Case Studies in Latin American Political Economy - Hardcover

Latin America has traditionally been dominated by state-led models of economic development within political systems traditionally characterized as authoritarian. In the contemporaray period there has been a radical reorientation of economic policy, with the application of neo-liberalism as an increasingly standard feature, alongside the displacement of military authoritarianism and a process of redemocratization. Is there a contradiction between state-led models of economic development and the application of neo-liberalism? This volume provides a fresh analysis of a diverse range of Latin American countries - Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Columbia, Venezuela and Mexico - in a period of intensive political and economic change. Moving beyond historical narratives, the volume explores the application and impact of free market policies, examining the factors which influenced or inhibited their adoption in the 1980s and 1990s. For academics, students and researchers, this book provides a forward-looking analysis of the directions of economic policy in the region and its political problems. The book concludes that while the reforms have enabled increased economic growth, they have also generated a host of problems which have yet to be adequately resolved.