Costa Rica was the biggest “out-performer” on social progress indicators like education, medical care and environmental quality when stacked up next to 132 other countries.
Can Costa Rica present itself as an advanced, or at least, soon-to-be developed economy, while also keeping one hand out for foreign aid? Some analysts say yes.
Costa Rica ranks near the top of a just-released annual index that scores 17 Latin American countries plus the United States on civil rights, access to markets, political participation, education spending and other criteria. Guatemala ranks dead last – again.
There's an enduring myth in Latin America that left-wing populist governments somehow do a better job of promoting economic growth and social development than their political counterparts. For those wedded to that belief the 2014 Social Progress Index should be compulsory reading.
