World Recession and Central American Depression: Lessons from the 1930s for the 1980s

Abstract

It is undeniable that the present crisis in Central America has more than an economic dimension. The latter, however, remains an important factor not only in explaining the origins of the crisis, but also in accounting for its continuation. Furthermore, the economic aspects of the crisis have received much less attention than the political and geopolitical.² I shall therefore concentrate primarily on economic developments in this chapter.

The title of this chapter was chosen before coming across an article by Carlos Díaz Alejandro comparing Latin America in the 1930s with the 1980s. Díaz Alejandro’s article, however, does not in general draw on the Central American experience. See DÞaz Alejandro (1983).