Can Latin America Compete?: Confronting the Challenges of Globalization »

Jerry Haar is Associate Dean and Professor of Management and International Business in the College of Business Administration, Florida International University.

John Price is President of InfoAmericas, a market intelligence and strategic consulting firm with a specialty practice in Latin American markets.

With dynamic growth in China and India, recovery in Europe and Japan, and notable gains in U.S. productivity, the question arises: Can Latin America compete? Many argue that macroeconomic and trade reforms achieved in the 1990s merely put a handsome coat of paint over education, labor, judicial, and administrative reforms that remain incomplete. This book identifies and analyzes ten factors that most influence the competitiveness of Latin American nations and will shape their economic futures. In their frank and direct assessment--pulling no punches--the authors also present viable courses of action that Latin America can take to increase its ability to compete in the global economy.

List of Figures and Tables ix

Foreword xiii

Preface xv

Notes on Contributors xix

Introduction: Can Latin America Compete? John Price Jerry Haar 1

1 The Macroeconomic Environment of Competitiveness Claudio M. Loser 27

2 Coveting Human Capital: Is Latin American Education Competitive? Jeffrey M. Puryear Tamara Ortega Goodspeed 45

3 Competitive Capital Markets: Brazil's Capital Markets Finally Maturing John H. Welch 63

4 Consumer and Small Business Credit: Building Blocks of the Middle Class Jan Smith Tricia Juhn Christopher Humphrey 79

5 Closing the Technology Gap Peter T. Knight Rosane A. Marques 99

6 Fostering Innovation: Technological Innovation in Urban Clusters Scott Tiffin Isabel Bortagaray 121

7 Not All Infrastructure Is Created Equally: Learning from the Best Practices and Stunning Failures of Latin American Water Infrastructure Lee M. Tablewski 143

8 Logistics: The Software That Drives an Economy John Price 163

9 Legal Reform: Some Emerging Paradoxes of Latin America's Legal and Judicial Reform Movement Linn Hammergren 175

10 Property, the Rule of Law, and Development in the Americas Peter F. Schaefer P. Clayton Schaefer 197

11 Tax Reform: Tax Policy, Reform, and Competitiveness in Latin America Mauricio Carrizosa 215

12 Labor Reform: Undercompetitive Economies and Unprotected Workforce Christopher Sabatini 239

13 Regulatory Reform: Increasing Competitiveness through Regulatory and Investment Climate Improvements in Latin America; the Case of Mexico José Luis Guasch Benjamin Herzberg 253

14 Public Safety: The Cost of Living Dangerously John Price 271

Conclusion: Lessons Learned andLooking Forward Jerry Haar John Price 295

Index 303