This book addresses a diverse set of challenges facing Latin American economies. These range from the role of neo-liberal policies, deficit targeting, import substitution, role of institutions, trade and regional development and human capital and poverty.

The Chilean economy over the last three decades has been a source of continuous interest and fascination for economists, political scientists and development analysts. Moving from a regime with significant protectionist policies to one with a very open economy, embracing free trade reforms, negotiating multilateral and bilateral agreements, the macroeconomic indicators suggest that the economy has prospered. This book explores the macroeconomic picture, complementing this with detailed sectoral evaluation and an analysis of the impacts at regional level. Evidence suggests an increasing need to drill down from the macroeconomic perspective to explore the degree to which economic development has or has not contributed to reducing disparities in level of welfare across the country.