ABSTRACT
There are several distinctive characteristics for this region, compared to other parts of the Third World. At the start of the century, almost all of the region was politically independent; except certain colonies in and bordering on the Caribbean. Many of the countries had begun to industrialize by 1929, and correspondingly, several governments consciously pushed a policy of import substitution industrialization after World War II. Railroads were quite important during the first half of the century, and the role of the private sector, domestic and foreign, was more important here than elsewhere in the Third World. Further introductory generalizations are that the presence of US investment has been strongest in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and certain Andean countries, while that of European investors was more notable in Argentina, Brazil, and in the other countries often referred to as the Southern Cone. During the last two decades of the century outward foreign investment has reached noticeable levels from Mexico and from the Southern Cone countries; for these latter, a regional integration scheme, Mercosur, has provided an important economic stimulus. Since midcentury, a major regional office of the United Nations, known by the various acronyms ECLA, ECLAC, or CEPAL, has documented the region’s development, while helping to frame the consideration of development policies. Canada is included in this chapter not only because of some structural similarities with other countries in the hemisphere, but particularly due to the important role that foreign investment has always had in the country. As such, the Canadian case may have lessons for other countries in the region.
