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Econ 328: Latin American Economic History and Policy

How to use this guide

Once you have chosen an economic historical process developed in a specific country, you can begun exploring various policy issues.

1) First, you need to identify what economic process or policy in a specific country.

You are going to want to search for:

  • Background information about the country or region you are exploring
    • Locate your country or region in the World Factbook and CIAO (Country Outlook).
      • Every country has an Economy section (GDP, Industries, Labor, Unemployment, Budget, etc).
      • Collect basic demographic, socio-economic-political information that will help inform you about the locale. 
    • Many of the development bank resources have a section about "Where we work" or "Regions we operate in," this is where you will find your country's profile and policy plans. 

2) Then research the 4 topics in assignment: 

  • Colonial economy
  • Export-led growth
  • Import-substitution policies
  • Agrarian reform

 What are the events or decisions that have shaped these topics?

  • Begin looking through research reports- Once you have identified some issues affecting your country or region, locate a historical article, policy paper or report on this topic. 
  • It can be helpful to trace a timeline of how the topic was shaped, giving one an idea of how the policy effected the topic, region and people. 
  • Look through News Sources- How was this topic reported about in various new sources? Domestically? Internationally?
  • Analyze choices under consideration: What are the routes or options that were not taken? You may have to search through economic opinions, perspectives, and think pieces to gather alternative options. 

Country Information

Policy Information