In 1990, after almost 17 years of military rule, Chile became the only Latin American country where a democratic regime coexists with free market policies which actually work. The book explores this paradox, and it examines the prospects for future economic growth with income redistribution under free market rules and democratic politics. The author examines amongst other things, short-term policymaking, education, health, the labour market, women, the middle sectors, privatisation, market imperfections, the state, non-government organisations, external trade, the financial sector and the external debt.

This volume of essays examines how the legal systems of the chief countries of Latin America and Mediterranean Europe—Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, France, Italy, and Spain—changed in the last quarter of the 20th century. Through essays that provide a wealth of data on the courts and the legal profession in these countries, the book attempts to relate changes in the operation of the legal systems to changes in the political and social history of the societies in which they are embedded. The details vary, in accordance with the particular history and structure of the countries, but there are also key commonalities that run through all of the stories: democratization, globalization, and changes in the legal order that seem to be worldwide; more power to courts; a growing legal profession; and the entry of women into what was once a masculine club.

What makes domestic work a bad job, even after efforts to formalize and improve working conditions? Erynn Masi de Casanova's case study, based partly on collaborative research conducted with Ecuador's pioneer domestic workers' organization, examines three reasons for persistent exploitation. First, the tasks of social reproduction are devalued. Second, informal work arrangements escape regulation. And third, unequal class relations are built into this type of employment. Accessible to advocates and policymakers as well as academics, this book provides both theoretical discussions about domestic work and concrete ideas for improving women's lives. Drawing on workers' stories of lucha, trabajo, and sacrificio—struggle, work, and sacrifice—Dust and Dignity offers a new take on an old occupation. From the intimate experience of being a body out of place in an employer's home, to the common work histories of Ecuadorian women in different cities, to the possibilities for radical collective action at the national level, Casanova shows how and why women do this stigmatized and precarious work and how they resist exploitation in the search for dignified employment. From these searing stories of workers' lives, Dust and Dignity identifies patterns in domestic workers' experiences that will be helpful in understanding the situation of workers elsewhere and offers possible solutions for promoting and ensuring workers' rights that have relevance far beyond Ecuador.

The book identifies different national characteristics in terms of the motivation to privatise, the scale of privatization and its consequences. In the opening chapters there is a detailed overview of the theoretical economic issues involved in privatisation and an assessment of privatization across the EU. The remaining ten chapters contain national case studies of EU countries which review the history of state ownership and privatization in each of these countries and evaluate the extent of privatisation. The role of European Commission directives in deregulating markets and stimulating privatisation is also examined.

Ever since the quest for independence between 1810 and 1819, economic thought in Colombia has been shaped by policy debates and characterized by a pragmatic and eclectic approach. Economic thought in Colombia can only be revealed through the exploration of economists’ practices and the role of economic arguments within broader public debate. This history of Colombian economic thought provides a detailed account of major issues that have marked the constant feedback between economic ideas and economic practice in Colombia during the 19th and 20th centuries. This volume is thus a history of the interaction between ideas and policy. Those involved in these debates – politicians, public officials, journalists, and, latterly, professional economists – established direct contact with what can be identified as the centers of production of economic theory (both in Europe and the US) and entered regional and local networks in economics, but were not just importers of ideas or theories. The way in which they read, discussed, transformed and applied economic theories in Colombia makes for a rich environment for the production and implementation of economic policies that drew, diverged and transformed the way economics was understood and used as a source of knowledge for practical concerns. This is why the history of Colombian economic thought does not fit into traditional typologies of economic schools and why it must be understood as part of a political debate and within a political, social and cultural context that demanded specific solutions to urgent social demands. Through the study of what was taught, when and how, at the beginnings of the republican era, and why and how professional economists came to lead public debate and economic policy making in the 20th century, this book explores the foundations of this permanent interaction between theory and practice. This book will be of significant interest to readers of history of economic thought, economic history and the history of Colombian and Latin American economic, political and social life more broadly.

This book examines regional structural challenges on Colombia’s path to sustainable social cohesion and regionally inclusive growth. These challenges can be divided into three main groups: (i) those that focus on competitiveness and the supply side, (ii) those that arise from critical business cycle issues on the demand side, and (iii) those concerning environmental sustainability, employment and social inclusion. The contributions, written by experts on Latin American economics and regional science, apply quantitative simulations based on a unified general equilibrium framework and address a wide range of topics, including: Colombia’s competitive integration in global markets, human capital profiles, regional economic disparities and public and private mechanisms of interregional income transfer. The challenges entailed by such high-profile and long-term issues as productivity growth and climate change are also analyzed. In addition, the book positions Colombia’s experiences in an international comparative context. It argues that many other Latin American countries face similar challenges and provide evidence to substantiate this claim. By doing so, it offers valuable policy lessons for Latin American countries with similar difficulties.