Lost promises

Scholars have studied the origins of Latin America's debt crisis, the key institutions involved, and the policies that followed in considerable depth. Far less is known about how austerity has touched ordinary people across the region. This volume, written by researchers from Latin America and the United States, takes up that question through fresh studies of the political economy of austerity. Each chapter examines one dimension of social life, such as city, countryside, population, or the economy.

The authors also argue that the region's debt crisis is a useful case for understanding how a country's integration into the global economy reshapes its social structure and its path of development.

The volume opens with a historical account of the worldwide economic and institutional shifts that fueled the rapid growth of debt in Latin America and led to the adoption of austerity policies. The second section looks at how national economic stabilization policies were structured and how they affected the distribution of income. The third section considers the effects of austerity on social structure, including demographic change, urbanization, organized labor, and regional development.

The final section explores popular responses to austerity policies.