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The use of key indicators to assess Latin America’s long-term economic performance

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The use of key indicators to assess Latin America’s long-term economic performance

Autor institucional: NU. CEPAL. Subsede de México Physical Description: 33 páginas. Editorial: ECLAC Date: December 2014 ECLAC symbol: LC/MEX/L.1168

Description

Through the astute analysis of official statistics, we can gather a more complete picture of the economic performance of a given country, and understand more fully what have been its drivers, leading to a more effective use of national resources and a more efficient design of policy options. However, the myriad of information and numerical data across the system of macroeconomic statistics can be challenging to interpret in a straightforward manner. In order to synthetically assess economic performance across countries in Latin America we propose the use of a composite indicator, which builds upon the methodology of Khramov and Lee (2013) and incorporates key indicators from each of the pillars of macroeconomic statistics: the System of National Accounts, the Balance of Payments Statistics, Monetary and Financial Statistics and Public Finance Statistics. Through a composite examination of key statistical indicators in each country across their long-term trends, we can more fully understand the underlying macroeconomic dynamics.

Table of contents

Abstract .-- I. Introduction .-- II. Key objectives of macroeconomic statistics and the relevant indicators for measuring performance .-- III. The Latin American Performance Index (LAPI) .-- IV. Examples of the application of the LAPI .-- V. Conclusions and the future outlook.