Big Business, the State, and Free Trade: Constructing Coalitions in Mexico

by Strom C. Thacker

Overview

Existing theories of economic liberalization fail to account for Mexico's experiences. Why has the Mexican government risked alienating its primary constituencies by pursuing trade opening and joining NAFTA? Big Business, the State, and Free Trade argues that Mexico's trade reforms are the product of the formation of political coalitions between business and the state in different international contexts. It covers the NAFTA negotiations in detail, with a special case study on the automotive industry. As Mexico democratizes, business-government coalitions will become increasingly important.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521032131
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/02/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.94(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.59(d)

Table of Contents

List of figures; List of tables; List of abbreviations; Acknowledgments; 1. Introduction: international context, domestic interests and Mexican trade reform; 2. Coalition politics and free trade; 3. Structural power relations between business and the Mexican state; 4. Trade policy coalitions in the 1980s; 5. Assembling teams and building bridges; 6. Business participation in the NAFTA negotiations; 7. Conclusion: Mexico in comparative perspective; Appendix; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...a powerfully argued, conceptually sophisticated, and empirically convincing study..." Latin American Research Reviews

From the Publisher