## Regional Economic Outlook: Western Hemisphere Hemisphere Department

_Western Hemisphere, May 6, 2013_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Regional Economic Outlook: Western Hemisphere Hemisphere Department](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/reo/wh/issues/2017/01/07/latin-america-and-the-caribbean)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/publications/reo/wh/issues/2017/01/07/latin-america-and-the-caribbean/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/publications/reo/wh/issues/2017/01/07/latin-america-and-the-caribbean/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/publications/reo/wh/issues/2017/01/07/latin-america-and-the-caribbean/bundle-manifest.json)

## Bibliographic details
- Published: May 6, 2013
- Series: Western Hemisphere

---

### Executive summary and regional outlook
- Growth in Latin America is set to pick up to about 3½ percent in 2013, broadly in line with potential.
- The region continues to benefit from favorable external financing conditions and relatively high commodity prices, but these tailwinds are unlikely to last forever.
- Key challenges for policymakers:
  - Preserving macroeconomic and financial stability.
  - Building strong foundations for sustained growth in the future.

### Policy recommendations and macroeconomic guidance
- Fiscal policy:
  - More prudent fiscal policy would help ease pressure on capacity constraints.
  - More prudent fiscal policy would mitigate the widening of current account deficits.
  - More prudent fiscal policy would prepare the economies better to deal with adverse external shocks.
- Exchange rate and prudential measures:
  - Exchange rate flexibility and prudential measures should continue to be used to discourage speculative capital flows.
- Structural reforms:
  - Sustaining strong output growth will require structural reforms to raise productivity growth.

### Regional and country-level themes covered
- The United States, Canada, and the World: Outlook and Policy Challenges
  - Global Backdrop: Receding Risks, Three-Speed Recovery
  - The United States: Modest Growth, Bright Spots Appearing
  - Canada: Moderating Growth Amid Currency Strength
- Outlook and Policy Challenges for Latin America and the Caribbean
  - Overview
  - Policy Challenges
  - Financially Integrated Economies
  - Other Commodity Exporters
  - Central America, Panama, and the Dominican Republic
  - The Caribbean
- Is the Growth Momentum in Latin America Sustainable?
  - What Factors Drove the Recent Strong Growth Performance?
  - Is the Recent Strong Performance Sustainable?
  - Policy Implications
  - Annex 3.1. Data and Methodology
- Latin America’s Fiscal and External Strength: How Dependent Is It on External Conditions?
  - Introduction
  - A Decade of Falling Public and External Debt, 2003–12
  - External Factors and Debt Sustainability
  - Conclusions
  - Annex 4.1. Global Variables under Alternative Scenarios
- Is Latin America Saving Its Terms-of-Trade Windfall? A Metric
  - The Terms-of-Trade Windfall—a Historical Perspective
  - A Measure of Windfall Saving
  - Concluding Remarks
  - Annex 5.1

### Analytical focus areas and supporting materials
- Boxes addressing topical issues:
  - 1.1 U.S. Household Balance Sheets After Five Years of Repair
  - 1.2 Canadian and Mexican Exports to the United States: A Tale of Two Countries
  - 2.1 Taking Stock of European Banks’ Deleveraging in Latin America
  - 2.2 Foreign Ownership of Local Currency Securities and Exchange Rate Flexibility
  - 2.3 Sustaining Progress in Banking Regulation and Supervision in Latin America
  - 2.4 The Caribbean: In Search of Lost Competitiveness
  - 4.1 Optimal Sovereign Debt Levels: The Information in Sovereign Spreads
- Tables and indicators included:
  - Western Hemisphere: Main Economic Indicators
  - Western Hemisphere: Main Fiscal Indicators
  - Western Hemisphere: Selected Economic and Social Indicators
  - Macroprudential (MaP) and Capital Flow Management (CFM) Measures in Latin America

*IMF Regional Economic Outlook: Western Hemisphere Department*

---

## Content in this bundle

- **Após uma década de ouro, conseguirá a América Latina manter o seu brilho?**
  - [Após uma década de ouro, conseguirá a América Latina manter o seu brilho? (Markdown version)](/external/lang/portuguese/np/vc/2013/050613p.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Após uma década de ouro, conseguirá a América Latina manter o seu brilho? (PDF)](/external/lang/portuguese/np/vc/2013/050613p.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **REGIONAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK — America Latina crescerá mais em 2013**
  - [REGIONAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK — America Latina crescerá mais em 2013 (Markdown version)](/external/lang/portuguese/pubs/ft/survey/so/2013/CAR050613ASp.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [REGIONAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK — America Latina crescerá mais em 2013 (PDF)](/external/lang/portuguese/pubs/ft/survey/so/2013/CAR050613ASp.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **Perspectivas económicas: Las Américas (edición abril de 2013)**
  - [Perspectivas económicas: Las Américas (edición abril de 2013) (Markdown version)](/external/spanish/pubs/ft/reo/2013/whd/wreo0513s.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Perspectivas económicas: Las Américas (edición abril de 2013) (PDF)](/external/spanish/pubs/ft/reo/2013/whd/wreo0513s.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **Regional Economic Outlook -- Western Hemisphere: Time to Rebuild Policy Space; May 2013**
  - [Regional Economic Outlook -- Western Hemisphere: Time to Rebuild Policy Space; May 2013 (Markdown version)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported-flagship-issues/external/pubs/ft/reo/2013/whd/eng/pdf/_wreo0513pdf.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Regional Economic Outlook -- Western Hemisphere: Time to Rebuild Policy Space; May 2013 (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported-flagship-issues/external/pubs/ft/reo/2013/whd/eng/pdf/_wreo0513pdf.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **wreo0513s**
  - [wreo0513s (Markdown version)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported-flagship-issues/external/spanish/pubs/ft/reo/2013/whd/wreo0513s.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [wreo0513s (PDF)](/-/media/websites/imf/imported-flagship-issues/external/spanish/pubs/ft/reo/2013/whd/wreo0513s.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

---

## References

- [Press Release](https://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2013/pr13153.htm)
- [Survey Story](https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2013/CAR050613A.htm)
- [Blog — iMFdirect](http://blog-imfdirect.imf.org/2013/05/06/after-a-golden-decade-can-latin-america-keep-its-luster/)
- [Western Hemisphere: Regional Economic Outlooks Archive](https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/reorepts.aspx?ddlRegions=12&ddlYear=-1)
- [Regional Economic Outlooks](https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/reorepts.aspx)
- [IMF Regional Reports](https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/region.asp)
- [World Economic Outlook Archives](https://www.imf.org/external/ns/cs.aspx?id=29)
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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/reo/wh/issues/2017/01/07/latin-america-and-the-caribbean_