Model “Nearshoring” – the Concept of the New Economy of the Latin America

Abstract

In the vocabulary of world economics, the term “nearshoring” has become increasingly common. It implies the spread of business in its most diverse manifestations (e.g. foreign trade, cross-border investment, technology transfer, outsourcing, formation of value chains, etc.) mainly to neighboring countries. This growing trend was a response to the many problems that arose in the global economy and world trade during the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent geopolitical upheavals. In fact, the process of neoliberal globalization, which for four decades was determining the development vector and the content of world economic relations, switched to low dynamics mode. Latin America, as an important part of a complex international economic hub, has actively participated in the globalization process, but has not become its beneficiary, unlike Asian states. Most of the Latin American economies based their development models on the intensive exploitation of vast natural resources in the interests of world markets. However, this neither brought the region to the forefront of the global economy, nor did it solve the acute social problems of Latin America. Therefore, in the conditions of the ongoing crisis, a growing number of Latin American states are ready to make adjustments to their development models, and focus on the strategy of “nearshoring” in order to maximize intraregional cooperation that would stimulate accelerated economic growth.