Thank you for your interest in this ECLAC publication ECLAC Publications Please register if you would like to receive information on our editorial products and activities. When you register, you may specify your particular areas of interest and you will gain access to our products in other formats. www.cepal.org/en/publications ublicaciones www.cepal.org/apps Alicia Bárcena Executive Secretary Mario Cimoli Deputy Executive Secretary Raúl García-Buchaca Deputy Executive Secretary for Administration and Analysis of Programmes Hugo Eduardo Beteta Director ECLAC Subregional Headquarters in Mexico This document was prepared by Leda Peralta Quesada, Associate Economic Affairs Officer, International Trade and Industry Unit, ECLAC Subregional Headquarters in Mexico, under the supervision of Jorge Mario Martínez Piva, and with contributions from Martha Cordero Sánchez, Olaf de Groot, Elsa Gutiérrez, José Manuel Iraheta, Lauren Juskelis, Julie Lennox, Debora Ley, Jaime Olivares, Juan Pérez Gabriel, Diana Ramírez Soto, Manuel Eugenio Rojas Navarrete, Eugenio Torijano Navarro, Víctor Hugo Ventura Ruiz, officials of ECLAC Mexico, as well as Gabriel Pérez and Ricardo Sánchez, officials of ECLAC Santiago. The comments of the Presidential Commissioners-designate and the Executive Directorate of the Mesoamerica Integration and Development Project are gratefully acknowledged. The views expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and may not be those of the Organization. This document is an unofficial translation of an original that did not undergo formal editorial review. The boundaries and names shown on the maps in this document do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. Explanatory notes: - The dot (.) is used to separate the decimals and the comma (,) to separate the thousands in the text. - The word “dollars" refers to United States dollars, unless otherwise noted. - The information presented was based on the most recent official, public and comparable data available for the ten countries that make up the Mesoamerica Integration and Development Project. United Nations Publication LC/MEX/TS.2019/12 Original: Spanish Distribution: L Copyright © United Nations, August 2019 All rights reserved Printed at United Nations, Mexico City 2019-22 This document should be cited as: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), A Glance at Member Countries of the Mesoamerica Integration and Development Project, (LC/MEX/TS.2019/12), Mexico City, 2019. Permission to reproduce this work in whole or in part must be obtained from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Division of Publications and Web Services, [email protected] Member States of the United Nations and their governmental institutions may reproduce this work without prior authorization. They are only requested to mention the source and inform ECLAC of such reproduction. Table of Contents Abstract/Resumen ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Acronyms and Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 11 Introducción.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 I. Mesoamerica: a heterogeneous region with common challenges ......................................................................................................... 14 A. Economic balance and outlook ............................................................................................................................................ 21 B. Gross domestic product in the region ................................................................................................................................ 23 C. Costumer Price Index ............................................................................................................................................................ 23 D. Employment ........................................................................................................................................................................... 24 E. Fiscal deficit and public debt ................................................................................................................................................ 25 F. Investment levels.................................................................................................................................................................... 26 II. Trade and investment ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 27 A. Regional and world integration ............................................................................................................................................ 27 B. Intraregional trade ................................................................................................................................................................. 29 C. Technological content of trade ............................................................................................................................................ 32 D. Direct foreign investment ..................................................................................................................................................... 34 III. Competitiveness, SMEs and information technologies ..............................................................................................................................37 A. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as competitiveness agents ...................................................................... 41 B. Challenges: better information and access to funding ..................................................................................................... 43 C. Information and communication technologies.................................................................................................................. 47 IV. Transport.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 51 A. Transport and logistics infrastructure ................................................................................................................................. 51 B. Investment in transport infrastructure ............................................................................................................................... 53 C. Road network provision ........................................................................................................................................................ 55 D. Port movement evolution .................................................................................................................................................... 55 E. Policy recommendations ....................................................................................................................................................... 57 V. Energy ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 61 A. Energy context: dependence on firewood as a source of primary energy in Central America .................................... 62 B. Dependence on oil products ................................................................................................................................................ 62 C. Energy efficiency .................................................................................................................................................................... 63 3 Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) D. Breakthroughs in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ................................................................................. 64 1. Access to modern energy services ............................................................................................................................. 64 2. Participation of renewable energies in electricity generation ................................................................................ 67 3. Energy efficiency ........................................................................................................................................................... 69 E. Integration of electricity markets ......................................................................................................................................... 71 VI. Health ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................73 VII. Food security and nutrition ..................................................................................................................................................................................