Business Politics and the State in Twentieth-Century Latin America
Business Politics and the State in Twentieth-Century Latin America
This is the first systematically comparative and historical analysis of the incorporation of business into politics in Latin America, examining business organizing and political activity over the last century in five of the largest, most developed countries of the region. Why did business end up better organized in Chile, Colombia, and Mexico than in Argentina and Brazil? The explanation for the surprising cross-national variations lays neither in economic characteristics of business nor broader political parameters, but in the cumulative effect of actions of state actors. The book also considers the consequences of these differences in organization and finds that stronger encompassing associations offer government officials opportunities for concerted policy making with business that can enhance policy implementation. The strong hand of the state in organizing business has important implications not only for theories of collective action, but also for our understanding of civil society and its potential to promote democratization.
- Offers innovative, state-centered theory of collective action by business
- Analyzes not only why business-government relations vary cross-nationally but also how these differences matter for policy-making and democracy
- Only systematically comparative and historical analysis of business politics in Latin America
Reviews & endorsements
"This volume will be of interest to students of Latin American politics as well as those concerned with democracy or the lack of it in developing nations. Recommended." R.J. Alexander, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, CHOICE
"This volume is a valuable addition to the extensive and disparate bibliography on business associations, state-business relations, collective action, corporatism, and civil society. One of its major achievements is that it will help to redirect research on these topics." - Carlos Davila
"Schneider's book displays meticulous research and an excellent command of both theory and data. It represents the first serious effort to compare business associations' behavior across very diverse countries in a systematic and theoretically sound fashion. The main thesis is straight-foward, well argued, and consistently supported throughout. The book's breadth and scope make it a majorly scholarly accomplishment that any future work on the subject will need to confront." - Luigi Manzetti, Southern Methodist University
Product details
August 2004Paperback
9780521545006
336 pages
229 × 153 × 21 mm
0.45kg
6 tables
Available
Table of Contents
- Part I. Introduction and Arguments:
- 1. Patterns of business politics in Latin America
- 2. States and collective action
- Part I. Cases and Comparisons:
- 3. From state to societal corporatism in Mexico
- 4. From corporatism to reorganized disarticulation in Brazil
- 5. Business in Columbia: well organized and well connected
- 6. Consultation and contention in the making of cooperative capitalism in Chile
- 7. Business associations in Argentina: fragmented and politicized
- Part III. Conclusions and Implications:
- 8. Economic governance and varieties of capitalism
- 9. Democracy and varieties of civil society
- Appendices.
