|
|
|
Map of Central America Map of North America Map of South America |
Email this citationCIAO DATE: 7/00
Latin American Trade Strategy at Century's End
Carol Wise
North South Center
University of Miami
JUNE 1999
Abstract
This paper tackles the question of trade strategy and differential economic performance in Latin America, with a focus on the four countries — Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico — most important for the successful completion of a full Western Hemispheric integration scheme. The analysis distinguishes between a "standard" market strategy that assigns the task of economic adjustment to market forces and a "competitive" strategy that more actively employs a range of public policies to facilitate adjustment and correct for instances of market failure. The choices of strategy are explored against the backdrop of international pressures, government-business relations, and institutional reform within the state. Two main conclusions are drawn: first, the competitive strategy strongly correlates with more favorable macro- and microeconomic outcomes and, second, mediocre economic performance under a standard market strategy has undermined the spirit of collective action that will be necessary to forge ahead at the hemispheric level.
