Social forces and states : poverty and distributional outcomes in South Korea, Chile, and Mexico / Judith A. Teichman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Teichman, Judith A., 1947- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Poverty--Case studies.

Poverty.

Equality--Case studies.

Equality.

Korea (South)--Social conditions.

Korea (South).

Social conditions.

Korea (South)--Economic conditions.

Economic conditions.

Chile--Social conditions.

Chile.

Chile--Economic conditions.

Mexico--Social conditions.

Mexico.

Mexico--Economic conditions.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xii, 251 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 2012.

Summary:

With the failure of market reform to generate sustained growth in many countries of the Global South, poverty reduction has become an urgent moral and political issue in the last several decades. In practice, considerable research shows that high levels of inequality are likely to produce high levels of criminal and political violence. On the road to development, states cannot but grapple with the challenges posed by poverty and wealth distribution.

Social Forces and States explains the reasons behind distinct distributional and poverty outcomes in three countries: South Korea, Chile, and Mexico. South Korea has successfully reduced poverty and has kept inequality low. Chile has reduced poverty, but inequality remains high. Mexico has confronted higher levels of poverty and inequality than either of the other countries. Judith Teichman takes a comparative historical approach, focusing upon the impact of the interaction between social forces and states. Distinct from approaches that explain social well-being through a comparative examination of social welfare regimes, this book probes more deeply, incorporating a careful consideration of how historical contexts and political struggles shaped very different development trajectories, welfare arrangements, and social possibilities. Book jacket.

Contents:

Social forces and history: explaining divergent poverty and distributional outcomes

South Korea: the historical origins of equitable growth

Chile: the historical origins of inequality

Mexico: the historical origins of poverty and inequality

Social forces, the state, and distributional outcomes

The 1980s and 1990s: economic and social outcomes diverge

Social conditions and welfare regimes in the twenty first century.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-234) and index.

ISBN:

9780804778251

0804778256

9780804778268

0804778264

OCLC:

749115683