How Latin America Weathered the Global
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The
global financial and economic turmoil of 2008–09 plunged Europe and the United
States into their worst economic downturns in 75 years. Many experts feared that
developing regions like Latin America, which had experienced many of their own
crises in recent decades, would be even worse affected. Instead, Latin America
suffered only limited damage. Indeed the region’s GDP is 20 percent higher than
its pre-crisis level. José De Gregorio, governor of the Central Bank of Chile
from 2007 to 2011, explains Latin America’s success with a perspective that
only an insider can have. This book focuses mainly on the seven largest economies
of Latin America—Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and
Venezuela—which together account for more than 90 percent of regional output.
The author argues that strong performance during the crisis resulted from the sound
macroeconomic and financial policies that these countries followed beforehand.
Their accomplishments allowed them to undertake significant monetary and fiscal
expansion in the context of robust financial systems. De Gregorio acknowledges
that there was also an element of luck—in terms of improved terms of trade.
This is a candid, searching, and dramatic case study of crisis preparation—and
crisis management.
Autoren-Profil
José De Gregorio is full professor in the Economics Department of the Universidad de Chile. He was Governor of the Central Bank of Chile (2007–11). He was formerly Vice-Governor (2003–07) and member of the Bank’s Board (2001–03). During 2000 and 2001, De Gregorio was Minister of the combined portfolios of Economy, Mining and Energy. During his professional life he has received a number of honors and awards, such as “Central Banker of the Year in Latin America for 2008,” awarded by The Banker.
