In 2022, the fiscal situation in Latin America and the Caribbean was characterized by rising tax revenues and declining in public spending, resulting in smaller fiscal deficits. Nevertheless, public debt remains high. Against this backdrop, this edition of the Fiscal Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean proposes a fiscal policy for growth, redistribution and productive transformation. It examines options for strengthening personal income tax, to boost its revenues and redistributive potential. In a context of mounting pressure on public spending, it is vital to take strategic approach, to make spending more effective in closing social gaps. This report therefore proposes a new methodology for identifying, measuring and classifying public spending related to gender equality, Indigenous Peoples, Afrodescendants and persons with disabilities.

This edition of Fiscal Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean coincides with an important milestone: the thirtieth anniversary of the Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Over the past 30 years, this seminar has become a key fixture on the agenda of fiscal policy events in the region.Throughout these three decades, the successive editions of the seminar have served as a forum for national authorities, tax experts and officials from international organizations to discuss the performance, challenges and opportunities of fiscal policy,and it has enhanced policy design and management in the individual countries.

Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Over the past 30 years, this seminar has become a key fixture on the agenda of fiscal policy events in the region.Throughout these three decades, the successive editions of the seminar have served as a forum for national authorities, tax experts and officials from international organizations to discuss the performance, challenges and opportunities of fiscal policy,and it has enhanced policy design and management in the individual countries.

The region is facing a complex economic situation, marked by slowing growth, rising inflation, interest rate hikes and volatility in international markets. This context puts pressure on public finances, compounded by increasing demands for social welfare, investment and environmental sustainability, which pose fiscal policy challenges. The Fiscal Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2022 proposes a fiscal policy design that would help to drive sustainable development, by strengthening tax collection and making tax structures more progressive, and giving a strategic orientation to public spending to turn it into an instrument of development. The report analyses the fiscal trends observed in 2021, which included an upturn in tax receipts and a slowdown in public spending that resulted in smaller fiscal deficits. It also examines fiscal rules and the mechanisms used to ease them during the pandemic, proposing a rethink of these rules aimed at pro-growth fiscal policy. Lastly, it studies the fiscal frameworks applied to hydrocarbon production and mining with a view to maximizing their contribution to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

A comprehensive overview of the key factors affecting the development of Latin American economies that examines long-term growth performance, macroeconomic issues, Latin American economies in the global context, technological and agricultural policies, and the evolution of labour markets, the education sector, and social security programmes.

Why do some export activities succeed while others fail? Here, research teams analyze export endeavors in Latin American countries to learn how export pioneers are born and jump-start a process leading to economic transformation. Case studies range from blueberries in Argentina and flowers in Colombia to aircraft in Brazil and software in Uruguay.

This report compiles comparable tax revenue statistics over the period 1990-2021 for 27 Latin American and Caribbean economies. Based on the OECD Revenue Statistics database, it applies the OECD methodology to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to enable comparison of tax levels and tax structures on a consistent basis, both among the economies of the region and with other economies. The report includes two special features examining the fiscal revenues from non-renewable natural resources in the LAC region in 2021 and 2022 as well as the measurement and evaluation of tax expenditures in Latin America. This publication is jointly undertaken by the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, the OECD Development Centre, the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).