South America And The World Economy From Independence To 1930

A comparative study of the First World War's economic and socio-political repercussions in Latin America.

A comprehensive balanced portrait of the factors affecting economic development in Latin America, first published in 2003.

The continued growth of the Latin American economy is documented in this account of the economic and social consequences of its integration as a primary producer in the expanding international economy.

Volume Two treats the 'long twentieth century' from the onset of modern economic growth to the present. It analyzes the principal dimensions of Latin America's first era of sustained economic growth from the last decades of the nineteenth century to 1930. It explores the era of inward-looking development from the 1930s to the collapse of import-substituting industrialization and the return to strategies of globalization in the 1980s. Finally, it looks at the long term trends in capital flows, agriculture and the environment.

Hofman, a researcher with the Chile-based Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, uses growth accounting methods and previously unavailable long-term series data to assess the economic performance of the region during the century from a comparative and historical perspective. In particular he compares Latin American economies to those of advanced capitalist economies, to newly industrialized economies, and to Spain and Portugal because of the historical ties. He looks at the reasons for the poor or negative growth during the 1980s and the apparent recovery in the 1990s and at such problems as debt, income inequality, high inflation, cyclical instability, and political and policy instability. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Latin America in the World Economy considers the dual aspect of Latin American development: how external factors (phases of world capitalism since Columbus) interweave with internal factors (Latin American culture, politics, and social groups). Weaver skillfully demonstrates how domestic social conflicts and power relations have consistently capitalized on changes in the international economy while, conversely, engagement with the international economy has consistently constrained local struggles and patterns of change. Over half of Latin America in the World Economy focuses on the short twentieth century (after 1930), and the way that the book frames recent events and processes in broad historical and comparative terms is appropriate for courses on world history and comparative development as well as for more specialized courses on Latin America.