The Economy of Colombia

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer looks at the north westernmost country in South America, Colombia. The writer notes that Colombia is the second most populated South American country next to Brazil and the majority of the population lives in the mountainous cities around the capital of Bogota. The writer points out that with this intense congregation of people in one area, the economy of Colombia is poor and unstable. This paper attempts to explain why the economy has fluctuated during the last thirty years and gives examples of life in Colombia as a result of an ever-changing economy.

From the Paper:

"In 1999, Colombia suffered a recession as a result of low world oil prices, reduced export demand, and increased guerilla violence throughout the country. This caused an increase in unemployment, increased drug usage and sales, and devaluation of the Colombian peso. In 1999 at the time of the recession approximately 17.7% of the Colombia people were living at or below the national poverty line."
"As a result of the 1999 Colombian recession, unemployment quickly rose. There were more people in Colombia than jobs. Many companies closed because they could not afford to pay their employees. In the year 2000, the unemployment rate in Colombia reached 20%. This rate did not stay at 20% for long because of the instability in the Colombian economy, by 2006 the unemployment rate had improved and was at 13% which also decreased poverty and gained confidence among the people in foreign and domestic affairs."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barajas, A., R. Steiner and N. Salazar (2000) "The impact of liberalization and foreign investment in Colombia's financial sector" Journal of Development Economics, vol. 63, 157-196.
• Carrasquilla, A. (2001) "Economia y Constitucion: Hacia un Enfoque Estrategico", mimeo, Universidad de los Andes.
• Cepeda, F. (1994) Direccion Politica de la Reforma Economica en Colombia, Bogota: Fonade.
• Colombia- Wikipedia retrieved November 11, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombia#Economy
• Colombian Economy retrieved November 11, 2006 from www.geographic.org

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• Essay # 22738 : "The Columbian Drug War"

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