INVESTIGACIÓN VS. DOCENCIA:

There are internal barriers and gaps in the PDP framework that reduce export competitiveness. Some internal constraints cut across many economic sectors, although a few relate specifically to the competitiveness of call centers and BPO services. The general recommendations mentioned by businesses include both horizontal and vertical policy measures.

55 For further details see Cuevas and Bolaños (2007).

56 A call centre is a telephone-based human service operation bringing together customers and service agents.

The difference between call centres and contact centres is that the latter, in addition to phone-based services, customers are reached via internet, email, chat and fax (Mandelbaum, 2004). No particular distinction is made in this study between call centers and contact centers. Business Process Outsourcing is “the delegation of an IT-intensive business process to an external provider, who owns, administers and manages it, according to a defined set of metrics” (Gartner, 2004).

57 Guatemala is not the only country in Central America investing in call centers and BPO development.

According to Zagada (2007), in 2006 there were 21,000 workers employed in this field, with Panama leading the region, followed by Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Zagada argues that Central America has great potential as a result of geographic proximity to the United States, a situation that reduces the costs of monitoring operations by enterprises based in the United States. Zagada considers Panama and Costa Rica to be “mature” markets, El Salvador, and Guatemala to be “contenders” in the development of the sector, and Nicaragua, Honduras, and Belize as “emerging” markets.

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Recommendations for improving horizontal PDPs include:

• Increasing labor market flexibility, particularly hiring and firing provisions.

• Improving education outcomes, especially at the secondary and technical levels.

• Strengthening the rule of law and improving public safety.

• Promoting a new image of the country both at home and abroad.

• Improving the supply of basic infrastructure, including transportation and electricity, outside the metropolitan area.

Recommendations for improving vertical PDPs include:

• Increasing the supply of workers with English language skills.

• Providing incentives to trade and investment in contact centers and BPO services.

• Modernizing tax administration to better serve the needs of the services sector.

• Assisting in the introduction of specific quality standards.

• Enhancing the mobility of tourists, investors, and business persons.

• Improving statistical data on the services sector.

There are other barriers that arise as a result of policies, laws, norms, standards and practices in partner countries that restrict access to Guatemalan services exports. It has been suggested that Guatemala should continue participating actively in international trade negotiations, with a view to improving market access for its products and services. To strengthen the country’s capacity to negotiate in international fora, an effort should be made to gain deeper knowledge of current and prospective trade activities in the services sector, so that specific negotiation strategies can be designed. The importance of strengthening the institutions and organizations behind services exports has also been highlighted, with continued direct participation by private sector organizations.

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Table 11. Constraints on Economy-Wide and Sector Growth Contact Centers and BPO Services

Economy-Wide Constraints Constraints on the Textile Sector Financial constraints (especially at the microeconomic level). Not mentioned as a constraint.

Human capital constraint: poorly developed human capital (low coverage and low quality).

A restriction in the long-run, although not an issue in the short run as there is a pool of labor that can be tapped in the next few years.

Poor infrastructure.

Unreliable electricity supply outside the Metropolitan area.

High transport cost of mobilizing personnel from residential areas to the workplace (this services is provided by private firms, especially to assist employees working the night shift).

Excessive concentration of

infrastructure in major urban centers, particularly the metropolitan area.

Other elements hindering appropriation of investment returns:

widespread corruption; institutional weakness, especially the inability to sustain long-term public policies; the presence of organized crime, high violence, constant fiscal reforms.

High cost from contracting private security.

Poor image of country abroad.

Tax administration still focussed on merchandise trade.

Overly restrictive labor regulations as a policy constraint.

Lack of flexibility in hiring (e.g., restrictive provisions on part-time employment). Note that many firms in this sector already pay above minimum wage.

Source: Authors’ compilation.

4 Institutional Framework for Trade Policy

Traditionally, only the public sector was represented in agencies dealing with international trade policy. This was the case at the time of the Central American Common Market.

Participation by the private sector began in the mid 1980s when responsibilities began to be shared between the public and the private sectors, first informally and over time on an increasingly formal basis. Today, the National Council for Export Promotion—

CONAPEX—can be deemed to be the highest body for deliberation on trade policy.

Several well-known agencies come under the CONAPEX umbrella, such as the National Program for Competitiveness—PRONACOM, the export promotion agency Invest in Guatemala, and the Program of Commercial, Investment and Tourism Attachés—PACIT.

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Each of these agencies is analyzed below, in terms of their objectives and results, as well as the level of inter-agency coordination.