Globalization and Austerity Politics in Latin America

In an age of financial globalization, are markets and democracy compatible? For developing countries, the dramatic internationalization of financial markets over the last two decades deepened long-standing tensions between politics and markets. Notwithstanding the rise of left-leaning governments in regions like Latin America, macroeconomic policies often have a neoliberal appearance. When is such austerity externally imposed and when is it a domestic political choice? Employing a multimethod research strategy that includes statistical tests and extensive field research from across Latin America, this book builds and tests a theory that explains the effect of financial globalization on economic policy making. Focusing on both the structural and individual influences on policy making, the book argues that a country's composition of international borrowing and its technocratic understanding of past economic crises combine to produce dramatically different outcomes in national policy choices. It will be read by scholars studying the political economy of global finance, development and democracy, and the politics of economic policy making.