External debt, debt repayment, economic and social development, economic recession, Latin America - trends, development planning, monetary transfer to developed countries, terms of aid, international monetary system, international monetary reform, aid financing, self reliance, import substitution. Bibliography, statistical tables.

Examining the causes of the acute Latin American debt crisis that began in mid-1982, North American analysts have typically focused on deficiencies in the debtor countries' economic policies and on shocks from the world economy. Much less emphasis has been placed on the role of the region's principal creditors--private banks--in the development of the crisis. Robert Devlin rounds out the story of Latin America's debt problem by demonstrating that the banks were an endogenous source of instability in the region's debt cycle, as they overexpanded on the upside and overcontracted on the downside. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

A provocative and controversial look at Latin America as it stands at a crossroads, this book analyzes the complex economic and social roots of the debt crisis and evaluates the prospects for new development strategies for the 1990s. Dr. Wiarda begins by placing the regional economic crisis in the larger context of technological change, political upheaval, and the international economy. He then explores new choices and realities in inter-American relations and the role international lending agencies can take to assist Latin America in meeting the challenge of the next decade. The author suggests that "smokescreens and mirrors" have obscured the true nature of the crisis and, as a result, have skewed the policy debate.

The crisis that struck Latin America in 1981-82 has inflicted heavy losses on borrowers, lenders, and industrial countries alike. It has deprived Latin America of growth and has forced lenders to reschedule repayments of principal and in most cases to put up new money. The crisis has also caused a sharp drop in exports from the United States and other industrial countries to Latin America.

Latin America’s economic performance is mediocre at best, despite abundant natural resources and flourishing neighbors to the north. The perplexing question of how some of the wealthiest nations in the world in the nineteenth century are now the most crisis-prone has long puzzled economists and historians. The Decline of Latin American Economies examines the reality behind the struggling economies of Argentina, Chile, and Mexico. A distinguished panel of experts argues here that slow growth, rampant protectionism, and rising inflation plagued Latin America for years, where corrupt institutions and political unrest undermined the financial outlook of already besieged economies. Tracing Latin America’s growth and decline through two centuries, this volume illustrates how a once-prosperous continent now lags behind. Of interest to scholars and policymakers alike, it offers new insight into the relationship between political systems and economic development.

Examination of the causes that led many Latin American countries to contract debts and the effect of world recession on their ability to pay.

Since 1981 Latin America has been in the midst of a protracted external debt crisis due, among other reasons, to emergency borrowing at record-high real interest rates and the decline in the region's export proceeds. Until now, most literature on the subject originated in industrial lender countries, whose primary concern is the impact of the debt

The origins of the debt crisis, the principal institutional actors involved, and the structure of related policies are well documented. Less studied and less understood is the impact of austerity on the people of Latin America. In this collection of original essays, leading Latin American and U.S. researchers map the political economy of austerity in Latin America. Each essay focuses on a specific aspect of social relations-urban, rural, demographic, or economic. Exploring the theoretical and substantive implications of austerity in Latin America, the contributors show that the study of the region's debt crisis can contribute to an understanding of the impact of internationalization on national social structure and development. The book begins with a historical analysis of global economic and institutional changes that presaged the rapid growth of debt in Latin America and determined the implementation of austerity policies. In Part 2, several essays focus on the structure of national economic stabilization policies and their impact on income distribution. Part 3 examines the effects of austerity on various dimensions of social structure including demography, urbanization, organized labor, and regional development. Popular responses to austerity policies are explored in Part 4.