Growth and Structural Reform in Latin America. Where We Stand

J.M. FANELLI, R. FRENKEL Y G. ROZENWURCEL

Cartagena

Otro; Reformas Estructurales en América Latina; 1991

Red Latinoamericana de Macroeconomía

This paper examines the issues related to the problem of restoring growth in Latin America from the standpoint of economic policy. Consequently, one of its main purposes is to extract some conclusions from the experience of adjustment-with-stagnation experienced by most Latin- American countries throughout the eighties. To fulfil this objective, it is almost as important to examine the policy reform proposals that are being made by the World Bank, the IMF and the literature produced by the Washington think tanks, which gave rise to the “Washington Consensus” about policy reform (Williamson 1990), as it is to analyze the structural disequilibria that arose during the adjustment period of the eighties. These proposal are  heavily determining the direction of the actual reforms the most important countries in the region are putting into practice. Therefore, part of this paper is devoted to assessing the suitability of the theoretical framework that supports the “Washington” diagnosis and its concrete policy reform proposal as well. Besides the analysis of the actual economic disequilibria and the evaluation  of the “Washington Consensus”, a third purpose of the paper is to advance and the evaluate some policy reform proposals aimed at the restoring growth.