Distortions to Agricultural Incentives in Latin America and the Caribbean
This study on Latin America is based on a sample of eight countries, comprising the big four economies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico; Colombia and Ecuador, two of the poorest South American tropical countries; the Dominican Republic, the...
Main Authors: | , |
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Language: | English en_US |
Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/600481468335994131/Distortions-to-agricultural-incentives-in-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28190 |
Summary: | This study on Latin America is based on
a sample of eight countries, comprising the big four
economies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico; Colombia
and Ecuador, two of the poorest South American tropical
countries; the Dominican Republic, the largest Caribbean
economy; and Nicaragua, the poorest country in Central
America. Together, in 2000-04, these countries accounted for
78 percent of the region's population, 80 percent of
the region's agricultural value added, and 84 percent
of the total gross domestic product (GDP) of Latin America.
The key characteristics of these economies-which account for
only 4.5 percent of worldwide Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
but 7.7 percent of agricultural value added and more than 10
percent of agricultural and food exports. The table reveals
the considerable diversity within the region in terms of
stages of development, relative resource endowments,
comparative advantages and, hence, trade specialization, and
the incidence of poverty and income inequality. This means
that these countries represent a rich sample for comparative
study. Nicaragua's per capita income is only
one-seventh the global average, while the incomes of
Colombia and Ecuador are one-third of this average. By
contrast, the per capita incomes of Argentina and Chile
average just one-eighth below and that of Mexico is one
eighth above the global average. Only Argentina, Brazil, and
Nicaragua are well above the global average in endowments of
agricultural land per capita; the Dominican Republic and
Ecuador are well below this average; and Chile, Colombia,
and Mexico are a little less than one-third above the average. |
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