Above: IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno in Haiti (Photo: Catianne Tijerina)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Latin America and the Caribbean are closing a year marked by economic gains, but the region is not immune to external shocks, according to a year-end report by Inter-American Development Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno.

Although the region performed well this year, largely due to the strength of Latin American countries like Brazil, it is susceptible to risks like the European financial crisis, the U.S. fiscal deficit or a potential deceleration of the Chinese economy.

“Although we have reasons to feel good about what we have done, I want to emphasize that the task is not complete,” he said. “The risks are there and we still have a long to-do list for the region to strengthen its achievements and keep moving forward.”

Moreno said increasing productivity was one of the region’s strongest imperatives, hindered by poor education quality, insufficient spending on scientific research and technological development and an infrastructure backlog.