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Objetivos Asegurar que el sector privado y los proponentes de la libertad económica tengan una voz en los procesos globales de reforma democrática. Difundir una mayor comprensión de la relación que existe entre libertad económica, prosperidad y democracia. Comprometer a figuras destacadas del sector privado y de la sociedad civil en diálogo y promoción para fortalecer la democracia y promover un entorno de negocios positivo. Proporcionar un foro para el intercambio de ideas y apoyo mutuo entre los asociados. Read more…

Catherine Kuchta-Helbling, Ph. D., Billions of dollars in potential profits are lost each year in emerging democracies and economies threatening to derail political and economic transitions worldwide. These losses result from ill-designed, complex laws and regulations that exclude millions of citizens from the political and economic system and unnecessarily raise the cost of doing business in the formal sector. High business costs force entrepreneurs of modest means to survive by operating low-income, low-growth activities in the informal sector, squandering their economic potential. Read more…

These principles aim at capturing a broad set of good governance guidelines, which business associations in different countries can use to evaluate their existing practices and initiate improvements they deem necessary. Read more…

Corruption damages economic development, hinders the growth of fair market structures, and impedes the ability of developing countries to attract scarce foreign investment. Nowhere is the cost of corruption more evident than in public procurement. In 2009, Peru spent about 13.9 percent of its GDP and 25 percent of the public budget on procurement, which is in line with the world average of about 15 percent. Corruption in public procurement remains a serious problem, however, and transparency and integrity of the process is especially important when fighting corruption. Read more…

Corruption damages economic development, hinders the growth of fair market structures and impedes the ability of developing countries to attract scarce foreign investment. Nowhere is the cost of corruption more evident than in public procurement. Read more…

Kim Eric Bettcher, Public-private dialogue strengthens policymaking by incorporating valuable private input and creating momentum for reform. For dialogue to be most productive, the private sector must take initiative to advocate for its priorities in a participatory policy process. This toolkit aids business leaders who seek to improve their participation in dialogue for better policy results. The toolkit explains: Read more…

This book is designed to help define our collective vision of the future of Latin America in the next five years. As a strategic planning tool, it is more of a broad, general strategy than a highly specific, detailed work plan. We can use it interactively as circumstances change throughout the region. Read more…

John G. Murphy, Setting aside the headlines from Bolivia and Ecuador for the moment, these appear to be good times for Latin America and the Caribbean. GDP in the region is expected to grow 4% for the fourth year in a row and current account surpluses are rising. However, these positive indicators may be transitory — the very trends that are lending prosperity to the region are driving policies and perspectives down the same “boom and bust” trajectory of the past century. Read more…

A national business agenda (NBA) is a vital tool for the business community to encourage investment and stimulate business activity and economic growth. Developing an agenda mobilizes the business community to use its skills to effect public policy reform by setting legislative and regulatory priorities and clearly communicating them to policymakers. NBAs identify laws and regulations that hinder business activity. Th ey also offer concrete recommendations and reforms to remove these barriers and improve the business climate. Read more…

John Murphy, At the recent IV Summit of the Americas, 34 Heads of State and Government of the Americas gathered in Argentina to find solutions for some of the region’s most pressing challenges – to fight poverty and improve democratic governance. No one takes the challenges of job creation, competitiveness, and poverty reduction more seriously than the hemisphere’s business community. However, in order for the private sector to create the jobs necessary to developing the economy, the government must step in and implement certain policy reforms. Read more…