Some Useful Concepts for Development Economics in the Tradition of Latin American Structuralism

The aim of this article is to provide a selective account of some of the most important conceptual contributions of the Latin American structuralist tradition to the area of development economics. We argue that this account may help modern development economics theory overcome visible limitations and develop in a more fruitful way. We trace back the origin of these conceptualizations and identify some recent and scant efforts to incorporate them into the mainstream economic development literature. We try to clarify the meaning of the concepts and amplify their current economic significance for developing countries. The constructs selected are: (1) structural change, (2) structural disequilibrium, (3) bottlenecks, (4) structural heterogeneity, (5) endogenous nucleus of technological dynamization, (6) social disarticulation, and (7) conflict‐led instability.