Concentration of Economic and Political Power in Latin America and the Caribbean

ONLINE (VIA ZOOM)

The UNDP Regional Human Development Report 2021 argues that a common factor behind the Latin America and the Caribbean high-inequality low-growth trap is the concentration of economic and political power in the hands of a few.

The report argues that monopoly power and political power are two sides of the same coin and controlling the former may help contain the latter. But how does the story of market power in LAC differ from the rest of the world? And should we be concerned about the role of other economic elites with power for policy interference like organised labour? We will discuss these and other related questions on a topic of significant concern for the region’s future.

Speakers: Dr Marcela Meléndez, Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, UNDP; Professor Kirsten Sehnbruch, British Academy Global Professor, LSE International Inequalities Institute; Professor Jean-Paul Faguet, Professor of the Political Economy of Development, LSE Department of International Development