Book excerpt: Foreword -- The current global economic context: will the international financial crisis be surmounted or revisited? -- Economic growth and stabilization in Central America and the Dominican Republicin 1990-2011 -- Labour markets, inequality and poverty -- Central America and the Dominican Republic: role in the world economy and structural change -- The balance of payments and economic growth in Central America and the Dominican Republic -- Macroeconomic policy: main instruments and objectives -- Reflections on a macroeconomic policy for development -- Bibliography -- Annex