Applying PovRisk to 15 countries in Latin America

Applying PovRisk to 15 countries in Latin America

October 26, 2017

Since the catastrophic debt crisis of the early 1980s, the experience of Latin American countries has, on the whole, been one of profound and positive transformation. On the economic front, most countries gradually accelerated trade liberalization and moved towards macroeconomic stability.

This, coupled with greater prudence in the design of fiscal and monetary policies, contributed to a new found resilience to external economic crises. Greater openness to trade also allowed countries to reap the benefits of the rise in commodity prices between 2003-2013. In a region where the export of agricultural raw materials, energy and metals accounts for half of the value of total exports, the rise in global demand and the price of these goods led to an improvement in the terms of trade, which saw the region grow at an average annual rate of 3.9 percent over the decade