Introduction

The external context has been less favourable for the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean in the first five years of the current decade than in much of the previous decade. Beyond the current economic situation, projections of economic and financial trends suggest that patterns in the various markets of the world economy will change in the medium term, leading to a weakening of the external drivers for the region’s growth in comparison with much of the first decade of the century. The processes underlying these trends are not entirely negative, however, as they reflect the partial redressing of certain major imbalances present in the world economy in the past decade and the economic upturn in the United States, which is good news for many of the countries in the region. Although the dynamics of the goods and services and financial markets may be less favourable, making it difficult for the region to attain the rates of economic growth seen between 2003 and 2008, the key variables of these markets in the region (such as the prices of the main export goods and financing conditions) are not expected to plumb the depths seen on occasion in the past three decades.

Related Subject(s): Economic and Social Development