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Property, the Rule of Law, and Development in the Americas

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Can Latin America Compete?

Abstract

The principal impediment to Latin America’s competitiveness is the lack of credible commercial law, especially concerning property. Good property law is the foundation of free, impersonal, contract-based economies in the West. Without property law, entrepreneurship, commerce, and growth are stifled. Were the Latin American states able to create a modern legal environment, their transformation would open enormous new commercial markets with significant purchasing power that would demand First World goods and services.

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© 2008 Jerry Haar and John Price

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Schaefer, P.F., Schaefer, P.C. (2008). Property, the Rule of Law, and Development in the Americas. In: Haar, J., Price, J. (eds) Can Latin America Compete?. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230610477_11

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