Latin American Economic Development

✍ Scribed by Javier A. Reyes, W. Charles Sawyer

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 357
• Series: Routledge Textbooks in Development Economics
• Edition: 3 ed.
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Latin America is one of the most intriguing parts of the world. The region’s illustrious history, culture, and geography are famous internationally, but in terms of economics, Latin America has been generally associated with problems. For many, the combination of a resource-rich region and poor economic conditions has been a puzzle.
This extensively revised and updated third edition of Latin American Economic Development continues to provide the most up-to-date exploration of why the continent can be considered to have underperformed, how the various Latin American economies function, and the future prospects for the region. The book addresses the economic problems of Latin America theme by theme.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Half Title
Series Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of contents
Figures
Tables
Boxes
Acknowledgments
Preface
1 Latin America and the world economy
Introduction
Latin America and the world
The economic output of Latin America
GDP per capita in Latin America
Latin America and international trade
Capital flows and Latin America
Latin America and world resources
Latin America and the world: a summary
Recurring themes in Latin American economic development
Key terms and concepts
Questions for review and discussion
Notes
References
Recommended reading
2 Latin American economic history
Introduction
The colonial period
Gold and silver
Agriculture
Landownership patterns
Mercantilism
Brazil: variations on a theme
Institutions and economic growth
Independence and postcolonial turmoil
The golden age, 1870–1914
Wars and depression
Import substitution
The Lost Decade of the 1980s
Key terms and concepts
Questions for review and discussion
Notes
References
Recommended reading
3 Economic growth and Latin America
Introduction
Institutional basics
Property rights
The protection of intellectual-property rights
The rule of law
Enforcement of contracts
Judicial independence
Favoritism in decisions of government officials
Efficiency of legal framework
A basic model of economic growth
Resources
The production function
Changes in the capital stock and technology
The Latin American labor market
The labor force
Capital and Latin America
New growth theory
Key terms and concepts
Questions for review and discussion
Notes
References
4 Limits to growth in Latin America
Introduction
Growth accounting in Latin America
Capital stock growth
TFP growth in Latin America
Infrastructure
The formal sector
The informal sector
Structural reforms
Reducing complexity
Taxation
Labor market reform
Institutional quality
Key terms and concepts
Questions for review and discussion
Notes
References
Recommended reading
5 Growth and the environment in Latin America
Introduction
Pollution as a negative externality
Pollution and environmental policy
Cost–benefit analysis
Command and control
Market-based initiatives
The role of institutions
Environmental issues in Latin America
Water pollution
Air pollution
Deforestation
Biodiversity
The environment and growth
Sustainable growth
The environmental Kuznets curve
Trade, FDI, and the environment
Climate change
Appendix: demand and supply
Key terms and concepts
Questions for review and discussion
Notes
References
Recommended reading
6 Latin America and primary commodities
Introduction
Commodities in Latin America: a brief history
The microeconomics of commodities
Commodity booms and busts
Price volatility
The macroeconomics of commodities
Commodities and economic development
Commodities and Dutch disease
Key terms and concepts
Questions for review and discussion
Notes
References
Recommended reading
7 Import substitution in Latin America
Introduction
Structuralism, dependency theory, and ISI
Latin American structuralism
From structuralism to dependency theory
The argument for ISI
How ISI worked
Trade policy
Exchange-rate policy
Targeted lending and financial repression
SOEs
ISI and multinational corporations
The results of ISI
Industrialization
ISI and the informal sector
ISI and agriculture
Urbanization and pollution
Fiscal and monetary policy
The trade balance
The Lost Decade
Key terms and concepts
Questions for review and discussion
Notes
References
Recommended reading
8 Latin American trade policy
Introduction
Comparative advantage
Trade based on absolute advantage
Trade based on comparative advantage
Comparative advantage and ISI
Comparative advantage, factor prices, and the distribution of income
The Heckscher–Ohlin model
Other factors influencing comparative advantage
Trade, factor prices, and the distribution of income
The economic effects of tariffs and quotas
The effects of free trade
The effects of tariffs
Trade and transportation costs
The effects of quotas
Latin American trade policy
Pre-import-substitution-industrialization trade policy
Trade policy under ISI
The effective rate of protection
Latin America and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organization
Regional trade agreements in Latin America
Key terms and concepts
Questions for review and discussion
Notes
References
Recommended reading
9 Exchange-rate policy
Introduction
The balance of payments
The current account
The financial account
Flexible exchange rates
Fixed exchange rates
Intervention in the foreign-exchange market
Exchange controls
The real exchange rate
Managed exchange rates
Key terms and concepts
Questions for review and discussion
Notes
References
Recommended reading
10 Financing current-account deficits
Introduction
Debt vs. equity
FDI
Portfolio capital
ODA
Remittances
Debt
The role of the IMF
The Brady Plan
Key terms and concepts
Questions for review and discussion
Notes
References
Recommended reading
11 Macroeconomic policy in Latin America
Introduction
Fiscal policy in Latin America
Financing deficits and the money supply
The money supply, prices, and GDP
The equation of exchange
The inflationary process
Economic populism
Appendix: basic macroeconomics
Key terms and concepts
Questions for review and discussion
Notes
References
Recommended reading
12 Macroeconomic stability
Introduction
Commodity price shocks
Oil shocks
Debt and exchange-rate shocks
The Lost Decade
The recovery from the Lost Decade
Key terms and concepts
Questions for review and discussion
Notes
References
Recommended reading
13 Poverty and inequality
Introduction
Poverty in Latin America
Income inequality
Causes of poverty and inequality
Historical roots
ISI
Business and labor-market regulation
Educational inequality
Reducing poverty and inequality
Economic growth
Regulation of business and labor
Educational reform
The role of the state
Key terms and concepts
Questions for review and discussion
Notes
References
Recommended reading
14 Economic policy debates in Latin America
Introduction
The end of ISI
The Washington Consensus
Macroeconomic reform
Structural reform
Neoliberalism and its critics
Growth versus equity
Key terms and concepts
Questions for review and discussion
Notes
References
Recommended reading
Index