Economies become more productive either by doing what they do more efficiently, or by shifting resources into new sectors in which productivity is higher – a process that can be observed (or not) by looking at export diversification. And the sad fact is that today most Latin American countries – Mexico being a notable exception – export pretty much the same goods that they exported a generation ago.
生产率滞后的原因问多，但其中之一是没有事先本地经济结构的多样化。要提高经济的生产率，要么增加效率，要么把资源转移到生产率较高的新部门——这一过程是否发生，可以通过观察出口多样化程度了解。悲惨的事实是，如今大部分拉美国家——墨西哥是个显著的例外——所出口的东西与二十年前几乎没有变化。这是拉美和东亚的又一显著差异。