ABSTRACT
In this chapter we identify and discuss several major factor complexes which help explain the persistence of high rates of inflation in Latin America. The discussion does not address the various schools of thought - monetarist, structuralist, as well as socio-political approaches - which have been applied to the analysis of Latin American economic performance and inflation. Our more unified framework of analysis specifies important socio-political and cultural factors and their interaction with economic ones. It serves therefore as a point of departure to transcend traditional approaches (at the same time, it is consistent with the type of economic framework outlined recently by Vicente Galbis (1981)).
