The Economy of Puerto Rico Restoring Growth

As a territory of the United States, Puerto Rico operates under U.S. judicial, monetary, and tariff systems. Despite sharing these key U.S. institutions, however, the region's economy has stalled. Since the 1970s, the island has experienced economic stagnation, large scale unemployment, and a widening income gap relative to the mainland. Here, economists from Puerto Rico and the United States address the major policy issues-labor supply and demand, entrepreneurship, the fiscal situation, financial markets, and trade-at the heart of Puerto Rico's economic difficulties.