Digitalization, productivity and employment: Elements to think about vocational training in Latin America - ILO/Cinterfor Notes No. 14
Various documents from academic and institutional sources point out that the countries of the region are lagging significantly behind the developed world in terms of productivity, and that unless measures aimed at sustained improvement are implemented, it will be difficult for the region to achieve a lasting expansion in the quality of life of its population.
At the same time, different analyses warn that the difficulties experienced by several Latin American countries in generating and equitably distributing greater productivity could translate not only into situations of economic backwardness, but also into recurrent episodes of political and social instability, with very negative consequences for their populations and the economy itself.
It is in this context that a narrative has been developing that postulates that the process of digitalisation (first with ICTs and more recently with robotics and artificial intelligence) could propel the region to make the necessary productive leap.
However, the available evidence suggests that a more complex approach is required to understand what is happening in the region, and to enable the formulation of public policy responses that are capable of overcoming the real bottlenecks behind the aforementioned lag.
