United States policies and the Latin America debt problems

Vol. 10 No. 3 (1990)

Jul-Sep / 1990
Published July 1, 1990
PDF-Portuguese (Português (Brasil))
PDF-Portuguese (Português (Brasil))

How to Cite

Baer, Werner, and Donald V. Coes. 1990. “United States Policies and the Latin America Debt Problems”. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy 10 (3):311-26. https://doi.org/10.1590/0101-31571990-0533.

United States policies and the Latin America debt problems

Werner Baer
Professor da Universidade de Illinois, Estados Unidos.
Donald V. Coes
Professsor da Universidade de Illinois, Estados Unidos.
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 10 No. 3 (1990), Jul-Sep / 1990, Pages 311-326

Abstract

This article focuses on the contradictory position of the United States in its economic policies towards Latin America. By pressuring the region to maintain its debt service, the U.S. government left Latin American countries with little choice but to produce large trade surpluses, as voluntary capital flows to the region dried up in the 1980s. Simultaneous U.S. insistence, however, that Latin American countries curtail their export incentive programs and liberalize their imports, makes debt servicing even more difficult and imposes heavy burdens on Latin American societies.

JEL Classification: H63; F53; F34.


Keywords: Debt crisis external debt trade policy