Preview

Economic Inequalities Of Latin American States

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1108 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Economic Inequalities Of Latin American States
Question Two:
Mercantilists believe that economic activity should be based on building a wealthy state. From their perspective, the international economy does not promote cooperation or mutual gain; rather it is an area of conflict between states based on their national interests. Therefore, economic competition is seen as a zero-sum game; one state’s gain is another state’s loss. Relative Economic gain is the materialistic wealth obtained by one state that is used to strengthen their military and political power that can be used against other states.
According to mercantilist perspective, there are two types of economic rivalries between the state; benign and malevolent mercantilism. Benign mercantilism is when the states look after their
…show more content…
The causes for these countries to lag in development is the civil war, poverty, and a long period of bad governance and poor economies. Latin American countries are no exception to economic instability and lack of development. This paper will discuss the reasons why the majority of Latin American countries struggle to become …show more content…
Leaders in poor countries tend to give money to the people that are loyal to them because this is one of the ways that they succeed in implementing policies of their choice. Stiglitz argues that the leaders of the poor countries do not implement good economic policies. However, data tends to show that the leaders who cause poverty and are corrupt tend to stay in leadership longer. Therefore, the foreign economic aid will not help decrease poverty rates, rather it will cause more political and economic instability. External aid increases the leadership span of autocratic rulers because they are able to patronize their groups of supporters. This type of poor leadership is considered as the poor governance trap in which the majority of the Latin American countries are experiencing. These types of countries are “recognized” as authoritarian states or

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    6. Mercantilism- European system of economic regulations aimed at increasing the power of the state.…

    • 505 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the Age of Exploration, mercantilism was the main economic philosophy. Mercantilism is a collection of governmental policies for the regulation of economic activities, mainly commercial activities, by and for the state. There are multiple ideas that characterize mercantilism. Mercantilism is characterized by the country applying policies and institutions such as the Navigational Acts, towards having a favorable balance of trade, extending borders, and having all of the economic goals set towards enriching the mother country.…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Managerial Economics Quiz

    • 4814 Words
    • 20 Pages

    19. The central idea of mercantilism is that there should be an export surplus so a nation can accumulate…

    • 4814 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mercantilism: Mercantilism is an economic doctrine,dominated Western European economic policy and discourse from the 16th to late-18th centuries.…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Powder Keg Myth Essay

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages

    2. Offense-defense balance: Argues that wars are more likely when the offense is perceived to have relative advantage on the battlefield. Central argument scholars make when discussing how perceived offense dominance can cause crises to escalate to war – useful explanation for why states with essentially defensive foreign policy aims can stumble into war…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Latin America Dbq Analysis

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Latin American countries, in the period of 1875 to 1950, dealt with many communal and political concerns regarding a profusion of issues. These problems included the fight for independence, the rights of women, political stability, slavery, differences in ideological views, and gender inequality within countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Bolivia, and Mexico. As conflicts pursued, civility began to cease and civil wars broke out. The countries of Latin America also ultimately suffered due to setbacks on international life. As a result, relations with the outside world became difficult and complications persisted.…

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ir Study Guide

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages

    3) Was import-substitution-industrialization an unmitigated failure in Latin America? Define this development strategy and offer a balanced critique of it.…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    US History Midterm Review

    • 1578 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Mercantilism: The economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances, which a government should encourage by means of protectionism.…

    • 1578 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    anana

    • 744 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Mercantilism: forerunner to imperialism; colonies help a mother country become self-sufficient and wealthy; idea that no great nation can exist without colonies; economic nationalism; limit imports from other countries but encourage exports to other countries…

    • 744 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Mercantilism is defined as “a system that saw the world’s economy as fixed, meaning that any one country’s wealth came at the expense of other countries” (Tignor, 482). Colonization of the new…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mercantilism- the essence in Mercantilist policy was the political control of the economy by the state…

    • 272 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Melian Dialogue

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The situation in which the Melians find themselves may appear to be relatively simple; however, the convoluted underpinnings that make up the conflict address the most profound theories behind interstate relations. The heart of all wars is the conflict over things that states value such as territory and policies. Therefore war’s ultimate purpose is to obtain rather than fight. The process in which states attempt to resolve conflicts is referred to as bargaining.1 In this case, the dialogue is an example of crisis bargaining, in which one actor threatens the use of force. The Melian dialogue is a discussion over the bargaining range of the two actors, that is, what each side is willing to give up or accept over the use of military force.2 Although the Melians raise several liberalist arguments addressing their common interests, the Athenians dominate the dialogue by discussing the most basic…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    While the title may allude to the primary focus being on Latin America, there is a heavy focus on a comparison between Latin American struggles and that of Colonial America with Great Britain and other European states. The British had taken control over the Brazilian economy similar to Colonial America. The Brazilian economy was “orchestrated into the British symphony as the imperial supplier of gold.” (Galeano 179) Consequently, Latin American colonies were the primary sources of labor for the luxury goods used to pamper the ruling classes of European nations, as such Latin American industries were geared towards exports. However, in modern society the underdeveloped countries are denied the right to protect their national industries, as well as having interference from the state is discouraged by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. (181) Within Latin America, the “application of IMF formulas opened the gates to let foreign conquers into an already scorched land.” (181) However, the policies put in place by the IMF helped to constrict the Latin American economy by restricting internal credit and freezing wages, which led to a sharp monetary devaluation. The monetary devaluation was supposed to return the currency to its actual value and increase exports, but instead…

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We had to get our resources through our mother country and our mother country only. Our mother country would be the reason we were well off, or the reason we were not doing so well. The main principles of mercantilism included the belief that the amount of wealth in the world was relatively constant, the need to encourage exports over imports as a means for obtaining a favorable balance of foreign trade that would produce these metals;the belief that a country's wealth could best be determined by the amount of precious metals possessed; the value of a large population as a key to self sufficient state power; and the belief that the state should exercise a dominant role in assisting and directing the national and international…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The fact that Central America is part of the developing world causes it to drown in poverty. In the seven countries of Central America, rural people are twice as likely to be as poor as their urban neighbors. The situation is especially grim in Honduras and Nicaragua, where 45 percent of children live in extreme poverty, deprived of the resources required to meet even minimum nutritional needs. These people lack education and health care, causing them to have low life spans.…

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays