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Economic Policy Reform in Four Central American Countries: Patterns and Lessons Learned

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Juan J. Buttari
Juan J. Buttari*
Affiliation:
US Agency for International Development (AID)
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Extract

This Article Surveys the experiences of four Central American countries in implementing economic policy reform: it analyzes the factors which led to the introduction of new policies, explores various aspects in their implementation, assesses lessons learned in the process, and discusses prospects for the future.

The Four Countries under discussion — Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras — are experiencing a move away from import-substitution policies of the past toward increased liberalization of their economies and becoming more competitive in the international marketplace. This shift in policy orientation began in the 1980s, after years of economic decline. At the risk of appearing arbitrary, the policy-shift years are here defined as those which followed an actual, or announced, change to an economic policy with a predominant market orientation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs , Volume 34 , Issue 1 , Spring 1992 , pp. 179 - 214
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 1992

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