Although inequality in Latin America ranks among the worst in the world, it has notably declined over the last decade, offset by improvements in health care and education, enhanced programs for social assistance, and increases in the minimum wage. In "Democracy and the Left", Evelyne Huber and John D. Stephens argue that the resurgence of democracy in Latin America is key to this change. In addition to directly affecting public policy, democratic institutions enable left-leaning political parties to emerge, significantly influencing the allocation of social spending on poverty and inequality. But while democracy is an important determinant of redistributive change, it is by no means the only factor. Huber and Stephens present quantiative analyses of eighteen countries and comparative historical analyses of the five most advanced social policy regimes in Latin America, showing how international power structures have influenced the direction of their social policy. They augment these analyses by comparing them to the development of social policy in democratic Portugal and Spain. The most ambitious examination of the development of social policy in Latin America to date, "Democracy and the Left" shows that inequality is far from intractable - a finding with crucial policy implications worldwide.

About the Author
Evelyne Huber is the Morehead Alumni Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where John D. Stephens is the Gerhard E. Lenski, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology. Together, they are the authors of Development and Crisis of the Welfare State.

Reviews
"Evelyne Huber and John D. Stephens have provided the most theoretically profound, empirically thorough, and wide-ranging work that advances the more optimistic view that democracy itself plays a crucial role in stimulating redistribution in Latin America and that the political left is the most important agent in effecting this change. Democracy and the Left is an important, major book that advances a powerful argument about a significant topic and substantiates it with an impressive range of research." (Kurt Weyland, University of Texas)"



Book Information
ISBN 9780226356532
Author Evelyne Huber
Format Paperback
Page Count 368
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 567g
Dimensions(mm) 23mm * 16mm * 2mm