The historical context -- Two centuries of South American reflections on the development gap between the United States and Latin America / Tulio Halperin Donghi -- Looking at them: a Mexican perspective on the gap with the United States / Enrique Krauze -- Explaining Latin America's lagging...

In 1700, Latin America and British North America were roughly equal in economic terms. Yet over the next three centuries, the United States gradually pulled away, and today the gap is huge. Why did this happen? Was it culture? Geography? Economic policies? Natural resources? Differences in...