Certificate program economy and integration in Latin America e-learning

Course summary (Economy and integration in Latin America):

After six years of uninterrupted growth, the GDP of Latin America and the Caribbean is expected to fall by 1.8% and per capita GDP by close to 2.9% in 2009. The global crisis hit the region hard at the end of 2008 and in early 2009, taking a toll on all of its countries. However, a recovery began to take shape in the second quarter and became more widespread in the second half of the year. Growth is projected at 4.1% for 2010 and is expected to be somewhat higher in the countries of South America than in the rest of the region, given their larger domestic markets in some cases, greater export-market diversification and closer trade ties with China.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to Latin America and the Caribbean will rebound in 2010, rising 40% to 50%, after dropping in 2009 as a result of the global crisis, according to ECLAC's annual report on FDI. Brazil continued to be the main recipient of FDI, followed by Chile, México, Colombia and Argentina. As in the past, the services sector received the most amount of FDI in 2009, while the primary sector (agriculture, mining and hydrocarbons) experienced a relative drop. The United States continued to be the main investor in the region, followed by Spain and Canada.

The Inter-American Development Bank IDB was founded in 1959 as a partnership between 19 Latin American countries and the United States. Today the IDB is owned by 48 member states, of which 26 are borrowing members in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB Group is composed of the IDB, the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) and the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF). The IIC focuses on support for small and medium-sized Business, while the MIF promotes private sector growth through grants and investments.

Example of the course Economy and integration in Latin America:

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean ECLAC was established by Economic and Social Council resolution 106(VI) of 25 February 1948 and began to function that same year. It was founded for the purposes of contributing to the economic development of Latin America, coordinating actions directed towards this end, and reinforcing Economic relationships among the countries and with the other nations of the world.

The ALADI (Latin American Integration Association) is the largest Latin-American Group of integration. The ALADI promotes the creation of an area of economic preferences in the region, aiming at a Latin-American Common market.

The Organization of American States (OAS) is the world’s oldest regional organization. Today it comprises the 35 independent states of the Americas and has granted permanent observer status to 63 states, as well as to the European Union. The Organization of American States constitutes the principal political, juridical, and social governmental forum in the Hemisphere.

The Third Summit of South American Presidents (Cusco 2004) witnessed the political creation of the South American Community of Nations UNASUR, a great political project combined with a program of decentralized development. As decided by the Presidents at that meeting, the South American Community of Nations will be shaped through the gradual convergence of the Andean Community and MERCOSUR and Chile, together with Guyana and Suriname. UNASUR has a GDP of 973 billion 613 million dollars, making it the world's fifth-ranking power.

The Latin American and Caribbean economic System (SELA) is a regional intergovernmental organization that Groups 26 Latin American and Caribbean countries. Its headquarters are in Caracas, Venezuela. The main objectives of SELA are to provide the Latin American and Caribbean region with a system of consultation and coordination for the adoption of common positions and strategies on economic issues in international bodies and forums and before third countries and Groups of countries and foster cooperation and integration among the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas), is a proposed alternative to the U.S.-sponsored Free trade area of the Americas (FTAA, ALCA in its Spanish initials), differing from the latter in that it advocates a socially-oriented trade block rather than one strictly based on the logic of deregulated profit maximization. ALBA represent a population of 74 million people.

The Mercosur (Southern Common Market) is the fourth largest economic group in the world with a GDP of 1.989 billion U.S. dollars and a population of 242 million in 2008. Brazil is the largest economy with 79% of Mercosur's GDP, followed by Argentina with 18% to 2% for Uruguay and Paraguay with 1%. The Mercosur was created by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay in March 1991 with the signing of the Treaty of Asuncion.

The Andean Community (COMUNIDAD ANDINA)Is a subregional organization endowed with an international legal status, which is made up of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador y Peru and the bodies and institutions comprising the Andean Integration System (AIS).

In January 1994, Mexico joined Canada and the United States in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which will phase out all tariffs over a 15-year period. Under NAFTA, merchandise trade between the U.S., Canada and Mexico has tripled, reaching US$946.1 billion in 2008.

The Central American Integration System (SICA) is the institutional framework of regional integration in Central America, created by the states of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.

Markets analyzed in the Master Business in Latin America:

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