 Introduction: why is Latin America not developed?Francisco Rodríguez Chapter 1 in The Elgar Companion to the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2025, pp 1-18 from Edward Elgar Publishing Abstract: Why has the Latin American and Caribbean region not converged to the living standards of developed countries? This chapter traces evolving views on the region's development paradox, examining how discussions of its progress have shifted from the market pessimism of structuralism and dependency theories to the optimism of the Washington Consensus and ultimately to renewed disappointment over the region's lackluster growth and economic performance. The chapter summarizes the findings of the contributions to this volume, emphasizing the need for context-specific analysis while also underscoring the significance of recurring themes such as inequality, governance, and lack of economic diversification across the diverse growth narratives presented in this volume. Rather than advocating for a new “consensus,” the chapter argues for the need for a new conversation—one that is rooted in the region's complexity and heterogeneity. Keywords: Latin American Studies; Economic divergence; Economic development; Globalization; Elite coordination; Historical inequalities (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:22583_1 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing |
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