The Oxford Handbook of Latin American Economics

Latin America has been central to the main debates on development economics, ranging from the relationships between income inequality and economic growth, and the importance of geography versus institutions in development, to debates on the effects of trade, trade openness and protection on growth and income distribution. Despite increasing interest in the region there are few English language books on Latin American economics. This Handbook, organized into five parts, aims to fill this significant gap. Part I looks at long-term issues, including the institutional roots of Latin America's underdevelopment, the political economy of policy making, the rise, decline and re-emergence of alternative paradigms, and the environmental sustainability of the development pattern. Part II considers macroeconomic topics, including the management of capital account booms and busts, the evolution and performance of exchange rate regimes, the advances and challenges of monetary policies and financial development, and the major fiscal policy issues confronting the region, including a comparison of Latin American fiscal accounts with those of the OECD. Part III analyzes the region's economies in global context, particularly the role of Latin America in the world trade system and the effects of dependence on natural resources (characteristic of many countries of the region) on growth and human development. It reviews the trends of foreign direct investment, the opportunities and challenges raised by the emergence of China as buyer of the region's commodities and competitor in the world market, and the transformation of the Latin America from a region of immigration to one of massive emigration. Part IV deals with matters of productive development. At the aggregate level it analyzes issues of technological catching up and divergence as well as different perspectives on the poor productivity and growth performance of the region during recent decades. At the sectoral level, it looks at agricultural policies and performance, the problems and prospects of the energy sector, and the effects on growth of lagging infrastructure development. Part V looks at the social dimensions of development; it analyzes the evolution of income inequality, poverty, and economic insecurity in the region, the evolution of labor markets and the performance of the educational sector, as well as the evolution of social assistance programs and social security reforms in the region. The contributors are leading researchers that belong to different schools of economic thought and most come from countries throughout Latin America, representing a range of views and recognising the diversity of the region. This Handbook is a significant contribution to the field, and will be of interest to academics, graduate students and policy makers interested in economics, political economy, and public policy in Latin America and other developing economies. Contributors to this volume - Jose Antonio Ocampo, Columbia University Jaime Ros, University of Notre Dame Luis Bertola, Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay Mariano Tommasi, Universidad de San Andres, Argentina Martin Ardanaz, Columbia University Carlos Scartascini, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) Nancy Birdsall, Center for Global Development Augusto de la Torre, World Bank Felipe Valencia Caicedo, World Bank Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira, Getulio Vargas Foundation Carlos de Miguel, ECLAC Osvaldo Sunkel, ECLAC Ricardo Ffrench-Davis, Universidad de Chile Stephany Griffith-Jones, Columbia University Roberto Frenkel, CEDES, Argentina Martin Rapetti, CEDES, Argentina Pablo Garcia, Central Bank of Chile Manuel Marfan, Central Bank of Chile Jose Maria Fanelli, CEDES, Argentina Guillermo Perry, Fedesarrollo Mauricio Cardenas, Brookings Institution Javier Santiso, OECD Development Centre Pablo Zoido, OECD Development Centre Diana Tussie, FLACSO, Argentina Paolo Giordano, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) Robert Devlin, OAS Eduardo Lora, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) Edmar Bacha, Institute of Economic Policy Studies, Casa das Garcas Albert Fishlow, University of California and Columbia University Francisco Rodriguez, UNDP Jose Gregorio Pineda, UNDP Joao Carlos Ferraz, BNDES, Brazil Michael Mortimore, ECLAC Marcia Tavares, ECLAC Kevin Gallagher, Boston University Roberto Porzecanski, Tufts University Alejandro Canales, Universidad de Guadalajara Ricardo Hausmann, Harvard University Mario Cimoli, ECLAC Gabriel Porcile, University of Parana Jose Gabriel Palma, University of Cambridge Salomon Salcedo, FAO Fernando Soto-Baquero, FAO Jose Graziano da Silva, FAO Rodrigo Castaneda, FAO Sergio Gomez, FAO Humberto Campodonico, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos Cesar Calderon, World Bank Luis Serven, World Bank Leonardo Gasparini, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata Nora Lustig, Tulane University Rebeca Grynspan, UNDP Luis Felipe Lopez Calva, UNDP Robert Vos, United Nations Victor Tokman, formerly ILO Maria Victoria Murillo, Columbia University Lucas Ronconi, CIPPEC Andrew Schrank, University of New Mexico Miguel Urquiola, Columbia University Francisco Ferreira, World Bank David Robalino, World Bank Andras Uthoff, Universidad de Chile