Latin America: Managing Abundance to Avoid a Bust

Latin America: Managing Abundance to Avoid a Bust

With a lead presentation by:

Rodrigo Valdés
Senior Advisor
Western Hemisphere Department, International Monetary Fund

And discussants:

Liliana Rojas-Suárez
Senior Fellow
Center for Global Development

and

Arturo C. Porzecanski
Distinguished Economist-in-Residence, American University and
Senior Associate (Non-resident), CSIS

Exceptional global circumstances have produced  a double bonanza of easy foreign financing and high export earnings for most of the large and medium-sized countries in Latin America, particularly all the commodity exporters.  However, these favorable conditions may not last beyond this year.  This discussion focused on the problems and vulnerabilities that the boom is generating; how to best manage this abundance in order to avoid a painful bust down the road; and for an assesment of whether governments are following policies that are appropriate for the circumstances.

This discussion was based on the IMF report "Managing Abundance to Avoid a Bust in Latin America."