State of economic growth and productivity in Latin America: a scope review

Authors

  • Francisco Noriega Gonzales UCV
  • Sebastián Francisco Noriega Ochavano Universidad César Vallejo, Lima, Perú

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32826/reyf.v4i10.409

Keywords:

Economic growth, Productivity, Latin America, Informality, Systematic review, Economic development

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the key factors influencing economic growth and productivity in Latin America. The PRISMA 2020 model was used to review relevant studies published between 2015 and 2025. The process involved a rigorous selection of studies pertinent to the research. The search was conducted in databases such as Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), and SciELO, using the terms: “economic growth,” “total factor productivity,” “informality,” “international trade,” “economic development,” and combinations thereof. The results show that informality, inefficient resource allocation, and labor market distortions significantly affect productivity in the region. It is concluded that improved productivity is essential for sustainable economic growth in Latin America, which can be achieved through structural reforms, reducing informality, strengthening institutions, and fostering business competitiveness.

References

Amin, M., & Okou, C. (2020). Casting a shadow: Productivity of formal firms and informality. Review of Development Economics, 24(4), 1610–1630. https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.12694

Arias, J., Artuç, E., Lederman, D., & Rojas, D. (2018). Trade, informal employment and labor adjustment costs. Journal of Development Economics, 133, 396–414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2018.02.008

Ates, S. T., & Saffie, F. E. (2021). Fewer but better: Sudden stops, firm entry, and financial selection. American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 13(3), 304–356. https://doi.org/10.1257/mac.20190102

Badri, A. K., Badri, P. K., & Cham, M. (2019). R&D spending and economic growth in selected OECD countries. International Journal of Applied Economics, Finance and Accounting, 5(2), 48–54. https://doi.org/10.33094/8.2017.2019.52.48.54

Bloom, N., Brynjolfsson, E., Foster, L., Jarmin, R., Patnaik, M., Saporta-Eksten, I., & Van Reenen, J. (2019). What drives differences in management practices? American Economic Review, 109(5), 1648–1683. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20180340

Brambilla, I., Lederman, D., & Porto, G. (2019). Exporting firms and the demand for skilled tasks. Canadian Journal of Economics, 52(2), 763–803. https://doi.org/10.1111/caje.12392

Cacay, J., Ramírez, G., & Campuzano, J. (2021). Efecto del crecimiento económico y la presión fiscal sobre el impuesto al valor agregado. Revista San Gregorio, 1(47), 111–125. https://doi.org/10.36097/rsan.v1i47.1750

Cho, J. S., Greenwood-Nimmo, M., & Shin, Y. (2023). Recent developments of the autoregressive distributed lag modelling framework. Journal of Economic Surveys, 37(1), 7-32. https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12450

Cuevas, V., & Jaimes, D. (2021). Control de la corrupción, capital humano y crecimiento económico: Un modelo dinámico de datos en panel. Economía Teoría y Práctica, 29(54), 37–60. https://doi.org/10.24275/ETYPUAM/NE/542021/Cuevas

Fattal-Jaef, R. (2022). Entry barriers, idiosyncratic distortions, and the firm-size distribution. American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 14(2), 416–468. https://doi.org/10.1257/mac.20190235

Feng, C., Zhong, S., & Wang, M. (2024). How can green finance promote the transformation of China’s economic growth momentum? A perspective from internal structures of green total-factor productivity. Research in International Business and Finance, 70, 102356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102356

Gutiérrez, A. (2020). Determinantes de la productividad total de factores en América del Sur. Investigación & Desarrollo, 19(2), 5–26. https://doi.org/10.23881/idupbo.019.2-1e

Haseeb, M., Kot, S., Iqbal, H., & Jermsittiparsert, K. (2019). Impact of economic growth, environmental pollution, and energy consumption on health expenditure and R&D expenditure of ASEAN countries. Energies, 12(19), 3598–3619. https://doi.org/10.3390/en12193598

Hofman, A., Mas, M., Aravena, C., & Fernández, J. (2017). Crecimiento económico y productividad en Latinoamérica el Proyecto: LAKLEMS. El Trimestre Económico, LXXXIV(2), 259-306. https://doi.org/10.20430/ete.v84i334.302

Huber, J. (2023). The Monetary Turning Point From Bank Money to Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23957-1

Kronick, J. (April 2018). Productivity and the Financial Sector - What’s Missing? Financial Services and Regulation, Commentary No. 508. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3162367

Liu, H., Zhang, J., Huang, H., Wu, H., & Hao, Y. (2023). Environmental good exports and green total factor productivity: Lessons from China. Sustainable Development, 31(3), 1681-1703. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2476

Liu, Y., Ma, C., & Huang, Z. (2023). Can the digital economy improve green total factor productivity? An empirical study based on Chinese urban data. Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering, 20(4), 6866-6893. https://doi.org/10.3934/mbe.2023296

Moreno, B., Muñoz, M., Cuellar, J., Domancic, S., & Villanueva, J. (2018). Revisiones sistemáticas: definición y nociones básicas. Revista Clínica de Periodoncia, Implantología y Rehabilitación Oral, 11(3), 184–186. https://doi.org/10.4067/s0719-01072018000300184

Moyo, C., Khobai, H., Kolisi, N., & Mbeki, Z. (2018). Financial development and economic growth in Brazil: A Non-linear ARDL approach. Munich Personal RePEc Archive, 85252. https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/85252/

Nyasha, S., & Odhiambo, N. M. (2015). The Impact of Banks and Stock Market Development on Economic Growth in South Africa: An ARDL-bounds Testing Approach. Contemporary Economics, 9(1), 93–108. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275831783_The_Impact_of_Banks_and_Stock_Market_Development_on_Economic_Growth_in_South_Africa_An_ARDL-bounds_Testing_Approach

Nyasha, S., & Odhiambo, N. M. (2016). Banks, Stock Market Development and Economic Growth in Kenya: An Empirical Investigation. Journal of African Business, 18(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228916.2016.1216232

Nyasha, S., & Odhiambo, N. M. (2017). Bank Versus Stock Market Development in Brazil: An ARDL Bounds Testing Approach. South East European Journal of Economics and Business, 12(1), 7–21. https://doi.org/10.1515/jeb-2017-0001

Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, L.,... (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71

Perrotini, I., Vázquez-Muñoz, J. A., & Angoa, M. I. (2019). Capital accumulation and productivity in Latin America. Journal of Development Economics, 62(3), 409–436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2019.07.008

Ulyssea, G. (2018). Firms, informality, and development: Theory and evidence from Brazil. American Economic Review, 108(8), 2015–2047. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20141745

Villalobos, A., Molero, L., & Castellano, G. (2021). Analysis of the total factor productivity in South America 1950-2014. Lecturas de Economía, 94, 127–163. Universidad de Antioquia. https://doi.org/10.17533/UDEA.LE.N94A341253

Yue, H., Zhou, Z., & Liu, H. (2024). How does green finance influence industrial green total factor productivity? Energy Reports, 11, 914–924. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2023.12.056

Jiakui, C., Abbas, J., Najam, H., Liu, J., & Abbas, J. (2023). Green technological innovation, green finance, and financial development and their role in green total factor productivity: Empirical insights from China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 382, 135131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135131

Lee, V., & Viale, A. M. (2023). Total factor productivity in East Asia under ambiguity. Economic Modelling, 121, 106232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2023.106232

Liu, H., Zhang, J., Huang, H., Wu, H., & Hao, Y. (2023). Environmental good exports and green total factor productivity: Lessons from China. Sustainable Development, 31(3), 1681–1703. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2476

Liu, Y., Ma, C., & Huang, Z. (2023). Can the digital economy improve green total factor productivity? An empirical study based on Chinese urban data. Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering, 20(4), 6866-6893. https://doi.org/10.3934/mbe.2023296

Downloads

Published

2026-06-06

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 10 (2026): Revista de economía y finanzas (January- April 2026)

Section

Articles

License

Those authors who have publications with this journal accept the following terms:

  1. The authors will retain their copyright and guarantee the journal the right of first publication of their work, which will be simultaneously subject to the Creative Commons Recognition License that allows third parties to share the work whenever its author is indicated and its first publication is this magazine.
  2. Authors may adopt other non-exclusive licensing agreements for the distribution of the published work (eg, deposit it in an institutional telematic file or publish it in a monographic volume) whenever the initial publication is indicated in this magazine.
  3. Authors are allowed and advised to disseminate their work through the Internet (eg in institutional telematic files or on their website) before and during the submission process, which can produce interesting exchanges and increase the citations of the published work. (See The effect of open access ).