The fourteen papers presented in this volume are thought-provoking studies of the economic adjustment of Latin America to the difficult external environment of the 1980s. The anthology evolved out of a group of papers presented at the Third Dominican Republic Conference on International Debt and Adjustment in 1986. A number of the papers were updated and are presented here along with new ones written especially for this collection. The debt problems of Latin America form the background for the analyses undertaken by the articles in the book. The articles go beyond description of the debt problems to offer insights on the more fundamental long-range problems facing policy makers in the region. Positive analyses into the nature of the adjustment process and insights into future institutional changes that could improve the functioning of the Latin American economies highlight the book.

The papers are divided into major topics of concern. The transmission of external shocks to the region and instability to the financial markets are covered. Fiscal constraints, labor market adjustment, exchange rates, and the political economy of adjustment as each relates to the external shocks of the 1980s are investigated. A major essay by Montague Lord shows Latin American potential to reap substantial gains by pursuing policies to encourage expansion of its resource-based comparative-advantage activities. The essays in "Latin American Debt and Adjustment" provide a starting point for the consideration of some of the deeper problems that need to be addressed by any meaningful attempt to improve the market-oriented economies of the region.

Great economic change is now occuring and will continue to occur in Latin America. This study analyzes the economic problems of the Latin American nations and sketches possible solutions to them. The focus is on positive economic analysis rather than normative political analysis. The contributors to this volume first analyze common economic and monetary problems of the Latin American nations and then suggest possible frameworks for solutions. Problems discussed include: floating exchange rates, peso speculation, real exchange rates, exchange rate reform, optimal tariff policies, economic liberalization in LDCs, financial markets and income distribution, external shocks, the Latin American debt problem, and microfoundations of financial liberalization.