China and Sustainable Development in Latin America: The Social and Environmental Dimension

Description

During Latin America's China-led commodity boom, governments turned a blind eye to the inherent flaws in the region's economic policy. Now that the commodity boom is coming to an end, those flaws cannot be ignored. High on the list of shortcomings is the fact that Latin American governments-and Chinese investors-largely fell short of mitigating the social and environmental impacts of commodity-led growth. The recent commodity boom exacerbated pressure on the region's waterways and forests, accentuating threats to human health, biodiversity, global climate change and local livelihoods. China and Sustainable Development in Latin America documents the social and environmental impact of the China-led commodity boom in the region. It also highlights important areas of innovation, like Chile's solar energy sector, in which governments, communities and investors worked together to harness the commodity boom for the benefit of the people and the planet.

Rebecca Ray is a research fellow at Boston University's Global Economic Governance Initiative and a PhD student in economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Kevin Gallagher is Professor of Global Development Studies at Boston University's Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, and Co-director of BU's Global Economic Governance Initiative. Andres Lopez is a full professor of development economics and head of the economics department at the University of Buenos Aires as well as the executive director of the Red Sudamericana de Economia Aplicada. Cynthia Sanborn is Professor of Political Science and Vice President for Research at the Universidad del Pacifico.