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

(Paperback)

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This book takes a powerful new approach to a question central to comparative politics and economics: Why do some leaders of fragile democracies attain political success when pursuing drastic, painful economic reforms while others see their political careers implode Kurt Weyland examines the surprising willingness of presidents in four Latin American countries to enact daring reforms and the unexpected resultant popular support. He argues that only using the insights of prospect theory to understand how leaders understand the gains and losses from reform can one fully account for the twists and turns of politics and economic policy in Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela during the 1980s and 1990s.

Reviews

One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2003 "Anyone interested in the politics of public policy should read Weyland's clearly written, stimulating book, which combines theoretical novelty with substantive breath yet gives other theoretical approaches clear and reasonably fair treatment."--Choice "The Politics of Market Reforms in Fragile Democracies stands out as being by far the most comprehensive and theoretically insightful work on market reform to date. It is an example of first-class scholarship in breadth and scope. It challenges existing theories and provides a brilliant explanation that in many ways is able to integrate previous findings in a simple yet parsimonious way. This book will be a point of departure for anyone who is interested in market reforms in the years to come."--Luigi Manzetti, Perspectives on Politics

Author Bio

Kurt Weyland is Associate Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of "Democracy without Equity: Failures of Reform in Brazil".