Economic Politics in Latin America: Rethinking Democracy and Dictatorship
William Keech
William "Bill" Keech
is currently working on his latest book
Economic Politics in
Latin America: Rethinking Democracy and Dictatorship,
which will be published by Cambridge University Press. Dr. Keech,
Carnegie Mellon University professor emeritus and
CPP research associate, kicked off the Center's
inaugural Speaker Series in February 2007 with a
discussion of his findings in Chile, Argentina,
Mexico and Brazil.
According to Keech, "Asking if democracy is good for economic performance is a little like asking if religion is good for world peace. In principle it is, and, subject to a variety of conditions, it may well be in fact. But democracy is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for economic growth or for price stability. The economic performance record of authoritarian governments is even more varied than that of their democratic counterparts.
The book on which these lectures were based argues that democracy is an elusive and inherently contestable concept to measure. Moreover, dominant programs for economic growth and price stability change over time with experience and are subject to changing evaluations in scholarly research. At present, we are closer to agreed upon solutions for inflation than we are to recipes for economic growth.
These themes are elaborated in the twentieth century history of four Latin American countries that have experienced both democracy and authoritarian government. There have been notable successes and failures for economic growth and controlling inflation for both kinds of regimes. The case for democracy is strong, but it is better based on rationales that are defining features, like individual rights and government by the consent of the governed, rather than on fragile and contingent connections between regimes and economic performance."