Description
Book SynopsisExamines the political economy of growth in Venezuela since the discovery of oil in 1920.
Trade Review“This is an original, lucid, and stimulating work, one that will force economists, political scientists, and historians to rethink the economic history of Venezuela, the validity of the ‘resource curse,’ and the political economy of growth more generally. It is a book that embodies the best tradition of interdisciplinary analysis. This is an outstanding contribution to the political economy of development in Latin America and should be required reading for those interested in understanding long-run economic performance and the political economy of economic reform.”
—Francisco R. Rodríguez,United Nations Development Programme
“This book addresses the key puzzle of Venezuela’s political economy in the twentieth century—the rapid and spectacular rise of Venezuela’s economic development from 1920 to 1965, followed by its precipitous collapse, arguably to this day. If you think the answer is oil, this book will make you think again. Marshalling hard-to-find data, Di John shows how import substitution and export diversification each depend, for their success, on the nature of a country’s political institutions.”
—Javier Corrales,Amherst College
“There are few economic and political histories as enigmatic as Venezuela’s. Until now, little has been written that captures the complexity of its economic and political trajectory. This fascinating book fills an important gap in the most original way and is a brilliant example of interdisciplinary analysis. It provides a convincing critique of the ‘resource curse’ and will force policy makers and scholars to rethink how and why industrial policy succeeds or fails in Latin America.”
—José Gabriel Palma,Cambridge University
“Di John’s book presents a thorough and carefully researched account of Venezuela’s late development process in the twentieth century.”
—Sylvia Gaylord Latin American Politics and Society
“This is a timely, well-written, clear, and rigorous book that will likely become a model for scholars studying the political economy of oil-exporting countries plagued by problems of poverty and political instability. Additionally, it may help to shed light on a number of problems by providing answers to some of Venezuela’s economic and foreign policy difficulties, and to the destabilizing internal threats faced by Middle Eastern oil-producing countries.”
—Marcelo Bucheli Business History Review
“The author demonstrates the importance of a detailed historical case study to deepen our understanding of the political economy of an oil economy, and he shows the value of an interdisciplinary weaving of that case study, whatever the challenges of such a task. This is an original and important book.”
—Rosemary Thorp Hispanic American Historical Review
Table of ContentsContents
Preface and Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Part One: Introduction
1 Accounting for Growth and Decline in Venezuela, 1920–2005
2 Trends and Cycles in the Venezuelan Economy, 1920–2005
Part Two: A Critical Survey of the “Resource Curse” Literature
3 Economic Explanations of the Growth Collapse in Venezuela, 1973–2005
4 Political Economy Explanations of the Growth Collapse in Venezuela
5 Economic Liberalization, Political Instability, and State Capacity in Venezuela, 1989–1998
Part Three: An Alternative Political Economy of Venezuelan Growth and Decline, 1920–2005
6 Toward a New Political Economy of Late Industrialization
7 Periodization of Industrialization Stages and Strategies in Venezuela, 1920–2005
8 The Structure of and Changes in Political Settlements in Venezuela, 1920–2005
9 A New View on the Political Economy of Growth in Venezuela, 1920–2005
Part Four: Beyond the Venezuelan Case
10 The Political Economy of Growth in Malaysia and Venezuela
11 Conclusion: Rethinking the Political Economy of Growth
References
Index
