Today we will recover the remainder of Chapter 1 of the Development Effectiveness Overview. Finish the reading (p. 16 - 25) on the pdf here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yQmomF1LAd6puaGWax1ArdCjfd4KCbGw/view?usp=sharing
"Economic Integration
Deepening regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean is crucial for propelling trade and economic growth. Likewise, as the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear, closer regional ties are essential not only for coordinating a response to the health emergency, but also for helping the region recover from this crisis, rebuild supply chains, and
regain competitiveness in the long-term. The IDB Group supports economic integration in the region in many ways, including by improving the connectivity of national infrastructure investments, promoting cooperation initiatives and regional trade agreements, and supporting regional value chains.
Providing trade finance for the region’s MSME importers and exporters is increasingly important given the pandemic-induced liquidity constraints. In addition, efforts to strengthen regulatory frameworks, streamline and digitalize procedures for trade and foreign investment, and upgrade and coordinate border processes to ensure the agile and secure flow of goods are also critical in the current context. The project spotlight in Box 1.4 highlights IDB support for transport infrastructure and logistics services in Panama.
...
Gender Equality and Diversity
Gender equality, development with identity, and the inclusion of diverse populations are key to maximizing prosperity and economic development in the region, especially given the heightened impacts of the coronavirus pandemic for these social groups. The IDB Group has continued to increase its support for gender equality, diversity, and inclusion in recent years. The IDB’s first Diversity Action Plan for Operations was approved in 2019 to expand the Bank’s work in favor of development with identity for indigenous peoples and inclusion of persons with disabilities, Afrodescendants, and persons excluded by reason of sexual orientation or gender identity. In gender, the Group supports areas such as increasing female labor force participation, promoting the inclusion of a gender perspective in fiscal policies, supporting women entrepreneurs, promoting women’s participation in leadership positions, and addressing gender-based gaps related to wages or access to services. This work is even more critical now as the economic downturn caused by COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on women in terms of lost income from predominantly service and informal
sector jobs, increased unpaid care work, and rising gender-based violence (UN Women, 2020). The project spotlight in Box 1.5 showcases different ways the IDB Group is supporting women entrepreneurs in the
region.
...
Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability
Climate change and sustainability concerns continue to be critical in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The IDB Group’s focus on supporting the region’s climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts grew from
2016 to 2019, in line with increasing global attention to this priority and growing country demand. This includes investments in renewable energy, low-carbon transportation, and improved climate resilience across diverse
sectors, as well as support to countries to formulate long-term decarbonization plans.
The COVID-19 crisis is likely to have dramatic consequences for advancing progress on climate change as countries focus
on other urgent priorities and major global climate events are postponed (Hepburn, et al., 2020). At the same time, post-COVID-19 recovery efforts can be leveraged to foster sustainable, resilient growth and many countries are already building sustainability into their plans. The project spotlight in Box 1.6 highlights an IDB project focused on addressing climate change and environmental sustainability in Nicaragua."
Join our discussion on the second part of this chapter here: https://www.biedsociety.com/forum/america/latin-american-overview
Comments