Latin America And Caribbean Region Still On Path For Slow Growth

• The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) says economic activity in the region continues to exhibit a low growth trajectory.
• In its 'Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2023', ECLAC said, 'the region will stay on a path of low growth, which means job creation will decelerate and informality and gender gaps will persist, among other effects'.
• According to the report, Latin America and the Caribbean will grow 2.2% on average in 2023 and 1.9% in 2024, which points to a deceleration in regional growth from the levels seen in prior years.
• Although all the sub-regions will have lower growth in 2023 than in 2022, the report emphasises the heterogeneity among countries in the region. South America is expected to grow by 1.5% for 2023 relative to 3.8% in 2022; Central America (including Mexico) by 3.5%, down from 4.1% last year and the Caribbean, without including Guyana, is forecast to grow by 3.4%, down from 6.4% last year.
• The report also noted that in 2024, the region is expected to maintain this dynamic of low growth, and all the sub-regions will grow less than in 2023, with the Caribbean predicted to register 2.6% in 2024, excluding Guyana.
• These projections reflect, in part, low dynamism in economic growth and global trade, which translates into a limited impetus from the global economy. Furthermore, although inflation has declined, the interest rates of the main developed economies have not, which means that financing costs have remained at high levels throughout the year and are expected to stay that way in the coming years.
• Lastly, ECLAC said this low growth is also attributable to the limited domestic space for fiscal and monetary policy faced by the region's countries.

(Source: Trinidad Express Newspapers)