This paper formed part of a Conference "Mercosur: In Search of a New Agenda" held in the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Rio de Janeiro in June 2003. The purpose of the Conference was to was to examine future directions for Mercosur in light of emerging political dynamics pointing to renewed...

The process of economic reform and trade liberalization in Latin America and the Caribbean, under way since the end of the 1980s, has brought about an increasing integration of the countries in the region into the world economy, both in terms of commercial and investment flows. At the same time,...

The Central American Common Market (CACM) comprises Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, the signatories of the General Treaty on Economic Integration in 1960. The basic pattern of economic integration in Central America was based on a free trade area, with a common...

The concept of public good, as defined by Musgrave, Samuelson, and others, was also largely a nationally based concept. As in the classic case of defense spending, the public good was assumed to benefit the population of a country; however, because of two technical characteristics (mainly the...

Latin American and Caribbean countries are today at an important juncture in their international economic relations. Since the end of the 1980s the countries of the region have been pursuing a process of economic reform and opening that has brought about a radical change in their domestic...

Economic growth in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has been slow in the last two decades, averaging just 1.8 percent a year, compared to annual growth of 3.5 percent in the world economy and 4.3 percent in developing countries. Growth has varied considerably among CARICOM¿s 15 member states,...

The process of economic reform and trade liberalization in Latin America and the Caribbean, under way since the end of the 1980s, has brought about an increasing integration of the countries in the region into the world economy, both in terms of commercial and investment flows. At the same time,...

The eighteen months from June 2001 to end December 2002 were a period of unprecedented economic crisis within MERCOSUR, stemming from the sharp external shock that, with different characteristics, origins, and consequences in each member country, manifested itself in the bloc¿s two main...

The Andean countries have made significant progress in their external agenda, above all because of the achievements with their main economic and political counterparts. Andean negotiations contributed to having the United States adopt the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act, renewing...

The period beginning in the first half of 2003 opened a window of opportunity for MERCOSUR¿s internal agenda. Convergence among the member countries¿ exchange rate policies, the resumption of economic growth in the subregion, and the assumption of power on the part of heads of state who are...