Latin America Economic Perspectives: Innocent Bystanders in a Brave New World

In the midst of a lingering global financial crisis, Latin American countries are feeling the impact of the global slowdown. The prospect of a long period of modest economic growth, coupled with volatile capital markets, has enticed the creation of numerous regional initiatives aimed at making the region less sensitive to seasonal global swings. However, implementation of many of these initiatives has fallen well short of their intentions.

On November 17, the Latin America Initiative at Brookings hosted a discussion of its biannual Brookings Latin America Economic Perspectives report. The report analyzes the economic resilience of Latin American countries while attempting to understand the obstacles which are hindering the development of a regional agenda. Leading international experts discussed the findings of the report, analyzed the region’s economic performance and set forth recommendations for governments and policymakers.

After each panel, participants took audience questions.