A summary of the ECLAC proposals

There is growing consensus that although a solid, balanced macroeconomic base is a necessary condition for development, it is not of itself enough to ensure that development is actually achieved or that its fruits will be enjoyed by the population as a whole. In a series of documents, ECLAC has been defining a coherent agenda of public policy reforms designed to ensure a change in production patterns accompanied by greater social equity. This article seeks to present a summary of this proposal, leaving aside for this reason the underlying diagnosis of the regional situation and the general frame of the strategy. The broad lines of the proposal are set forth in section I, and the remaining five sections deal with specific aspects. Thus, section II analyses issues connected with the microeconomic setting, including production development policies, technical change and the sustainability of development. Section III deals with the macroeconomics of changing production patterns, with special attention to stability and growth, saving and investment, and public sector finance. Section IV covers social development, as part of an integrated approach, and analyses the generation of productive employment, the reform of education, social integration and ways of overcoming poverty. Section V considers various matters connected with the form of relations with the international economy, such as foreign trade, macroeconomic policy and capital movements, and open regionalism. Finally, section VI deals with political aspects and State intervention, including participative political regimes, the interaction of the various agents, and reform of the State.