Latin America: Reversing Course
Latin America faces a productivity crisis as industry declines and exports revert to raw materials, according to new ECLAC analysis.
Deindustrialization and recommodification have been setting Latin American economies back for decades. The region's aggregate economy reached low growth rates, with average annual growth of 0.9% from 2014 to 2023, compared to 2% a year four decades ago.
Marco Llinás, head of Production, Productivity and Management Division at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), notes the decline.
The Covid-19 pandemic had an impact, but deindustrialization and the recommodification of exports contributed to the decline throughout the period.
Author's summary: Latin America faces a productivity crisis due to deindustrialization and recommodification.