The Puzzle of Latin American Economic Development

By Patrice M. Franko

Book Overview

Fully revised and updated, this text provides the basic economic tools for students to understand the problems facing the countries of Latin America. In this second edition, Patrice Franko analyzes... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0742553531
• ISBN13: 9780742553538
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Length: 712 Pages
• Weight: 1.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.1" x 1.1" x 7.1"

Customer Reviews

A useful textbook.

This is probably the most useful all-round textbook on Latin American economic challenges currently on the market. An important strength is its comprehensiveness: unlike some alternatives, Franko does not dwell on issues of macroeconomic management to the exclusion of important socioeconomic issues such as education, health, rural development, and inequality. The book is evidently designed to support a one semester course, and could be used for either advanced undergraduates or graduate students. Franko's text is not without its weaknesses. The updating of macro developments from the first edition was undertaken somewhat randomly. Discussions of different viewpoints on Latin American development issues sometimes make overly schematic use of stock figures ("the structuralist", "the neoliberal") that risk becoming caricatures. There is no discussion of the so-called "Washington Consensus" as a whole (indeed the term does not appear in the index). And Franko discusses the thesis of secular decline in commodity prices in an uncritical manner that suggests she may be unaware of recent more skeptical analyses. This said, the book does not suffer from obvious systematic biases, and makes a good-faith effort to present different viewpoints without forcing them down the reader's throat.

A Completely Finished Puzzle

"The Puzzle of Latin American Economic Development" is, most of all, an incredible clear book. By beggining with a review of the differences between the concepts of economic development and economic growth, Patrice Franko places the study of the Latin American economy in its appropiate framework. The analysis of the historical evolution, while simple, gives a solid overview of many of the roots of the current economic and social problems of the area. Finally, her wide analysis of typical areas of economic development such as agriculture, health and education highlights problems that are sometimes forgotten by the political actors. It is an indispensable book for those who want to get initiated in the fascinating subject of Latin American Economic Development.