Business and the State in Developing Countries - (Cornell Studies in Political Economy) by Sylvia Maxfield & Ben Ross Schneider (Paperback)

About the Book

Much of the debate about development in the past decade pitted proponents of unfettered markets against advocates of developmental states. Yet, in many developing countries what best explains variations in economic performance is not markets or states...

Book Synopsis

Much of the debate about development in the past decade pitted proponents of unfettered markets against advocates of developmental states. Yet, in many developing countries what best explains variations in economic performance is not markets or states but rather the character of relations between business and government. The studies in Business and the State in Developing Countries identify a range of close, collaborative relations between bureaucrats and capitalists that enhance elements of economic performance and defy conventional expectations that such relations lead ineluctably to rent-seeking, corruption, and collusion. All based on extensive field research, the essays contrast collaborative and collusive relations in a wide range of developing countries, mostly in Latin America and Asia, and isolate the conditions under which collaboration is most likely to emerge and survive. The contributors highlight the crucial roles played by capable bureaucracies and strong business associations.

Review Quotes

An outstanding set of essays that are integrated with a success all too unusual in edited collections.

--Frederick Stirton Weaver "Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs"

Provides a very informative and useful set of research results on the experiences of developing country in government-business interactions.... Also provides a wealth of interesting materials and findings in a manner lucid and accessible to a wide audience.... A thought-provoking book.... Highly valuable not only to specialists in the field, but also to the students interested in the political economy of Third World.

-- "The Journal of Asian Studies"

Sylvia Maxfield and Ben Schneider have collected a set of uniformly excellent essays.... An excellent volume.

--David Waldner "Political Science Quarterly"

About the Author

Ben Ross Schneider is Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Northwestern University. He is the author of Business Politics and the State in 20th Century Latin America. Sylvia Maxfield is Associate Professor of Political Science at Yale University.