CEPAL Review - Volume 1988, Issue 34, 1988

This article seeks to make a contribution to the conceptual review of economic policy design and implementation in Latin America. To this end, the author addresses three ropics. The first section is devoted to a brief analysis of a number of the factors behind the challenges now being faced, some of which were already in existen cepriorto the present crisis and some of which have emerged or grown more serious since it began.

The promotion of export-led development is usually accom panied by strong criticism of the modalities assumed by im port-substitution industrialization (ISI) in Latin America, The premise underlying the criticism reveled at ISI by the neoliberal school is that these modalities have conformed more or less closely to the theoretical recommendations of ECLAC and the structuralist approach deriving therefrom.

In the 1980s, for the first time in four decades, Latin America has been faced with a prolonged period of setbacks in its development. If it is to begin to move forward once again, it will have to formulate new development strategies which will offer a technically consistent and politically viable approach.

The devastating effect of the financial crisis has rekindled the debate in Latin America on development strategies. The short-term logic of the recessionary adjustment has proven to be unw orkable, and in order to find a solution the form ulation of a new kind o f thinking aim ing at structural change is now required.

In this article the author analyses various long- and medium-term developments in the world economy and in the sphere of international economics and politics and explores their impact on Latín America. He then goes on to consider the regional scenario and, in particular, the current economic crisis, with special attention being devoted to the efforts made by Latin America to improve its present position.

A major concern ro the developing countries in the commodity area has been their insufficient participation in the marketing of export commodities and the resulting low share of the final consumer pricesretained by them. In the light of the general assessment that international trade is conducted in a tightly controlled market environment, especially by transnational corporations, the paper attempts to bring to light some major features of commodity marketing, by examining the intra-firm trade in the said sector, with special reference to Latin America.

The past 15 years have served as a testing ground for urban employment policy research and design in Latin America, In this article the author analyses the major issues dealt with during this period as well as the main advances achieved in this connection.

The option represented by sm all and medium-scale production has taken on the status of a virtual paradigm. As such, it is regarded as an effective alternative for coping with unemployment and the shortage of capital and for maximizing entrepreneurial capabilities and the flexibility of production.

This article identifies three main phases in the evolution of Prebisch’s ideas on the international economy. During the first of these, he outlined his concept of the centre-periphery system and its role in the fundamental structural disequilibria of peripheral countries, with particular attention to their propensity to deficits and indebtedness and the trend towards a deterioration in the terms of trade of the primary commodities they exported. He also brought out the repercussions of their narrow specialization in primary activities, associated with adherence to the principle of static comparative advantage.

In this tribute to Raúl Prebisch, the author seeks to highlight two of the outstanding features of Prebisch’s w ritten legacy: the classical nature of his thinking, and his heterodoxy as a combatant, armed with the lessons taught by concrete historical experience, against conventional myths. Both of these traits are to be found in many of the thinkers who have made landm ark contribu tions to the development of the sciences and the realm of ideas, as did Prebisch in the field of economic development and societal change.

This article covers a little-known period of Raúl Prebisch’s life, when he was Chairman of the Central Bank of Argentina, in order to set the stage for the discussion that follows, the author firs t provides background inform ation concerning Argentina’s economic policy, the creation of the Central Bank and the tasks assigned to it during the period in question.

This posthumously published work by Prebisch poses the following question: What is ECLAC’s a ttitude on the topics of dependence, interdependence and development? In order to answer this question, Prebisch analyses a number o f issues.