A reasonable model or a liberal failure? The economic model in Latin America from the 1990s to the great crisis

Abstract

This paper critically evaluates the results in terms of economic growth and structural transformation of the new economic model implemented by most Latin American countries since the early 1990s. The new model, which had macroeconomic stability and export orientation as its core components, has been unable to develop more dynamic comparative advantages in the current global era and, as a result, has resulted in lower rates of economic growth than in Asia. The paper closes with an analysis of the impact of the current financial crisis in the region. It highlights the short-term costs, but also acknowledges the opportunities that the crisis is creating to promote a greater number of new progressive development alternatives that place more emphasis on the role of learning and innovation.

Keywords

• Latin America
• economic policy
• globalisation
• economic crisis
• development
• exports
• economic growth