Competitiveness: Strategy Document

The ‘Competitiveness Strategy’, one of the seven new strategies that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) developed, aims to assist member countries from the Caribbean and Latin America to make improvements in their economic and institutional environments, in order to promote the sustainable development of economic activities and enhance productivity.

This document states that:

• Despite significant progress during the 1990s, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean continue to experience serious competitiveness problems;
• These problems reflect in the sluggish growth of per capita income, a decline in the productivity of physical and human capital, and a low ranking in international competitiveness classifications;
• The reasons for the lack of international competitiveness in these countries includes economic instability, scarce financial resources, lack of access to credit and infrastructure, lags in human capital and deficiencies in public institutions.

In order to increase competitiveness, the strategy proposes:

• Correction of failures in the functioning of relevant markets for the competitiveness of all firms;
• Specific actions targeted towards micro, small and medium enterprises;
• Efficient mobilization of capital and financial resources;
• Improvement in human capital;
• Efficient provision of infrastructure services;
• Creation and assimilation of new knowledge and technologies;
• Creation of more effective institutions to support private productive activities;
• Productive and sustainable management of natural resources.