ABSTRACT Purpose: To understand how services can add value to the production and exports of NRIGs, in which South American countries have comparative advantages. Originality/value: South American countries play a key role in international markets of the so-called Natural Resource Intensive Goods (NRIGs), particularly, mining and food. It has been discussed that this specialization pattern has disadvantages in terms of economic development, and both policy makers and academia repeatedly sustain the need to search for new international insertion schemes. In this paper, we discuss that one such avenue could be based on these comparative advantages themselves, through Services and in a particular infrastructure. Design/methodology/approach: To measure the relevance of economic infrastructure services on the competitiveness of NRIGs, we develop a sectoral approach using domestic input-output tables for six Latin American countries. In particular, we measure Services value added incorporated in NRIGs, and we also analyse the impacts of productivity changes in infrastructure services on NRIGs producer prices. Findings: Results allow to identify which infrastructure services are more important to each NRIG in each country.

Destinar más recursos a la educación pública es 'relativamente fácil', pero obtener mejores resultados es un problema de gran complejidad. Pero, ¿los recursos, importan o no importan para obtener buenos resultados educativos? Desde el punto de vista teórico, los recursos son importantes si las demás circunstancias que favorecen los aprendizajes están presentes y la asignación del gasto es la adecuada. Considerando las cifras de Uruguay es posible concluir que a) es necesario matizar las visiones extremas sobre la evolución o el manejo de la situación del sistema educativo uruguayo; b) es necesario tener presente que el objetivo de equidad es “costoso” en recursos ya que para obtener resultados igualitarios en un alumnado heterogéneo se requieren innovaciones de alta demanda de recursos

It is relatively easier to allocate a bigger budget to education, but to raise educational attainment levels is a very complex task. What is really the role of resources in education achievement? In theory, resources are an important input for better achievement as long as other key inputs are present, and they are adequately allocated. Considering Uruguayan data we can conclude that: a) extreme visions of bad management in the education system deserve a second look; b) “equity” as a target is costly, as the required innovations in the teaching approach to get similar education results in heterogeneous populations are very much resource consuming

The paper discusses the reasons why Uruguay should develop a new framework of trade negotiations with the United States of America (USA). The initial argument starts with a critical assessment of the economic integration performance in the Southern Cone during the past decade. The South-South orientation for common trade negotiations with third parties are not aligned with the small countries interests in Mercosur, this is particularly the case of Uruguay. The second point is a description of the USA administration trade negotiations strategies of competitive liberalization. During the current decade, this global stance justifies the sign of many number of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by USA government. This year the evolution of the Congress composition and other political events show a change in the trade policy that also is characterized in the article. In the third part there is a specific story about the trade flow and the evolution of trade policy between both economies. In an eventual free trade area with the North American market in the tradable sectors, Uruguay has not a defensive position and on the contrary it has many opportunities to exploit. The comparatives advantages of this developing small country are concentrated in the agriculture sector. In the industry sector Uruguay is currently intensively open to its major neighbors in Mercosur. Moreover, to open the Uruguayan economy to USA in tradable sectors could diminish the trade deviation cost associated with the regional agreement. This benefit from the Uruguayan perspective implies a small deterioration of the Brazilian position. In relation to the service liberalization and the other complementary trade rules of the FTA the country must define what he want to obtain with the agreement. It is possible to reserve some sectors and measures from the general rules of the liberalization process. In all this beyond the borders issues is basically a domestic discussion to define the orientation of the reform process associated with the agreement. The FTA gives the choice to develop some economics reforms that could have an adverse political economy in a conventional contractive adjustment.