Appraising the Economic Potential of Panama: Policy Recommendations for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth

CID Faculty Working Paper No. 334

Ricardo Hausmann, Miguel Angel Santos, and Juan Obach
May 2017

Abstract:

This report aims to summarize the main findings of the project as gathered by the three baseline documents, and frame them within a coherent set of policy recommendations that can help Panama to maintain their growth momentum in time and make it more inclusive. Three elements stand out as cornerstones of our proposal:

(i) attracting and retaining qualified human capital;

(ii) maximizing the diffusion of know-how and knowledge spillovers, and

(iii) leveraging on public-private dialog to tackle coordination problems that are hindering economic activity outside the Panama-Colón axis.