Governance and export performance of modern services in Latin America

Over the past two decades, global trade in modern services provided by information and communication technology (ICTs) has grown rapidly. However, developing countries' exports of these services have been very heterogeneous.

The book "Governance and export performance of modern services in Latin America and India", recently published by ECLAC, analyses the design of sectoral policies focused on the promotion of modern services in eight Latin American countries and India.

The policies that have had active participation from the public, private and academic sectors, had a greater impact on the industry development.  

The publication highlights two countries that have successfully entered the international modern services industry: Costa Rica and Uruguay. In the case of Uruguay, it emphasizes the importance of clear development policies, which have involved public and private sector actors with aligned objectives, available incentives for foreign and national companies, and emphasis on local human capital development. Unlike other countries, public development policies to promote modern services have had continuity and support in Uruguay during the different administrations.

The chapter on Uruguay was written by the Department of Competitive Intelligence of Uruguay XXI and the secretariat of the Latin American Association of Service Exporters (ALES). It addresses the sector dynamism within recent years and some of the country's advantages for the development of some modern services segments. It describes public and private institutions, the strategy of sectoral promotion, and the governance of public policies aimed at the development of the sector. The chapter also describes some of this governance's strengths and the main challenges for the future.

This publication should be cited as: M. Alvarez, K. Fernández-Stark y N. Mulder (eds.), Gobernanza y desempeño exportador de los servicios modernos en América Latina y la India, (LC/TS.2019/112), Santiago, Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), 2020.