While Latin America accounts for approximately 7 percent of the world economy, easily accessible information on the economies of the region is not always easy to find. The existing literature on Latin American economics usually assumes some previous familiarity with the region and is focused on...

"Miguel A. Centeno, Agustin E. Ferraro, Vivekananda Nemana More than 3 decades ago, Albert Hirschman wondered why not enough attention had been paid to Latin America's post-war economic boom, certainly not while it happened. Only in retrospect, from the "lost decade" of the 1980s, did the...

Frontmatter -- Preface -- Contents -- PART I THE SETTING -- I. Evolution of Economic Systems -- II. Population, Income, and the Allocation of Productive Effort -- PART II ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCTION -- III. Agriculture and Land Tenure -- IV. The Mining Industry -- V. Transportation -- VI....

Raising children: the case for government intervention -- A report card on early childhood development -- Family first -- Daycare services: it's all about quality -- Early schooling: teachers make the difference -- More bang for the buck: investing in early childhood development -- Drawing up an...

Toward a theory of ritual economy / Patricia A. McAnany, E. Christian Wells -- Weaving ritual and the production of commemorative cloth in Highland Guatemala / Walter E. Little -- "Desires of the heart" and laws of the marketplace : money and poetics, past and present, in highland Madagascar /...

Disasters cause economic as well as human losses. Indeed, economic losses associated directly with disasters have continued at increasing proportions worldwide since the 1970s, as the 2011 Global assessment report on disaster risk reduction conducted by the United Nations International Strategy...

Macroeconomic adjustment and sectoral reforms have strongly modified the framework for rural development in Central America. This book offers a structural analysis of agrarian policies in Central America and their impact on production conditions and farmers' welfare.

Interest in learning how to make the most of the potential developmental benefits of remittance flows has grown worldwide. Financing the Family adds to that body of knowledge with a summary of recent research that emphasizes experimental approaches, focuses on Central America, and analyzes the...