The Mercosur Economic Research Network (Merconet) was created in 1999 to generate knowledge to inform the Mercosur regional integration process.
Knowledge-based economy not only affects well developed countries but also the performance and possibilities of small economic actors positioned on less developed countries.
Support for entrepreneurship and small and medium enterprises is vital to stimulate jobs and to encourage self-employment in developing countries where labour markets are often unable to absorb the growing number of job seekers, including youth.
The services sector is increasingly important to the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean, but productivity remains relatively low.
The Caribbean is a diverse group of countries, both culturally and economically. Most of them, however, face daunting development challenges, including pervasive crime, unemployment and an underdeveloped formal (private) sector.
As countries steadily increase the share and value of knowledge, information, and services in their economies, governments have been crafting policies to attract foreign investment and establish large multinationals in key emerging sectors.
Like many countries in Latin America, Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru undertook structural reforms during the 1980s and 1990s with a view to achieving macroeconomic stability and economic growth.