CICR

Aside from their opinions about RECOPE's monopoly, candidates agreed on most of the other economic issues discussed at the debate.

Industrial entrepreneurs consider the country's high electricity tariffs as the main factor affecting their companies’ competitiveness, as well as costs of social security, high fuel prices, bad road infrastructure, unfair competition from informal businesses, and high taxes.

ARESEP approved the new fuel prices on Monday and they went into effect on Tuesday when the agency published them in the official newspaper La Gaceta.

Shock, angst in many quarters, and plunging markets greet the election of Donald Trump as the next President of the United States.

Business chambers, citizens and lawmakers asked the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling allowing RECOPE to include costs of non-salary perks in fuel prices.

Costa Rican entrepreneurs expect hiring to stagnate while the number of private-sector companies considering staff cuts has increased in recent months, two recent studies find.