Technological progress in the 21st Century still remains monopolized by the developed countries, thereby determining the direction and rhythm of growth in developing countries which must import their technological infrastructure. This colonialized model of industrialization leads to a perpetual outflow of resources abroad and to structured social exclusion that placed narrow limits on democracy and the distribution of overall wellbeing. Why did Latin American societies fail to create an internal division of labour that could adequately provide for the development of productive forces? How did this affect the prospects for democracy in the region? Development and Democracy: Relations in Conflict examines the conflicting relations between technological development and democracy as they unfold in a new and ever more challenging environment. Contributors are: Irma Lorena Acosta Reveles, Leonel Álvarez Yáñez, Jesús Becerra Villegas, Ximena de la Barra, Héctor de la Fuente Limón, R. A. Dello Buono, Sergio Octavio Contreras Padilla, Silvana Andrea Figueroa Delgado, Víctor Manuel Figueroa Sepúlveda, Ernesto Menchaca Arredondo, Miguel Omar Muñoz Domínguez, Alexandre M. Quaresma de Moura, Cristina Recéndez Guerrero.

In 2010, the IDB published The Imperative of Innovation, a survey of the status of science, technology, and innovation in the Latin American and Caribbean region. The regions technological progress was found to be uneven and insufficient, especially in relation to other regions of the world. The main purposes of this document are to present updated information and to introduce some of the new research and policy know-how accumulated in the course of IDB lending and technical assistance operations in science, technology, and innovation. Most of the original diagnostic remains unchanged, mostly in the initial section, although figures have been updated reflecting the most recently available data. The new figures and indicators presented in this edition are derived from the Compendium of science, technology, and innovation indicators compiled by the IDB in late 2010.

The social sciences have made fundamental contributions to the understanding of the economic, political and social life of nations in the past century. Social science libraries now have an important role to play in the context of the information society as significant sources of academic and social knowledge. This work provides information on the development and use of digital resources in the social sciences emphasizing best practices; an articulation of some of the problems presented to providing these resources; and a view to the use of these resources to support sustainable development.

This document reviews the conditions for innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean and tackles the question of how innovation and technology can contribute to creating increased prosperity in these countries. The document is a contribution from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to the process of policy dialogue and identification of priorities to boost cooperation in science, technology and innovation between the European Union (EU) and Latin America and the Caribbean. Europe has historically played a major role in the development of science, technology and higher learning in Latin America and the Caribbean. The aim of this document is to serve as the basis for a discussion of expanded opportunities for collaboration between the two regions.