Abstract
This paper analyzes Latin America performance in the period 2003-2013 period, in order to evaluate two ideas: whether or not the first decade of the 2000s constituted “Golden Years,” and whether or not the 2010s were likely to be a “Latin American Decade.” We compare the region’s 2003-2013 performance with that in the 1980s and 1990s, evaluate how it performed in the sub-periods 2003-2007 and 2008-2013, and compare the region’s 2003-2013 indicators with those of other developing regions during the same period. The paper concludes that the period 2003-2013 was a golden decade only when compared with the region’s own performance during the previous two decades but not when compared to other developing regions. Furthermore, the “Golden Years” were just the period 2003-2007, half a decade. Therefore, it concludes that there is no indication of a “Latin American Decade” in the past or in the forthcoming periods.
Keywords: Latin America; Economic Performance; Developing Regions.
Download link: http://policydialogue.org/files/publications/On_the_Latin_America_Decade.pdf
About the Authors
José Antonio Ocampo
Co-President
Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD)
Jose Antonio Ocampo is Co-President of IPD, Professor of Professional Practice in the School of International and Public Affairs, and Fellow of the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University. Prior to his appointment at Columbia, Professor Ocampo served as the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, and head of UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), as Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and has held a number of high-level posts in the Government of Colombia, including Minister of Finance and Public Credit, Director of the National Planning Department, and Minister of Agriculture . Professor Ocampo is author or editor of over 30 books and has published over 200 scholarly articles on macroeconomic theory and policy, international financial issues, economic development, international trade, and Colombian and Latin American economic history.
Marcos Reis
PhD in Economics
Institute of Economics
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Marcos Reis is the IPD Young Scholar for the 2015 Latin America-China workshop in Beijing, China. He is also a PhD in Economics, Institute of Economics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IE-UFRJ), Brazil
Eduardo F. Bastian
Associate Professor
Institute of Economics
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Eduardo F. Bastian is a Associate Professor (Professor Adjunto), Institute of Economics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IE-UFRJ), Brazil.