| The accepted wisdom in Latin America is that development is most easily achieved through the pursuit of neo-liberal economic policies. This thesis uses the basic assumptions behind structuralist theory to demonstrate that neo-liberalism has not resolved the fundamental problem of Latin American vulnerability to the international economy--the prime barrier to Latin American economic development. Through an examination of the developmental experience of Chile, a country widely hailed for its economic success, it will be shown that vulnerability to the international political economy continues to be a critical problem for the development of a peripheral country, irrespective of the success it may be experiencing through neo-liberal economic policies. |
