In its Latin American Prospects 2001 report, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has revised its January forecast of 6% growth rate for the DR to 4%. This is down from 7.8% in 2000 and 8.2% in 1999. In the report, the organization revises growth forecasts for Latin American countries downward in general, reflecting the decline in the US economy which has lowered demand for the region’s products. The report is available on the organization’s web site at http://www.eclac.cl. Overall, current projections from ECLAC indicate that annual regional growth will reach 3% in 2001, one percentage point less than in 2000. This scenario assumes that the US economy won’t head into a full recession during the second half of the year. As a result, unemployment will remain at the relatively high levels typical of the past two years and could rise even further in some countries. If conditions in the US economy turn around, the region should grow at approximately 4% in 2002.
