The impact of the global financial crisis on Latin America

This essay argues that while the complete lack of liquiditycharacterizing the most severe phase of the financial crisis unleashedin September 2008 is now a thing of the past, lending and productionactivity in the industrialized countries are both contracting rapidly andthe financial system is still undercapitalized. Of all the external channelsthrough which the crisis has been transmitted to Latin America, the dropin remittances is the least important. The most widespread negative effectswill come from the decline in the volume of international trade and thesharp deterioration in the terms of …

Export diversification and growth in emerging economies

This paper develops and tests a model of growth that emphasizesthe introduction of new exports as the main source of growth in countriesthat are well within the global technology frontier and depend for growthon adapting existing products to their economic environment. It seeks tocapture the stylized facts behind growth in countries as different as theRepublic of Korea, Taiwan Province of China, Mauritius, Finland, Chinaand Chile, all of which have relied on export diversification. The wideningof comparative advantage is thus seen as the main driver of economicgrowth. The export diversificatio…

América Latina y el Caribe frente al nuevo escenario económico internacional

Comercio internacional: de bienes a servicios. Los casos de Costa Rica y México