We used to blame governments, with good reasons, for much of the difficulties experienced by our region in its path towards development. But I am increasingly under the impression that in our eagerness to promote private initiative, we have overlooked the problems and distortions affecting the development of a sound and dynamic entrepreneurial spirit in the Americas. In our region, the presence of a relatively high degree of monopolization, corporativism, and concentration of property of productive assets, creates entry barriers to new firms and discourages the enthusiasm of many entrepreneurs and potential investors. Thus, the euphoria created by the recovery of economic freedoms can be followed by frustration. The access to competitive markets is denied not only by governments.
Private actors can become serious obstacles to a wider and more dynamic entrepreneurial class.
That is why we should include the reform of the private sector as part of the agenda in the discussion of the development of Latin America and the Caribbean. We need a revolution of entrepreneurship, to unleash the growth potential of private initiative, often tamed by the abscence of competitive environments. In policy terms, this means that a deliberate and strong anti-trust effort, combined with measures to encourage a broader access to asset ownership, can have a significant impact on the investment potential of the economies of Latin America. This aspect has generated less attention in the reform process and it could emerge as a critical obstacle for translating structural adjustments into long term growth. However, as now everybody appears to know, the fundamental vulnerability of the economies in Latin America lies in the fact that the level of domestic savings and investment can not support a growth rate congruent with the expectations and needs of the peoples in the region.