Science in Latin America has roots that reach back to the information gathering and recording practices of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations. Spanish and Portuguese conquerors and colonists introduced European scientific practices to the continent, where they hybridized with local traditions to form the beginnings of a truly Latin American science. As countries achieved their independence in the nineteenth century, they turned to science as a vehicle for modernizing education and forwarding "progress." In the twentieth century, science and technology became as omnipresent in Latin America as in the United States and Europe. Yet despite a history that stretches across five centuries, science in Latin America has traditionally been viewed as derivative of and peripheral to Euro-American science. To correct that mistaken view, this book provides the first comprehensive overview of the history of science in Latin America from the sixteenth century to the present. Eleven leading Latin American historians assess the part that science played in Latin American society during the colonial, independence, national, and modern eras, investigating science's role in such areas as natural history, medicine and public health, the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, politics and nation-building, educational reform, and contemporary academic research. The comparative approach of the essays creates a continent-spanning picture of Latin American science that clearly establishes its autonomous history and its right to be studied within a Latin American context.

Post-war Latin American economies have failed to close the development gap with advanced industrial countries despite more than six decades of attempted reform and undoubted economic and social progress. Two decades into the twenty-first century, there is little sign of this situation changing for the better. Compared with other emerging regions, notably East Asia, Latin America has underperformed in income, productivity, and innovation terms. All of this suggests that the time is right for a thorough assessment of why Latin America's recent pursuit of economic development has proven so elusive. Innovation, Competitiveness, and Development in Latin America provides a balanced and topical analysis of the successes and failures of development policy in post-war Latin America. Across nineteen chapters, experts in the economics and policy of Latin American development and policy identify the challenges at hand. They explore why the region is caught in a middle-income trap, where structural impediments frustrate the achievement of accelerated and sustainable growth. At the same time, potential actions are suggested for creating lasting progress. The chapters address vital issues in the region including established or emerging sources of competitive advantage and technological capability; future areas for comparative advantage; policy effectiveness to address under-investment in human capital; poor infrastructure; and uncompetitive market structures. The chapters in the volume draw on evidence from across the region, including countries such as Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Costa Rica. The structural characteristics of economies within the region are identified and the potential implications considered of the re-primarization process witnessed in recent years. The volume concludes with a consideration of policy lessons from these countries and illuminates potential pathways for effective policy action in the region as a whole. With fresh insights grounded in the reality of modern-day Latin America, Innovation, Competitiveness, and Development in Latin America offers scholars and professionals a crucial window into Latin America's long-term developmental trajectory.