ABSTRACT
The experience of neither Northwestern Europe nor the United States provided a template for Latin America and the Caribbean, because colonial domination re-routed the path of economic growth. One result was greater internal inequality. Even within those countries that sustained rapid rates of capital accumulation, regional and sectoral differences were pronounced; wealth and income were distributed extremely unequally along both race and class lines. Another result was a weak position within the world economy, a process of development somewhat dependent on external events and other countries.
