OBSERVATIONS ON THE TRANSMISSION OF BUSINESS FLUCTUATIONS: THE CASE OF LATIN AMERICA 1972-1989

The business cycle spreads from one country to the next to the extent that there is international trade, international investment, and international financial linkages. Since the Latin American countries are closely linked to the US economy, there should be a close parallel between the performance of the US economy and the economies of Latin America. Under consideration is the extent to which these countries were vulnerable or somewhat less than expected vulnerable to the forces at work in the US economy. The period 1972-1989 is the historical time frame under investigation. Given a changing world economy by the end of the 1980s, generalizations resulting from this study are limited to the study period.