Venezuela's persistent economic underperformance poses a puzzling question: Why has a country with vast oil wealth failed to achieve sustained growth across different political regimes? This study examines the historical roots and institutional failures that underpin Venezuela's development...

Uruguay has long been among the most prosperous countries in Latin America, but its economic growth trajectory has been modest and accident-prone, preventing its convergence to the living standards of high-income countries, whether they be New Zealand or similarly small economies in Europe. From...

Suriname is one of the smallest countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and the only former Dutch colony in South America. Although the country's population is under one million people, in the 2020s it has gained international attention due to the discovery of large offshore reserves of...

In development economics, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea are considered the “Asian Tigers”: economies that outperformed the developing world in terms of per capita income growth during the 20th century. However, in Latin America, there are no clear “Latin American Tigers.”...

Peru, historically dependent on primary exports, experienced sustained growth until the late 1960s, when a military regime introduced reforms such as nationalizations, land reform, and state-led industrialization. However, by the late 1980s, imprudent fiscal and monetary policies led to...

This paper delves into the transformative impact of institutional dynamics on Nicaragua's socioeconomic development, tracing shifts from the Sandinista redistributive initiatives to contemporary autocratic governance. Utilizing theoretical frameworks that highlight the importance of inclusive...

This work analyzes the economic performance of Mexico since 1950. It describes the process of rapid growth that occurred between 1950 and the early 1980s. It then shows the dramatic change of pace that occurred after the 1980s, with successive macroeconomic crises characterized by fiscal and...

The recent conflict over the Model Cities project in Honduras is only the latest manifestation of the country's historic struggle to achieve and maintain a level of national sovereignty. Throughout its history, Honduras has been marked by geographic and social divisions which have hindered the...

Haiti has the lowest per capita income in the region and the lowest ranking in the United Nations’ Human Development Index; it is also the region's most unequal country. Haiti's present state has been shaped by its history, a 200-plus year struggle for independence and freedom that began with...

In the first half of the 1990s El Salvador seemed to have found the formula that would finally take it out of underdevelopment, since after more than a decade of war, crisis and stagnation, the economy registered high growth accompanied by a reduction in unemployment and poverty. In that period,...