Politics of Market Reform in Fragile Democracies Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela

9780691117874

069111787X

"Kurt Weyland has written an important book. From now on, it will be very hard to write about Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela or about complex political transitions without relying on the findings and insights that he offers here."--Moises Naim, Editor in Chief,Foreign Policy Magazine "This is a truly original book. Weyland draws on the rich literature of cognitive psychology and behavioral economics to undertake a careful and illuminating analysis of decisions to initiate, or not, economic adjustment policies in several contemporary Latin American countries. He contrasts his innovative approach with the ones prevailing in the literature, and persuades me that his approach accounts much better for these policies than do the others. The value of this book goes well beyond the countries and the policies it discusses--this is comparative political theory at its most fruitful."--Guillermo O'Donnell, University of Notre Dame "This is an excellent and original piece of work--a very solid piece of scholarship and clearly a contribution to the literature on the politics of reform. It fits in nicely with the tradition established first by Joan Nelson and colleagues, and then by Haggard and Kaufman."--Carol Graham, Brookings Institution, author ofPrivate Markets for Public Goods "This book makes a very significant contribution to the field. It is rare that a book is so ambitious in terms of both its breadth of empirical material and its effort to apply a theoretical framework that is, in this context, quite original. At a time when rational choice theories are increasingly dominant in comparative politics, the introduction of an alternative microlevel theory is quite refreshing. Weyland writes very well, in a clear and easy-to-read style that makes the theoretical chapters, in particular, especially accessible to those unfamiliar with the material."--Philip Oxhorn, McGill University, author ofOrganizing Civil Society