Managing Mexico: Economists from Nationalism to Neoliberalism. [Hardcover]

Sarah Babb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2001

Just one generation ago, lawyers dominated Mexico's political elite, and Mexican economists were a relatively powerless group of mostly leftist nationalists. Today, the country is famous, or perhaps infamous, for being run by American-trained neoclassical economists. This book chronicles the evolution of economic expertise in Mexico over the course of the twentieth century, showing how internationally credentialed experts came to set the agenda for the Mexican economics profession. It also reveals how the familiar language of Mexico's new experts overlays a professional structure that is still alien to most American economists.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A clear picture of the evolution of economic thinking in Mexico, grounded in the changing institutions that shaped it. -- Choice

Accessible to the nonspecialist, and the implicit drama of [the story] drives the reader forward. . . . A corrective to a common globalization narrative on the left, which explains global poverty and inequality as simply something imposed on the third world. -- Review

From the Inside Flap

"Managing Mexico is a landmark achievement by an up and coming comparative-historical sociologist. Based on solid scholarship, it takes a much-needed critical look at the reception of economic ideas in Mexico during the twentieth century. This is the best book on the history of Mexican economic thinking and policymaking--and a must read for students of professionalization in general."--Mauro Guillén, University of Pennsylvania, author of The Limits of Convergence

"This book furthers our understanding of the historical source of change in Mexican economic ideas. Because Babb lays out the larger theoretical concerns carefully, she is able to link the Mexican case to broader interpretations, permitting other scholar to now compare the Mexican case with other developing countries."--Roderic Camp, author of Politics in Mexico

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (December 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691074836
• ISBN-13: 978-0691074832
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,403,139 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Scholarship; must read for some, May 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Managing Mexico: Economists from Nationalism to Neoliberalism. (Hardcover)

Sarah Babb presents a very interesting study of the economic profession in Mexico and the economists who have held the top government positions. It is a must read -of course- for every student in economics, political science and related fields in Mexico. Needless to say, the few who are pursuing graduate studies in economics must look at it carefully.
The book is very well researched and it's well written. The sociological stuff will be tough to read for non-specialists, nevertheless it is worth it. I suspect that the majority of non-sociologists (i.e. economists) reading the book will disagree with Babb's reasons for the growing importance of economists in the mexican government. Read it and get your own conclusions.
Even the plain historical facts are appealing. How UNAM and ITAM competed for the profession in 1950s-1970s and finally ITAM stayed alone at the top. How that school was (and is) a bastion of free-market economics in Mexico and mentor of generations of leaders in their field. And most importantly, why is that not going to change in a while.
Finally, any who aspires to understand recent mexican history and its institutions, will learn a lot from the context of the creation of several of them in the twentieth century.