Description
Book SynopsisEconomic and social development is a major topic of discussion in courses across the social sciences, particularly those focused on Latin America. Many scholars and instructors have tried to pinpoint, explain, and define the problem of underdevelopment in Latin America. New ideas have led to new strategies that have, by and large, failed to reduce income disparity and relieve poverty in the region. Why Latin American Nations Fail brings together leading Latin Americanists from several disciplines to address how and why contemporary development strategies have failed to promote long-term sustainable growth with improved well-being throughout the region. Given the dramatic political turns in contemporary Latin America, this book offers a much-needed explanation and analysis of the factors that must be considered in making sense of development today.
Table of ContentsPreface
Contributors
1. Introduction
Matías Vernengo and Esteban Pérez Caldentey
PART I: THE INSTITUTIONAL TURN
2. Industrialization, Trade, and Economic Growth
Carlos Aguiar de Medeiros
3. Institutions, Property Rights, and Why Nations Fail
Esteban Pérez Caldentey and Matías Vernengo
4. With the Best of Intentions: Types of Development Failure in Latin America
Miguel A. Centeno and Agustín E. Ferraro
5. What Makes an Institution “Developmental”? A Comparative Analysis
Alejandro Portes and Jean C. Nava
PART II: THE POST-BOOM CHALLENGES
6. Latin America’s Mounting Development Challenges
José Antonio Ocampo
7. Economic Performance in Latin America in the 2000s: Recession, Recovery, and Resilience?
Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid and Stefanie Garry
8. South America after the Commodity Boom
Martín Abeles and Sebastián Valdecantos
9. China in Latin America: Social and Environmental Lessons for Institutions in a Commodity Boom
Rebecca Ray and Kevin P. Gallagher
10. Some Concluding Thoughts
Esteban Pérez Caldentey and Matías Vernengo
Index
