IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ecr/col037/5460.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Long run economic development in Latin America in a comparative perspective: proximate and ultimate causes

Author

Listed:
  • Hofman, André A.

Abstract

This paper describes trends in economic growth and its causes in several Latin American countries in the 20th century. In the explanatory scheme, a distinction is made between 'proximate' and 'ultimate' causes of economic growth. Proximate causes are those areas of causality where models and quantification is possible, whereas ultimate causes are much more difficult to quantify. Some elements in the realm of the ultimate causes (like institutions and income distribution) will be analysed in an historical perspective and others, especially total factor productivity and growth accounting, in the proximate scheme. Latin America's performance is also compared to developed and other developing countries. The paper provides a quantitative assessment of Latin American economic growth performance in the twentieth century in a comparative perspective. Within the region it was found that heterogeneity has not decreased and no clear tendencies of convergence can be detected. The reform process of the late 1980s and 1990s was implemented because of the profound crisis of the 1980s and the detection of some structural weaknesses in the Latin American economies. Some aggressive and early reformers show impressive growth results (e.g. Chile) but on the whole, the growth performance in the 1990s has been rather disappointing. The paper stresses the fact that the proximate causes are not independent of the ultimate causes of growth as to a significant degree, proximate causes are dimensions through which ultimate causes can be seen to operate. At the proximate level, the interaction between capital accumulation and technological progress is an example of this interdependence. At the ultimate level, there exists interaction between the institutional framework of a society and the implementation of economic policy. An example of interdependence between the ultimate and proximate levels is the relationship between technological progress and the institutional context. The paper concludes with a description of some of the most important characteristics of Latin America in the realm of the ultimate causes. The interdependence between proximate and ultimate is mainly analysed in terms of growth. Besides the unsatisfactory growth performance, equity aspects are another worrying characteristic of contemporary trends in the region and institutional factors are probably key determinants in explaining the weak relationship between growth and equity.

Suggested Citation

  • Hofman, André A., 2001. "Long run economic development in Latin America in a comparative perspective: proximate and ultimate causes," Macroeconomía del Desarrollo 5460, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
  • Handle: RePEc:ecr:col037:5460
    Note: Includes bibliography
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://repositorio.cepal.org/handle/11362/5460
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Deininger, Klaus & Squire, Lyn, 1998. "New ways of looking at old issues: inequality and growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 259-287.
    2. N/A, 2001. "The World Economy," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 176(1), pages 35-60, April.
    3. Cecilia Garcia-Penalosa & Eve Caroli & Philippe Aghion, 1999. "Inequality and Economic Growth: The Perspective of the New Growth Theories," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 37(4), pages 1615-1660, December.
    4. Escaith, Hubert & Morley, Samuel A., 2000. "The impact of structural reforms on growth in Latin America and the Caribbean: an empirical estimation," Macroeconomía del Desarrollo 5331, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    5. Kuznets, Simon, 1973. "Modern Economic Growth: Findings and Reflections," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 63(3), pages 247-258, June.
    6. N/A, 2001. "The World Economy," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 175(1), pages 29-58, January.
    7. Cimoli, Mario & Correa, Nelson & Jorge, Katz & Rogério, Studart, 2003. "Institutional Requirements for Market-led Development in Latin America," MPRA Paper 2756, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Jan 2003.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. repec:cte:whrepe:wh054104 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Gutiérrez, Mario A. & Solimano, Andrés, 2006. "Savings, investment and growth in the global age: analytical and policy issues," Macroeconomía del Desarrollo 5419, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    3. Moramay L�pez-Alonso & Roberto V�lez-Grajales, 2015. "Measuring Inequality in Living Standards with Anthropometric Indicators: The Case of Mexico 1850-1986," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 374-396, August.
    4. Abarca, Leopoldo & Sotelsek, Daniel F., 2010. "Latin America: incorporating environmental factors into the measurement of production efficiency and technical change," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), August.
    5. Hofman, André A. & Tapia, Heriberto, 2003. "Potential output in Latin America: a standard approach for the 1950-2002 period," Estudios Estadísticos 4721, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    6. Solimano, Andrés & Soto, Raimundo, 2005. "Economic growth in Latin America in the late 20th century: evidence and interpretation," Macroeconomía del Desarrollo 5398, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    7. Solimano, Andrés, 2006. "Asset accumulation by the middle class and the poor in Latin America: political economy and governance dimensions," Macroeconomía del Desarrollo 5422, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    8. Solimano, Andrés, 2006. "The international mobility of talent and its impact on global development: an overview," Macroeconomía del Desarrollo 5418, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    9. Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid & Stefanie Garry, 2016. "Economic performance in Latin America in the 2000s: recession, recovery, and resilience?," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(4), pages 384-400, October.
    10. Solimano, Andrés, 2004. "Political violence and economic development in Latin America: issues and evidence," Macroeconomía del Desarrollo 5395, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    11. Watts, Nathalie & Solimano, Andrés, 2005. "International migration, capital flows and the global economy: a long run view," Macroeconomía del Desarrollo 5400, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    12. Lavan Mahadeva & Javier Gómez Pineda, 2009. "The international cycle and Colombian monetary policy," Borradores de Economia 5406, Banco de la Republica.
    13. Gutiérrez, Mario A., 2007. "Economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean: growth transitions rather than steady states," Macroeconomía del Desarrollo 5425, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    14. Carlos Guerrero de Lizardi, 2009. "Contribution of the Information and Communication Technology sector to Mexican economic growth from 1999 to 2004," EconoQuantum, Revista de Economia y Finanzas, Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de Ciencias Economico Administrativas, Departamento de Metodos Cuantitativos y Maestria en Economia., vol. 6(1), pages 11-30, Julio - D.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Njangang, Henri & Asongu, Simplice A. & Tadadjeu, Sosson & Nounamo, Yann & Kamguia, Brice, 2022. "Governance in mitigating the effect of oil wealth on wealth inequality: A cross-country analysis of policy thresholds," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Asplund, Rita, 2004. "A Macroeconomic Perspective on Education and Inequality," Discussion Papers 906, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    3. Grossmann, Volker, 2008. "Risky human capital investment, income distribution, and macroeconomic dynamics," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 19-42, March.
    4. Gelaw, Fekadu, 2009. "The Relationship Between Poverty, Inequality, and Growth in the Rural Ethiopia: Micro Evidence," 2009 Conference, August 16-22, 2009, Beijing, China 51915, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Markus Brueckner & Ngo Van Long & Joaquin L. Vespignani, 2020. "Non-Gravity Trade," Globalization Institute Working Papers 388, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    6. Bourguignon, Francois, 2005. "The Effect of Economic Growth on Social Structures," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 27, pages 1701-1747, Elsevier.
    7. Julien Gourdon, 2011. "Wage inequality in developing countries: South–South trade matters," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 58(4), pages 359-383, December.
    8. Ron W. NIELSEN, 2016. "Interpretations of Hyperbolic Growth," Journal of Economics and Political Economy, KSP Journals, vol. 3(4), pages 594-626, December.
    9. Ricardo Fort, 2007. "Land inequality and economic growth: a dynamic panel data approach," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 37(2‐3), pages 159-165, September.
    10. Massimiliano Mazzanti & Giulio Cainelli & Susanna Mancinelli, 2005. "Social Capital, R&D and Industrial Districts," Working Papers 2005.84, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    11. François Bourguignon & Francisco de Hollanda Guimarães Ferreira, 2000. "Understanding inequality in Brazil: a conceptual overview," Textos para discussão 434, Department of Economics PUC-Rio (Brazil).
    12. Josef ZweimüLler, 2000. "Inequality, Redistribution, and Economic Growth," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 27(1), pages 1-20, March.
    13. Isaac Ehrlich & Jinyoung Kim, 2007. "The Evolution of Income and Fertility Inequalities over the Course of Economic Development: A Human Capital Perspective," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 137-174.
    14. Nicholas Oulton, 2013. "Medium and long run prospects for UK growth in the aftermath of the financial crisis," Discussion Papers 1307, Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM).
    15. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/10184 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Thierry Mayer, 2006. "Policy Coherence for Development: A Background Paper on Foreign Direct Investment," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 253, OECD Publishing.
    17. Elizabeth Caucutt & Thomas Cooley & Nezih Guner, 2013. "The farm, the city, and the emergence of social security," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 1-32, March.
    18. Martin Ravallion, 2012. "Why Don't We See Poverty Convergence?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(1), pages 504-523, February.
    19. Daniele Checchi, 2001. "Education, Inequality and Income Inequality," STICERD - Distributional Analysis Research Programme Papers 52, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE.
    20. Mikucka, Malgorzata & Sarracino, Francesco & Dubrow, Joshua K., 2017. "When Does Economic Growth Improve Life Satisfaction? Multilevel Analysis of the Roles of Social Trust and Income Inequality in 46 Countries, 1981–2012," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 447-459.
    21. Francisco Parro & Loreto Reyes, 2017. "The rise and fall of income inequality in Chile," Latin American Economic Review, Springer;Centro de Investigaciòn y Docencia Económica (CIDE), vol. 26(1), pages 1-31, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ecr:col037:5460. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Biblioteca CEPAL (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/eclaccl.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.