Economic Integration in Latin America

Abstract

Course Description Informed by knowledge economy, this course will study how Latin American countries individually and as a region have adapted quickly and wisely to external changes in order to compete in the globalized world. The new setting requires highly educated and talented people and dynamic economies that go beyond their traditional borders in order to benefit from social, cultural and geographical proximity. In this context in 1985, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay (recently Venezuela joined them) created Mercosur in the belief that anintegration process was needed to reconfigure industries and trade, coordinate policies and promote the insertion of its productive sector to the world´s economy. This course will provide a truly comprehensive perspective that will enable the students to analyze and understand the integration processes in the Southern Cone and how it is helping regional economies to compete globally. In the current world crisis scenario, Mercosur’s industrial and commercial diversification through horizontal integration and cooperation can serve as a case study of sorts to re-think regional development.