Panorama of Productive Development Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean 2025

The Panorama of Productive Development Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean 2025, prepared by ECLAC, provides a comprehensive analysis of how to overcome the so-called “low growth capacity trap” that affects much of the region. The report combines diagnostic insights and policy recommendations across four strategic pillars: productivity, science and technology, productive articulation, and green and inclusive development. It begins with a detailed examination of labor productivity trends across sectors, territories, and firm sizes, highlighting prolonged stagnation and significant gaps compared to developed economies. Drawing on recent experiences in countries such as Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, it identifies progress in sectoral planning, governance, and evaluation, as well as remaining challenges to achieving more coherent and sustainable policies. The document underscores the role of science, technology, and innovation as key drivers of productive transformation, emphasizing the need to strengthen institutional capacities and diversify policy instruments according to each country’s level of maturity. It also highlights cluster initiatives and other forms of productive articulation as essential mechanisms to foster linkages and coordinate public and private actors at the territorial level. Finally, it proposes integrating environmental sustainability and social inclusion as guiding principles of a modern productive transformation, aligning productive and climate policies to seize strategic opportunities in the energy and technological transitions. Overall, the publication outlines a roadmap for fostering transformative and sustainable growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, based on planned, coordinated, and long-term public policies.