Revised draft: 14 April 2009
Kenneth A. Reinert
Phone: 703-993-8212
Email: kreinert@gmu.edu
Office: 262
Office hours: W 6-7PM
Home page: http://mason.gmu.edu/~kreinert
"The economic development of Latin America
since
independence is a story of unfulfilled
promise." Victor Bulmer-Thomas, The
Economic History of Latin America Since
Independence.
Course Description
This course is an overview
of political economy and economic integration in Latin America. It
is very broad in its scope.
We will cover economic history, development theories as applied to
Latin America, trade, debt,
structural adjustment, poverty, agrarian reform, and regional trade
agreements including NAFTA,
Mercosur, and the FTAA. While not abandoning standard
economic theory, we will
emphasize
the role of institutions and path dependence throughout
the course. No one
“ideological”
tradition will be given emphasis over others.
Main Texts
P. Franko, The Puzzle
of
Latin American Economic Development, Rowman and
Littlefield, New York,
2007.
P.-P. Kuczynski and J.
Williamson
(eds.), After the Washington Consensus: Restarting
Growth in Latin
America,
Institute
for International Economics, Washington, DC, 2003.
Books on Reserve
Bulmer-Thomas, V., The
Economic History of Latin America Since Independence,
Cambridge Univeristy Press, 1994.
Reinert, K.A., Window on the World Economy,
South-Wester Thomson, 2005.
Schott, J.J. and G.C.
Hufbauer, NAFTA Revisited:
Achievement and Challenges,
Institute for International Economics, 2005.
Sheahan, J., Patterns of Development in Latin America,
Princeton University Press,
1987.
Evaluation of performance
in
the course will be based on a midterm exam (30 percent), a final
exam (30 percent), a country
briefing paper (20 percent), and participation (20 percent). For
Ph.D. students, participation
constitutes 10 percent of the grade, with reading reports making
up the last 10 percent.
Course Outline and Readings
Week 1 (21 January): Introduction
Mini-lecture on the Washington consensus.
Williamson, J.,
"Overview:
An Agenda for Restarting Growth and Reform," in Kuczynski
and Williamson, 1-19.
Kuczynski, P.-P., "Setting the Stage," Chapter 1 in Kuczynski and Williamson, 21-32.
Williamson, J., "Our Agenda
and the Washington Consensus," Appendix to Kuczynski
and Williamson,
323-331.
Ph.D. Students:
Williamson, J., "What
Should
the World Bank Think about the Washington Consensus?"
World Bank Research
Observer,
15:2, 2000, 251-264, available through e-journals.
Lindauer, D.L. and L. Pritchett, “What’s the Big Idea? The Third
Generation of Policies
for Economic
Growth,” Economía: Journal of the Latin
American and
Economic Association,
2002, 3:1, 1-28. See here.
Week 2 (28 January): History and Overview
Mini-lecture: Institutional Economics.
Chapter 1 of Franko, "Development in Latin America."
Chapter 2 of Franko, "Historical Legacies."
Chapter 1 of Bulmer-Thomas,
“Latin American Economic Development: An Overview,” on
e-reserves.
Ph.D. Students:
Hirschman, A.,
“The
Political
Economy of Latin American Development: Seven Exercises in
Retrospection,” Latin
American
Research Review, 22:3, 1987, 7-36. Available through
e-journals.
Yeager, T.,
"Economienda or
Slavery? The Spanish Crown's Choice of Labor Organization in
Sixteenth Century Spanish
America," Journal of Economic History, 55:4, 1995, 842-859.
Available through e-journals.
See also:
Blackburn, R., The Making of New World Slavery,
Verso, 1997.
Galeano, E., Open Veins of Latin
America,
Monthly Review Press, 1997.
Week 3 (4 February): Import Substitution Industrialization
Mini-lecture: ISI in Theory
Chapter 3 of Franko, "Import Substitution Industrialization."
Chapter 9 of
Bulmer-Thomas,
"Inward-Looking Development in the Postwar Period," on
e-reserves.
Ph.D. Students:
Bruton, H.J., “A
Reconsideration
of Import Substitution,” Journal of Economic Literature,
36:2, 1998, 903-936. Available on
JSTOR.
Hirschman, A.O.,
"The
Political
Economy of Imort Substituting Industrialization in Latin
America," Quarterly Journal of
Economics,
82:1, 1968, 1-32. Available on JSTOR.
See also:
Chapter 20 of Reinert, "Growth, Trade, and Development."
Cypher, J.M. and
J.L.
Dietz,
"The Initial Structural Transformation," Chapter 9 of The Process
of Economic
Development,
Routledge, London, 2004, 248-279.
Week 4 (11 February): Debt and Stabilization
Mini-lecture: Open Economy Accounts and the Monetarist-Structuralist Debate
Chapter 4 of Franko, "Latin America's Debt Crisis."
Chapter 5 of Franko, "Macroeconomic Stabilization."
Rojas-Suarez, L., "Monetary
Policy and Exchange Rates: Guiding Principles for a Sustainable
Regime," Chapter 6 of
Kuczynski
and Williamson, 123-155.
Ph.D. Students:
Bulmer-Thomas, Chapter 10, "New Trade Strategies and Debt-Led Growth."
Bulmer-Thomas, Chapter 11, "Debt, Adjustment, and Recovery."
Lustig, N.,
"Crises and
the
Poor: Socially Responsible Macroeconomics," Economía:
Journal of the Latin
American and
2000, 1-30. See here.
Massad, C., "The
Liberalization of the Capital Account in Chile in the 1990s," in S.
Fischer
et al., Should the IMF Pursue
Capital-Account Convertibility?,
International Finance, 207, May 1998, 34-46.
See also:
Chapter 12 of Reinert, "Accounting Frameworks."
Week 5 (18 February): The State in Latin America, Note: Late Start at 8:10 PM
Mini-lecture: The Order of Economic Liberalization
Chapter 6 of Franko, "The Role of the State."
Kuczynski, P.-P.,
"Reforming
the State," Chapter 2 of Kuczynski and Williamson,
33-47.
Artana, D., R. López
Murphy, and F. Navajas, "A Fiscal Policy Agenda," Chapter 4
of Kuczynski and
Williamson,
75-101.
Ph.D. Students:
Fishlow, A., "The
Latin
American
State," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 4:3,
Summer 1990. Available through
e-journals.
Perez-Aleman, P.,
"Learning, Adjuctment and Economic Development: Transforming
Firms, the State and Associations in Chile," World
Development, 28:1, 2000, 41-55.
Available through e-journals.
Spiller, P.T. and
M. Tommasi (2003) "The Institutional Foundations of Public Policy:
A Transactions Approach with Applications to
Argentina," Journal of Law, Economics
and Organization,
19:2, 281-306.
See also:
Inter-American
Development Bank (2005) The Politics
of Policies.
Week 6 (25 February): The New Openness
Mini-lecture: Exchange Rates
Chapter 7 of Franko, "Financing for Development."
Chapter 8 of Franko, "Contemporary Trade Policy."
Chapter 9 of Franko, "Policies Underpinning Growth."
Bouzas, R. and S. Keifman,
"Making Trade Liberalization Work," Chapter 7 of Kuczynski
and Williamson,
157-179.
Ph.D. Students:
de Ferranti, D. et
al. From Natural Resources to the
Knowledge Economy: Trade and
Job Quality,
World Bank, 2002. Available on the web and through World Bank documents
database.
Sawers, L. (2005)
"Nontraditional or New Traditional Exports," Latin American Research
Review, 40:3, 40-67. Available through
e-journals.
See also:
Chapter 13 of
Reinert,
"Exchage
Rates and Purchasing Power Parity."
Goldin and
Reinert, "Global Capital Flows and Economic Development," Journal
of
International Trade and Economic Development,
14:4, 2005, 453-481. Available
through e-journals.
Week 7 (4 March): Midterm and Briefing Paper Paragraph Due
Week 8 (11 March): No Class, Spring Break)
Week 9 (18 March): NAFTA
Mini-lecture: Regional Integration
Hufbauer and Schott,
Chapters 1 and 9 of
NAFTA
Revisited:
Achievements and Challenges,
Institute for International Economics, 2005. Also on
reserve.
Ph.D. Students:
Reinert, K.A. and
D.W.
Roland-Holst,
“North-South Trade and Occupational Wages: Some
Evidence from North America,”
Review
of International Economics, 6:1, 1998, 74-89.
Reinert,
K.A. and
D.W.
Roland-Holst, “NAFTA and Industrial Pollution: Some General
Equilibrium Estimates,”
Journal of
Economic Integration, 16:2, 2001, 165-179.
See also:
Chapter 8 of Reinert, "Regional Trade Agreements."
Week 10 (25 March): CATFA-DR, Mercosur,
Andean Communicty and
the FTAA
Chapter 1 of World Bank, DR-CAFTA:
Challenges and Opportunities for
Central America,
2005.
Creamer, G., "The Andean
Community," in K. Reinert, K. Rajan, A. Glass and L. Davis
(eds.), The
Princeton Encylopedia of the World Economy,
2009, 61-64, on e-reserves.
Mendez, J., "CAFTA-DR," in K. Reinert, K.
Rajan, A. Glass and L. Davis (eds.),
The Princeton
Encylopedia of the World Economy,
2009, 172-174, on e-reserves.
Feinberg, R., "The FTAA," in K. Reinert, K. Rajan, A. Glass and L. Davis (eds.),
The Princeton
Encylopedia of the World Economy,
2009, 505-508, on e-reserves.
Roett, R., "Mercosur," in K. Reinert, K.
Rajan, A. Glass and L. Davis (eds.),
The Princeton
Encylopedia of the World Economy,
2009, 759-767, on e-reserves.
Ph.D. Students:
Reid, M., "Mercosur:
A Critical Overview," Chatham House Mercosur Study Group,
2002.
Esteradeordal, A.,
J. Goto,
and R. Saez, "The New Regionalism in the Americas: The Case
of Mercosur," Journal of
Economic
Integration, 16:2, 2001, 180-202.
Bulmer-Thomas, V.,
"The
Central
American Common Market: From Closed to Open
Regionalism," World
Development,
26:2, 1998, 313-322. Available through e-journals.
Week 11 (1 April): Rural Development
Mini-lecture: The Lewis Model, ISI, and Rural Development
Chapter 10 of Franko, "Rural Development."
Chapter 1 of de
Ferranti, D. et al., Beyond the
City: The Rural Contribution to
Development,
World Bank, 2005. Available on the web and through World
Bank documents
database.
Ph.D. Students:
Sheahan, Chapter 6, "Ownership I: Land."
Echeverria, R.C., "Options
for Rural Poverty Reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean,"
CEPAL Review, April
2000, 151-164.
Week 12( 8
April): No Class, Work on Papers!
Week 13 (15 April): Poverty and Inequality
Chapter 11 of Franko, "Poverty and Inequality."
Birdsall, N. and M.
Székely,
"Bootstraps, Not Band-Aids: Poverty, Equity, and Social Policy,"
Chapter 3 of Kuczynski and
Williamson, 49-73.
Ph.D. Students:
Patricio
Korzeniewicz, R.
and
W.C. Smith,
"Poverty, Inequality, and Growth in Latin America:
Searching for the High Road to Globalization," Latin America Research
Review, 35:3, 2000,
7-54. Available through e-journals.
Sheahan, J.
and E.
Iglesias,
"Kinds and Causes of Inequality in Latin America," in N. Birdsall,
C. Graham, and
R. Sabot
(eds.),
Beyond
Trade-Offs: Market Reform and Equitable Growth
in Latin America,
Brookings
Institution, Washington, DC, 1998, 29-61.
See also:
Fiszbein, A.
and N. Schady (2009) Conditional
Cash Transfers: Reducing Present and
Future Poverty, World Bank.
Lida, D.
(2008) First Stop in the New World:
Mexico City, Capital of the 21st Century,
Riverhead Books.
Week 14 (22 April): Health and Education
Chapter 12 of Franko, "Health Policy."
Chapter 13 of Franko, "Education Policy."
Wolff, L. and C. de Moura
Castro,
"Education and Training: The Task Ahead," Chapter 8
of Kuczynski and
Williamson,
181-212
Ph.D. Students:
Sheahan, Chapter 2, "Poverty."
Colclough, C.,
"Education
and
the Market: Which Parts of the Neoliberal Solution Are
Correct?" World Development,
24:4, 1996, 589-610.
Week 15 (29 April): Environment and Review of Semester
Chapter 14 of
Franko, "Environmental Challenges."
Chapter 15 of Franko, "Lessons Learned."
Navia, P. and A. Velasco,
"The
Politics of Second-Generation Reforms," Chapter 10 of
Kuczynski and Williamson,
265-303.
Williamson, J., "Summing
Up,"
Chapter 11 of Kuczynski and Willisamson, 305-321.
Week 16 (6
May) Final Exam, (8 May, 5:00 PM) Papers Due via E-Mail
Briefing Paper
One requirement of
this
course is for you to write a briefing paper on the recent economic
history of a Latin
American country
of your choice or on a narrow economic topic of relevance
to Latin America. The
paper is to be
no longer than 15 double-spaced typed
pages. It is to be
written in non-technical
language
suitable
for a policy-maker. A paragraph describing your paper
is due on 4 Mach.
The paper is
due on 8 May.
An excellent source on the
research and writing process: W.C. Booth, G.G. Colomb, and J.M.
Williams, The Craft of
Research, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2003.
Plagiarism
"All work must be
your
own. Inappropriate use of the work of others without attribution is
plagiarism and a George Mason
University Honor Code violation punishable by expulsion from
the University. All
students
should
familiarize themselves with this Honor
Code provision. To
guard against
plagiarism and to
treat students equitably, written work may be checked against
existing published
materials or digital
databases available through various plagiarism
detection services. Accordingly,
materials
submitted
to all course must be available in
electrionic format."
Please see my link on plagiarism.
Nondiscrimination
Statement
It is my
policy not to discriminate among students based on race, ethnicity,
religious faith,
national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or
physical ability.
Relevant Websites
Acción
International
CEPAL
Review Articles
Free
Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)
Inter-American
Development Bank
Latin
American and Caribbean Economic Association
Organization
of American States
Organization
for Tropical Studies
Pan
American Health Organization
ProMujer
United
Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean