent global warming, and facilitating the use of cheap fossil fuels -carbon- for 1,200 million poor people in the world.
The private sector has proposed creating development zones with specific tax laws and tax free status in order to encourage local and foreign investment.
Following a concept created by economist Paul Romer and implemented in cities such as Hong Kong, and proposed in Honduras through the passage of a law last year, Salvadoran businessmen are proposing 29 law reforms in order to create development zones which have their own laws to enhance the competitiveness of companies located within them.
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.