Falling Behind: Explaining the Development Gap Between Latin America and the United States | 
 enlarge | Creator: Francis Fukuyama
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
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Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 15475
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 3.8 x 1.1
ISBN: 0195368827
Dewey Decimal Number: 338.98
EAN: 9780195368826
ASIN: 0195368827
Publication Date: August 11, 2008
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Condition: Brand New. 100% money back guarantee. All books shipped from Strand Bookstore, New York City, USA.
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Product Description
In 1700, Latin America and British North America were roughly equal in economic terms. Yet over the next three centuries, the United States gradually pulled away, and today the gap is huge. Why did this happen? Was it culture? Geography? Economic policies? Natural resources? Differences in political development? The question has occupied policymakers and scholars for decades, and the debate remains intense.
In Falling Behind, Francis Fukuyama, acclaimed author of The End of History and America at the Crossroads, gathers together some of the world's leading scholars on the subject to explain the nature of the gap and how it came to be. Tracing the histories of development over the past four hundred years and focusing in particular on the policies of the last fifty years, the contributors conclude that while many factors are important, economic policies and weak institutions are at the root of the divide. Interestingly, while the gap is deeply rooted in history, they show that there have been times when it narrowed as a consequence of policy choices in nations such as Chile, Mexico, and Brazil, and that there has been genuine institutional reform across the region. Bringing to light these policy success stories, Fukuyama and the contributors lay out a path for Latin American nations so that they can improve their prospects for economic growth and stable political development.
Given that so many attribute the gap to either vast cultural differences or the consequences of U.S. economic domination, Falling Behind is sure to stir debate. And, given the importance of the subject in light of economic globalization and the immigration debate, its expansive, in-depth portrait of the hemisphere's development will be a welcome addition to the conversation.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Thoughtful Essays about Factors Affecting Economic Performance in Latin America September 10, 2008
Falling Behind contains nine excellent essays exploring different aspects of why Latin America and the United States have different income levels. The key points in those nine essays are nicely summarized in Francis Fukuyama's conclusion, the tenth essay. The authors were well chosen to reflect both Latin American and U.S. perspectives.
I found that some of the arguments were more persuasive than others, especially the time series work that showed much of the loss of relative economic performance occurring during the time when Latin American countries were establishing their governments. That evidence seemed to be the smoking gun that shows that economic development requires stable, effective government.
Of equal interest were the investigations of the factors that don't seem to explain the differences, including religious culture, tropical climate, and disease.
The book is short on prescriptions. But Latin America seems likely to profit from improved government policies for economic development, better educational results, more inclusive two-party politics in democracies, improving security of property rights, making entrepreneurship easier, and avoiding regime changes.
Historical data make it hard to test everything, but I did wonder if geography might not have played a bigger role in falling behind the United States than this book suggests. A lot of the economic development of the U.S. in the early industrial revolution depended on having lots of cotton growing and the raw materials to make steel-based goods that could be inexpensively shipped across the North Atlantic to Europe. Latin America mostly lacked those same resources and access to the European markets at the same time.
I'm sure the debate over what went wrong in Latin America will continue as long as Latin America's prosperity lags behind the United States. It's a subject well worth considering to provide guidance for other developing regions, especially in Africa.
 He never falls short August 29, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Great writter amazing book,
You go thru this book as he was talking to you.
I have read most of his books and he always keeps amazing me,amazing knowleadge, great writter.
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