Structuralist economics is an approach to economics that emphasizes the importance of taking into account structural features (typically) when undertaking economic analysis.

According to the structuralist view, globalization is taken for granted and seen as a manifestation of some deterministic logic. Most often, it is either technological or economic determinism or both employed together. Aside from the two, there are also other types of determinism favored by researchers.

Structuralism is a development theory which focuses on structural aspects which impede the economic growth of developing countries. This structural transformation of the developing country is pursued in order to create an economy which in the end enjoys self-sustaining growth.

In economics, structural change is a shift or change in the basic ways a market or economy functions or operates. The structural changes that move countries through the development process are often viewed in terms of shifts from primary, to secondary and finally, to tertiary production.

Structural models identify mechanisms that determine outcomes and are designed to analyze counterfactual policies, quantifying impacts on specific outcomes as well as effects in the short and longer run.

Celso Furtado: Pioneer of Structuralist Development Theory.

theories of international political economy In political economy: International political economy. Structuralist ideas are rooted in Marxist analysis and focus on how the dominant economic structures of society affect (i.e., exploit) class interests and relations.

Institutional economics emphasizes a broader study of institutions and views markets as a result of the complex interaction of these various institutions (e.g. individuals, firms, states, social norms). The earlier tradition continues today as a leading heterodox approach to economics.

Latin American structuralism has played a central role in the debates on economic development theory and policy since the 1950s. Methodological the key to the success of Latin American structuralism is its ability to isolate a deep structure of the international economy and to center its analysis around it.

“The Latin American Experience” argues that democratic stability requires policies that limit the society’s degree of substantive economic and social inequality. A case in point is Latin America, long recognized as having one of the world’s most unequal distributions of income and wealth.