This chapter looks at the two sides of the golden era: social inclusion and economic performance. It considers the extent to which Latin American governments made efforts to deepen the meaning of citizenship by developing policies of inclusion with potentially durable consequences. The chapter also considers the economic picture, looking at both the macroeconomic changes, and focuses on the micro level limits to the region's capacity for growth. It presents two "optimistic" cases of technological development and innovation that highlight the region's potential to foster new models of growth. The chapter advances three claims about the golden era and its implications for development in the region. It argues that Latin American governments made significant and real efforts to deepen citizenship in the region through inclusionary social policies. The chapter also argues that the failure to generate good jobs based on high value added production and high labor productivity presents an important challenge to keep the social inclusion trend moving forward.