This report is the result of a collaborative effort by the OECD and Panama. It was carried out under the leadership of the OECD Development Centre, with the collaboration of the Centre on Well-being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity (WISE) and the support of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama. The report builds on analytical work, on a strategic foresight workshop held in Panama in May 2022 during a fact-finding mission, and on a series of policy workshops held in October and November 2023, part of a process to support policy dialogue on the model of development of Panama.
The work leading to this report was finalised under the leadership of Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir, Director of the OECD Development Centre, and of Romina Boarini, Director of the Centre on Well-being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity (WISE). The work was co-ordinated by Juan Ramón de Laiglesia and Sebastián Nieto Parra (OECD Development Centre). The report was drafted by Cristina Cabutto, Juan R. de Laiglesia and Kerstin Schopohl (OECD Development Centre). Laura Buchet, Olivia Cuq, Laura Gutiérrez, Nathalia Montoya, René Orozco and Juan Vázquez Zamora (OECD Development Centre) contributed specific subsections building on the series of policy workshops organised as part of the process. Irene Clavijo also contributed analytical inputs to the report. The adaptation of the OECD Recovery Dashboard to Panama was contributed by Žiga Žarnić, with support from Fernando Riaza and Adrián Tamariz (all from WISE). Laura Buchet, Olivia Cuq, Laura Gutiérrez and Nathalia Montoya (OECD Development Centre) also contributed to the organisation of the policy workshops in fall 2023.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Panama and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were appreciated counterparts throughout the implementation of the project. Special thanks go to the engagement of the Embassy of Panama in Paris.
The team is grateful for insightful contributions made during bilateral encounters, during the foresight workshop “Panama and its post-pandemic development strategy: vision and challenges” held in Panama on 31 May 2022, and during the three policy workshops co-organised by the OECD, the Government of Panama and the Government of Paraguay in 2023: “Financing a sustainable future: the role of green, social, sustainable and sustainability-linked bonds in channelling public and private capital towards a new development model”, held on 18 October 2023, “SME support and formalisation policies for a new development model for the post-COVID era”, held on 13 November 2023, and “Towards social protection systems with universal coverage: social coverage for independent workers”, held on 21 November 2023. The team is grateful to the Ministry of Economy and Finance for inputs in these events, as well as to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the Ministry of Labour and Work Development, to the Ministry of Government and to the Ministry of the Environment. The team also appreciates the contributions made by the Authority for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (AMPYME), the Panamanian Social Security Institution (CSS), the National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP), the Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP), Panama's Alliance for Corporate Social Responsibility (SUMARSE) and by participants in the workshops and consultation events carried out in the implementation of the project leading to this report.
Insights from international policy experiences were provided by Jorge Castaño (former Finance Superindendent of Finance of Colombia), and by representatives of Paraguay, including Minister Mónica Recalde (Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security), Vice Ministers Isaac Godoy and Gustavo Giménez (Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Paraguay), Juan José Galeano (Ministry of Economy and Finance of Paraguay), Carmen Ubaldi and María José Méndez of the Social Cabinet of Paraguay, as well as representatives of Paraguayan government agencies and civil society. Inputs were also provided by the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uruguay, the Ministry of Social Development of Uruguay, the Social Security Fund of Costa Rica, the Inter-American Development Bank and its IDB-Lab, the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN ECLAC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the Iberoamerican Organisation of Social Security (OISS). The final report also incorporates insights from the review of an interim version by the Mutual Learning Group for Multi-dimensional Country Reviews (MLG-MDCR) during its annual meeting held on 26 October 2023.
This project would not have been possible without the financial support of the European Union’s Regional Facility for Development in Transition for Latin America and the Caribbean. The team is grateful to the European Union Delegation in Panama, especially Kurt Leiseder and Adolfo Campos, for their insights and support in the implementation of this project.
The report was edited by Marilyn Smith and prepared for publication by Elizabeth Nash and Delphine Grandrieux.
* This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.