The Political Economy of Latin America: Reflections on Neoliberalism and Development

by Peter R. Kingstone

Neoliberalism has been at the centre of enormous controversy since its first appearance in Latin America in the early 1970s. Even neoliberalism’s strongest supporters concede that it has not lived up to its promises and that growth, poverty, and inequality all have performed considerably worse than hoped. This brief text offers an unbiased reflection on the neoliberal debate in Latin America and the institutional puzzle that underlies the region’s difficulties with democratization and development. In addition to providing an overview of this key element of the Latin American political economy, Peter Kingstone also advances an important but under-explored argument about political institutions. Kingstone offers a unique contribution by mapping out the problem of how to understand institutions, why they are created, and why Latin American ones function the way they do.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Economics

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 17, 2010

Reviews

[David Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why anyone would read a textbook unless it was assigned to them. This might be one of them, if you're considering a short text on Latin American political economy, this is a good start.

[Megan Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to read for grad school. Most of the textbooks I’ve had to read were very dry with minimal information that I actually needed in order to do my assignments. This one was super detailed and covered a lot more information than I was expecting. Highly recommend if you’re interested in Latin America’s economy.

[Anaí Oñate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es interesante como aborda el autor las fallas del ISI en Latam. Y cómo el neoliberalismo no es el villano. Creo qué lo que más me gusto fue su análisis de cómo el clientelismo ha sido uno de los factores más importantes para que la política pública usada no sea efectiva.

[ASC Library]

338.98 Kin

[Aja Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid overview of Political Economy in Latin America, but definitely not as dense as it could be. Very readable for someone who wants a general overview. Highly recommended for anyone with an interested in global political economy.