ABSTRACT
It will come as no surprise to most observers of Central American affairs that the cities of the region are, by and large, still relatively poorly connected to the global economy, at least in terms of the connectivity indicators used in this chapter. This should not, however, be taken to infer that Central American economies are somehow autarchic or inward-looking. Far from it. In fact, the region has long had a very strongly externally oriented economy, based traditionally upon the exportation of a limited number of primary commodities although more recently tourism, non-traditional agricultural exports and light industrial exports have become important, as have remittances from Central American migrants living outside the region (Robinson, 2003; Orozco, 2005; Sánchez-Ancochea, 2008). Nevertheless, while Central America continues to be a largely externally driven economy, its cities in general remain less well connected into the network of global cities formed through the offices of major advanced producer service firms than is the case for other parts of Latin America (see Chapter 14).
