Recovery or Relapse in the Global Economy

Although political developments in Central America over the last decade have been profound, the region continues to exhibit sluggish economic growth in some countries and complete stagnation in others. To alleviate these economic problems, demands for authoritarian regimes and imposed solutions are likely--according to the authors of this work. Examined are: 1) the role of the State in economic revitalization and growth in Central America; 2) the impact of structural adjustment policies on the agricultural sector; 3) the prospects for expansion of the cooperative sector in the current political climate; 4) the persistence of external debt, its impact on domestic policy, and possible approaches to alleviating the debt burden; 5) the role of multinational corporations and foreign direct investment in economic restructuring; and 6) the prospects for regional economic and political integration.

JOLYNE MELMED-SANJAK is Assistant Professor with joint appointments in the Department of Economics and Department of Latin American and Caribbean Studies at State University of New York, Albany.

CARLOS E. SANTIAGO is Chair of the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Studies and Associate Professor of Economics at State University of New York, Albany. He is the author of Labor in the Puerto Rican Economy (Praeger, 1992).

ALVIN MAGID is Professor of Political Science at the Graduate School of Public Affairs, and Faculty Associate in the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Studies and the Department of East Asian Studies at State University of New York, Albany.