The fifteen essays in this volume apply the methods of the new economic history to the history of the Latin American economies since 1800. The authors combine the historian's sensitivity to context and contingency with modern or "neoclassical" economic theory and quantitative methods.

The essays shed new light on the economic history of all the major economies from Mexico and Cuba to Brazil and Argentina. Some focus on comparing macroeconomic policies and performance, others analyze key sectors such as foreign trade, finance, transportation, and industry, and still others focus on the impact of property rights, government regulation, and political upheaval.

John H. Coatsworth is Monroe Gutman Professor of Latin American Affairs and former Director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University.

Alan M. Taylor is Professor of Economics, University of California, Davis.

Read More by John H. Coatsworth:

• Globalization and the Rural Environment
• Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala, Revised and Expanded
• Philanthropy and Social Change in Latin America

Read More by Alan M. Taylor:

• Integrating the Americas: FTAA and Beyond