The differences among countries in their process of homologizing economic policies and national legal frameworks affecting areas key to regional economic life represents a fourth divide. Certainly, in the present decade, the economic development strategy applied by the Central American nations promoted the opening up of markets and the modernization of the productive sectors, including their legal and institutional frameworks. First, in spite of regional agreements, the increase in direct foreign investment has provoked a extremely active competition among various Central American countries. Second, the financial economy of the isthmus's countries is extremely unequal.
Tax burdens are very different, with Guatemala and El Salvador having the least.
The external public debt and its service constitute an especially serious problem in Nicaragua, as well as in Honduras. In the case of Costa Rica, the external debt was alleviated in the 1990s, but the problem of domestic debt has grown more serious. The other countries do not have serious debt problems. While Panama is an international financial center, countries like Honduras and Nicaragua have little financial depth or appeal. Financial expansion has not been accompanied by legislative changes.