Supporting National Product; the Experience of Latin American Economies: Neo-Liberal and Neo-structural Policies

Latin American economies have followed the development of economic structure by adopting  structuralist policies since 1948 . Structuralism was criticized for excessive intervention in the market mechanism to support national product and the implications of import substitution, which led to the decline of structuralism and the emergence of neoliberal economic policies in Latin America in the 1980s. Throughout the 1980s, neoliberal policies called Washington consensus and structural adjustment were implemented in Latin American economies. The result was the spread of poverty, inequality and imbalances, and the decline in national product. The neo-structural approach emerged from the critique of the neoliberal policies for the Latin American region and presented the so-called neo-structuralist policies for the Latin America by ECLAC for supporting the growth of national production and economic development in Latin American countries. These policies include: strengthening competitiveness, economic growth with social equity, selective support, reforming production structures, and supporting innovation and  entrepreneurship.