The macroeconomic context in Colombia

This chapter summarises the OECD Economic Survey of Colombia. It sets out the macroeconomic context for the review, including recent macroeconomic trends, the contribution of regulatory reform to economic performance, and the remaining challenges for the Colombian economy, notably in terms of boosting labour productivity, adjusting to the commodity boom, and reducing income inequality. Prudent macroeconomic management has helped Colombia weather the recent financial crisis remarkably well, but the remaining challenges call for structural reform in both product and labour markets. Colombia’s regulatory simplification efforts have led to significant improvements in the quality of the business environment and a more solid foundation for private sector development. This chapter argues that these efforts need now to translate into initiatives to improve regulatory quality more generally.