North America and Latin America have always been two nations, which possessed fairly different characteristics. North America, the third-largest continent in the world, consisting of twenty-three countries, occupies the majority of the northwest hemisphere. Latin America, based in the southern part of the western hemisphere, consists of a group of countries and dependencies. Latin America consists of the entire continent of South America as well as Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean islands, where citizens in the area speak languages such as Spanish, Portuguese and French. From the early years of colonization to the present day, the two nations have differed in various ways, specifically in their economic performance. North America, in present-day, is considered to be one of the largest most successful economies in the world as it generates gross domestic product (GDP) values which range within trillions (US$) per year and experiences positive gross domestic product growth percentages annually. Latin America, on the other hand, has a less successful economy. However, this was not always the case, in the prev
ious century, initially, Latin America seemed to be the prosperous nation between two and exhibited immense potential for growth and development. Latin America was a nation with an abundance of natural resources, such as sugar, rubber and metals this lead many to believe Latin America would be one of the greatest economies in the modern world. However, this view has changed drastically and Latin America currently has very low economic growth prospects. Several researchers have studied the case of North America and Latin America, to deduce why the economic disparity exists between the two nations. Some have argued, North Americas priority in development was predetermined by nature (Landes, 1998). While others believed that culture and institutions were the driving force that led to North America’s economic performance outweighing that of, Latin America. It is evident that, in terms of economic performance, these two nations lie on opposite ends of the spectrum. This paper aims to analyze and assess the various factors, which have led to the difference in economic performance between North America and Latin America.