Nature, Development and Distribution in Latin America: Evidence on the Role of Geography, Climate and Natural Resources

Abstract

Latin America's enormous endowment of natural resources has an impact on many countries of the region. Economic liberalization in several countries was followed by rapid growth of foreign investment and exports of natural resource-intensive products. Growth of labor-intensive manufacturing industries was much more modest. What does increased reliance upon natural resource-based industries mean for development prospects and for the distribution of income?