Visions for the Global Economy

THIS GUIDE OFFERS AN IMPORTANT REFERENCE TOOL FOR TODAY’S GLOBAL CITIZEN STRIVING TO UNDERSTAND THE INCREASINGLY COMPLEX WORLD ECONOMY.

Economic growth is quite possibly the most sought after policy goal of both business and government currently—especially the latter, due to what “growing the pie” could mean for confronting burgeoning population levels and combating steady (or increasing) unemployment numbers (particularly among youth), not to mention its ability to create jobs.

In particular, Latin America (although not totally homogenous in terms of past growth attainments—neither at the level of policy measures taken or results achieved) has prioritized growth due to the opportunities the increasingly global economy has offered (i.e., increased trade, large capital flows, and high commodity prices)—interestingly after having traditionally looked inward to the domestic economy, rather than outward to the global economy over the past century. Despite such desire to “prime the pump” of growth, the results, however, have customarily lagged behind other emerging market economies in other regions, all of which have been experiencing growth levels that largely surpass those in Latin America.

In addition to Latin America’s challenge (vis-à-vis other economies generating higher growth levels in far-off parts of the globe), political support for a pro-growth agenda spans from growth being perceived as the “panacea” to merely a “stepping stone” toward human well-being improvement. The debate on the subject of economic growth will continue.