Industrial Policy Can Rescue Latin America from its Commodities Trap
Policymakers can reduce inequality by moving beyond past failed attempts at diversifying national economies.
With record turbulence in sections of the global commodity market and prices for many raw materials pushed higher, some see opportunity for commodity-exporting Latin American countries—while others see a mixed blessing. But regardless of whether the region’s economies benefit from the latest commodity price spike, the region’s high inequality and the profound limits of past commodities booms should encourage policymakers to look beyond commodities as the source of future economic growth. The solution could come in the form of industrial policy. Countries must learn from the mistakes...
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