A wide overview of current issues and situations in the field of Latin American economics.

• To define the field of world economics and emphasize the differences between regions and among national economies.
• To define and discuss briefly basic terms relevant to world economics.
• To discuss the specific aspects of the Latin American economy globally and by individual countries.
• To emphasize the importance of history in understanding current Latin American economic phenomena.
• To emphasize the importance of the social, cultural, political and legal environments in understanding the current Latin American economic situation.
• To discuss Latin American economic data, historically, globally, by individual countries, etc.
• To analyze the impact of economic integration in Latin America.

I. FRAMEWORK,CONCEPTS,PERSPECTIVES:CONTEXT AND GLOBALIZATION
• Economy
• Economic theory
• Economic policy and practice
• Abundance and scarcity in Latin America
• The economic problem in Latin America
• Economic potential versus economic development
• Brief economic history of Latin America
• How to insert Central America into the global economy

II. ECONOMIC THEORIES ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE, DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT
• The advantage of knowing economic theory
• International trade theory. Mercantilism. Absolute advantage. Comparative advantage. Factor endowment. Introducing money. The product life cycle. Toward a theory of international business: Newer theories.
• Trade restrictions. Governmental influence on trade. The rationale for government intervention. Forms of trade control. New ways of dealing with international relations.
• International investment theories; competitivity and new criteria.

III. THE DYNAMICS OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: RELEVANCE FOR THE LATIN AMERICAN ECONOMY

• The United Nations Organization
• The World Bank. Multilateral Development Banks: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The Inter-American Development Bank. Other regional development banks. The Central American Integration Bank (BCIE) with relation to Costa Rica.
• The World Trade Organization
• OPEC and other product organizations
• The European Union
• Latin American integration groups
• Othe regional groupings of nations
• The IMF

IV. ECONOMIC AND SOCIOECONOMIC FORCES
• Economic Analysis
• GNP/capita, income distribution, private consumption, discretionary income: macro-indicators of the Central American economy, Consejo Monetario Centroamericano
• International economic analysis: Dimensions of the economy
• FTA (TLC) with Canada, Mexico, Chile, USA and Dominican Republic

V. SOCIOCULTURAL FORCES
• What is culture?
• Socio-cultural components: aethetics, attitudes and beliefs, language, religion, material culture, societal organization. (ONG´s)
• Undestanding the Latin American cultures. “Agriculture Life” (IICA)

VII POLITICAL FORCES
• Ideological forces
• Privatization
• Nationalism : Banks and institutions such as Municipalidades, CNFL, ICE, RECOPE, AyA, ministries.
• Government protection
• Government stability
• International organizations as political forces.
• Labor as a political force. Labor unions (sindicatos)VIII LEGAL FORCES
• National legal forces
• International forces
• International standardizing forces
• Export/Import and other contracts (Industrial Parks, Zonas Francas, CINDE, Procomer)

IX THE LATIN AMERICAN ECONOMY AS A WHOLE
• Dimension of the economy: area, population, resources, GNP, etc.
• Mexico
• Central America (convergence measures in this area)
• The Caribbean countries
• South AmericaX TRADE POLICY: MECHANICS, PROBLEMS AND ISSUES
• Tariffs and import quotas in Latin America
• The case for import restrictions in Latin America
• Export Policies
• Trade Policy Problems

XI ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND POVERTY
• The roots of world poverty
• Poverty in Latin AmericaXII LATIN AMERICA´S BIG ECONOMIES
• ECLA reports (informes de CEPAL) covering: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela and Chile.

XIII ECONOMIC INTEGRATION IN LATIN AMERICA
• The Central American Common Market
• NAFTA
• LAFTA
• CARICOM
• The South American Common Market (MERCOSUR)
• FTAA (ALCA)

XIV COSTA RICA : A CASE STUDY

Evaluation
Class participation	15%
First partial exam	20%
Second partial exam	20%
Research paper and presentation	20%
Final exam	25%