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ECONOMICS AND SOCIETY IN
CONTEMPORARY LATIN
AMERICA: ARTICLES
Paul Bartholomeus
[COMPANY NAME] [Company address]
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CONTENTS
Articles ............................................................................................................................................................. 2
Tutorial 2...................................................................................................................................................... 2
Lange, Mahoney and vom Hau (2006): “Colonialism and Development: A Comparative Analysis of Spanish
and British Colonies”, American Journal of Sociology, Vol 111 (5). ............................................................. 2
Frankema, E. (2009): “The Colonial Origins of Inequality: Exploring the Causes and Consequences of Land
Distribution”, In S. Klasen & F. Nowak-Lehmann D. (Eds.), CESifo seminar series. Poverty, inequality, and
policy in Latin America (pp. 19–45). Cambridge. ........................................................................................ 9
Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson (2001): “The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development”, Quarterly
Journal of Economics, Vol 91 (5). ............................................................................................................. 13
Tutorial 3: Macro Environment; Competitive Environment and Ease of Doing Business ............................... 15
Video ...................................................................................................................................................... 15
Latin American Economic Outlook 2019 (Overview: Development in transition in Latin America and the
Caribbean: A new approach for inclusive and sustainable development in the region) ............................. 15
Tutorial 5.................................................................................................................................................... 21
Fearon, James (2004): “Why Do Some Civil Wars Last So Much Longer Than Others?”, Journal of Peace
Research, Vol 41 (3). (Only the introduction is mandatory.) ..................................................................... 21
NPR Article: Colombia Struck a Peace Deal With Guerrillas, but Many Return to Arms ............................. 22
Montreal Gazette: Formerly the world's most violent city, Medellin is now a hub for Montreal's remote
workers .................................................................................................................................................. 23
Podcast from AS/COA ............................................................................................................................. 23
Podcast on Bolivia ................................................................................................................................... 24
The Guardian: Ecuador protests end after deal struck with indigenous leaders ........................................ 24
Tutorial 6.................................................................................................................................................... 25
Spiller, Pablo and Mariano Tommasi (2003): “The Institutional Foundations of Public Policy: A Transactions
Approach with Application to Argentina”, Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, Vol 19 (2). ......... 25
Tutorial 7.................................................................................................................................................... 29
Tommasi, Mariano (2011): “Latin America: How State Capacity Determines Policy Success”, Governance,
Vol 24 (2). ............................................................................................................................................... 29
Tutorial 9.................................................................................................................................................... 30
Aguiar, Marco et al: “Why Multilatinas Hold the Key to Latin America’s Economic Future”, Boston
Consulting Group Report, March 15, 2018............................................................................................... 30
Tutorial 10 .................................................................................................................................................. 34
Osland, Joyce, Silvio De Franco and Asbjorn Osland: “Organizational implications of Latin American
Culture: lessons for the expatriate manager”, ......................................................................................... 34
Meyer, Erin: “Building Trust Across Cultures”, Blogpost, Se6 16, 2015. .................................................... 38
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ARTICLES
TUTORIAL 2
LANGE, MAHONEY AND V OM HAU (2006): “ COLONIALISM AND DEVELOPMENT: A COMPARATI VE
ANALYSIS OF SPANISH AND BRITISH COLONIES”, AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY, VOL 111
(5).
Introduction
European colonialism caused a great reversal in levels of development throughout much of the non-European
world. To this point, researchers have accounted for the reversal in terms of the conditions within the colonized
areas (factor endowments leading to different types of institutions and hence different levels of development,
population density, disease environment), and in terms of the identity of the colonizing nation.
In the first part, we show that similar kinds of factor endowments led Spanish and British colonizers to pursue
different levels of colonial institutional establishment. We distinguish among more complex regions and less
complex regions.
In the second part, we show that level of colonialism had opposite effects on long-run socioeconomic
development for the Spanish and British colonies.
Research model
A Theory of Colonialism
It distinguishes two ideal-typical economic models that can characterize colonizing powers:
A mercantilist model organizes productive activity to obtain national economic self-sufficiency and
short-term gains through favorable trade balances. Under this model, political authorities use the state
to establish trade restrictions and support extra-market institutions that provide rents to certain groups
and deny privileges to others, concentrating resources in few hands. A mercantilist economic model
therefore fosters a rigidly hierarchical society in which most of the population is dependent on a small
elite.
a liberal model organizes productive activity toward maximizing profit through exchange in free
markets. Under this model, political authorities use the state to uphold private property, encourage
commercial production, and enforce the rule of law, and provide the basic infrastructure necessary to
sustain a market economy.
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H1: The first hypothesis is that mercantilist and liberal powers impose different levels of colonialism in
territories with similar levels of precolonial development.
H2: colonialism has a positive effect on postcolonial development (to be refused)
Because level of colonialism describes a broad range of institutions implanted by colonial occupiers, it is useful
to disaggregate this concept into more specific institutions that operate as key mechanisms in shaping
postcolonial development. We especially focus on those institutions that regulate (1) commerce and markets
(the extent of free trade), (2) political authority (the degree to which a rule of law is present), and (3) race and
ethnicity (the degree to which all groups have the same rights). The first is especially important for long-run
economic development, the third is especially important for long-run social development, and the second is
highly consequential for both. We suggest that the content of these institutions varies across levels of
mercantilist and liberal colonialism, with major implications for post-colonial development.
Level of precolonial development: the size and organization of non-European societies at the onset of
colonialism. More complex or less complex
Level of colonialism: the volume of migration from the colonizing nation, the size and reach of the
colonial state apparatus, the pervasiveness of labor and stratification systems implemented by the
colonizers, and the extent to which dominant cultural orientations of the colonizing nation gain
prevalence within a colony High or low level of colonialism
Spanish Colonies
The Spanish most extensively colonized:
o Areas where preexisting civilizations were located (Aztecs, Incas, Mayas)
o Densely settled and economically advanced societies
o Many resources like precious metals
o Not marked by high levels of social development
This led Spanish conquerors to settle there and established extensive economic (slavery to secure a
workforce for the mines and large agrarian estates), political (top-ranking bureaucrats and military
officers from Spain oversaw general administration, legal procedures, public works, and defense + the
Catholic Church), and sociocultural institutions.
Exceptions:
o There were also more social developed groups at the outside of the Aztec and Inca empire.
These were also more oriented towards farming societies, but the Spanish did not settle there.
Until well into the colonial period, the Spanish crown paid little attention to these peripheral
regions. Hence, key parts of the empire in LA did not see the entrenchment of mercantilist
institutions during the colonial epoch.
o The Caribbean islands did not have highly complex civilizations before the conquest, and these
died bc of colonization, and were then supplanted by African slaves.
According to table 2
o Positive associations among…
i. Levels of precolonial development and levels of colonialism
ii. Precolonial population size and the level of colonialism
iii. Precolonial population size and European population size (in each colony)
1. Suggesting that higher levels of colonialism occurred in more complex and
populous areas
