Latin American Capital Markets

472 CATHERINE CHANDLER-CRICHLOWthrough sector-specific programs. Professionals in this environment therefore haveaccess to a range of training and development opportunities. Here again, the regulatoryagency and stock exchanges listed offer a range of investor education programs.With more than 10 training institutions and industry associations in this market, thereappears to be an even greater emphasis placed on human capital development; thereare five stock exchanges and one regulator in this jurisdiction.The United StatesLike Canada, the United States is a federation, which in this case is composed of 50states. As a major player in global markets and a hub for international capital flows,the United States has a highly structured capital market sector Here capital marketscan be characterized as having a plethora of professional associations and private sectorfirms that specialize in the development of skills and knowledge for the sector Thesector is regulated at a federal level by two key agencies, and stock is traded on I Istock exchanges. Table 15-4 gives a summary of key players in the sector It is noteworthythat all groups listed here offer some form of technical and/or operationaltraining for professionals in the sectorCapital Markets in Latin America and the CaribbeanTwo major factors that contribute to the development of capital markets are the abilityof a country to sustain high domestic savings and a national culture of wealth accumulation.These exogenous factors can also affect the ability of a country to buildthe infrastructure needed to implement a human capital approach that developsknowledgeable professionals and investors. Herein lies the major challenge faced inLatin America and the Caribbean. While the countries in the region may have marketablecommodities such as oil, natural gas, and minerals, and while some have builtstrong economies from tourism, some countries are still plagued with low domesticsavings rates and low per capita earnings.To reap the social benefits from their naturalresources, there is therefore a strong reliance on foreign investors in local markets.How should countries that are seeking to build stronger domestic marketsbalance investment in developing the institutional capital versus the human capital forthe sector? The sector needs technology, a payment and settlement system, and manyother essential items.There is the potential for a vicious cycle of decisionmaking on prioritizingsector development investments, a situation that is exacerbated when there isa scarcity of financial resources to support sustainable growth of the sector The taskCopyright © by the Inter-American Development Bank. All rights reserved.For more information visit our website: www.iadb.org/pub