The Economic History of Latin America

Undergraduate / Graduate

The course explores Latin America's historical evolution, analyzing the factors that have promoted or limited its economic development from the 16th century to the present. It seeks to familiarize students with the main debates on the economic history of the region, including the most recent literature. Despite its diversity, Latin American countries share several common traits, linked to its past, that have resulted in lower levels of income and greater poverty than the Global North, and very high inequality by international standards. This course aims to acquaint students with Latin America's diversity and, at the same time, identify its common characteristics. The course will delve into the following traits, that although unevenly distributed through the region, have shaped Latin America's economic development: indigenous legacies, colonial extraction, slavery, European migration, political fragmentation and instability, integration into the global economy through commodities' exports, low educational levels, poor innovation and financial development, limited industrialization, and frequent macroeconomic crises.