Venezuela Before Chávez

Anatomy of an Economic Collapse

Ricardo Hausmann, Francisco R. Rodríguez, Ricardo Hausmann, Francisco R. Rodríguez

• Publisher: Penn State University Press
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9780271056319
• eBook ISBN: 9780271064628
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: International Economics
• Index: History

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Venezuela had one of the poorest economies in Latin America, but by 1970 it had become the richest country in the region and one of the twenty richest countries in the world, ahead of countries such as Greece, Israel, and Spain. Between 1978 and 2001, however, Venezuela's economy went sharply in reverse, with non-oil GDP declining by almost 19 percent and oil GDP by an astonishing 65 percent. What accounts for this drastic turnabout? The editors of Venezuela Before Chávez, who each played a policymaking role in the country's economy during the past two decades, have brought together a group of economists and political scientists to examine systematically the impact of a wide range of factors affecting the economy's collapse, from the cost of labor regulation and the development of financial markets to the weakening of democratic governance and the politics of decisions about industrial policy.

Aside from the editors, the contributors are Omar Bello, Adriana Bermúdez, Matías Braun, Javier Corrales, Jonathan Di John, Rafael Di Tella, Javier Donna, Samuel Freije, Dan Levy, Robert MacCulloch, Osmel Manzano, Francisco Monaldi, María Antonia Moreno, Daniel Ortega, Michael Penfold, José Pineda, Lant Pritchett, Cameron A. Shelton, and Dean Yang.

Table of contents

• COVER Front
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface and Acknowledgments
• Preface Notes and References
• Introduction (Ricardo Hausmann and Francisco Rodríguez)
• Introduction Notes and References
• Chapter 1: Why Did Venezuelan Growth Collapse? (Ricardo Hausmann and Francisco Rodríguez)
• Chapter 1 Notes and References
• Chapter 2: Venezuela After a Century of Oil Exploitation (Osmel Manzano)
• Chapter 2 Notes and References
• Chapter 3: Public Investment and Productivity Growth in the Venezuelan Manufacturing Industry (José Pineda and Francisco Rodríguez)
• Chapter 3 Notes and References
• Chapter 4: The Incidence of Labor Market Reforms on Employment in the Venezuelan Manufacturing Sector, 1995–2001 (Omar Bello and Adriana Bermúdez)
• Chapter 4 Notes and References
• Chapter 5: Understanding Economic Growth in Venezuela, 1970–2005: The Real Effects of a Financial Collapse (Matías Braun)
• Chapter 5 Notes and References
• Chapter 6: Much Higher Schooling, Much Lower Wages: Human Capital and Economic Collapse in Venezuela (Daniel Ortega and Lant Pritchett)
• Chapter 6 Notes and References
• Chapter 7: Income Distribution and Redistribution in Venezuela (Samuel Freije)
• Chapter 7 Notes and References
• Chapter 8: Competing for Jobs or Creating jobs? The impact of Immigration on Native-Born Unemployment in Venezuela, 1980–2003 (Dan Levy and Dean Yang)
• Chapter 8 Notes and References
• Chapter 9: Sleeping in the Bed One Makes: The Venezuelan Fiscal Policy Response to the Oil Boom (María Antonia Moreno and Cameron A. Shelton)
• Chapter 9 Notes and References
• Chapter 10: Institutional Collapse: The Rise and Decline of Democratic Governance in Venezuela (Francisco Monaldi and Michael Penfold)
• Chapter 10 Notes and References
• Chapter 11: The Political Economy of Industrial Policy in Venezuela (Jonathan Di John)
• Chapter 11 Notes and References
• Chapter 12: Explaining Chavismo: The Unexpected Alliance of Radical Leftists and the Military in Venezuela under Hugo Chávez (Javier Corrales)
• Chapter 12 Notes and References
• Chapter 13: Oil, Macro Volatility, and Crime in the Determination of Beliefs in Venezuela (Rafael Di Tella, Javier Donna, and Robert MacCulloch)
• Chapter 13 Notes and References
• Chapter 14: Understanding the Collapse: Venezuela’s Experience in Cross-National Perspective (Ricardo Hausmann and Francisco Rodríguez)
• Chapter 14 Notes and References
• List of Contributors
• Index