As countries continue to manage the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Central America’s priority is to recover from its deepest economic contraction to restore strong, sustainable economic growth.
With increases in working age population projected to decline sharply, strong growth in the long run can only be achieved with higher productivity. More effective participation in global value chains, as well as a robust shift towards sophisticated exports of goods and services will be needed, but neither can be ensured without firms investing in productivity-enhancing innovations.
The World Bank released a study entitled "Unleashing Central America’s Growth Potential", which has identified the broad strategic directions that would help to increase sophistication of exports, reduce productivity gaps within the region and with other regions, and achieve higher productivity growth.