Is Geography Destiny? : Lessons From Latin America

Customers in the US and Canada please order from Stanford University Press at (800) 621-2736 or visit their website at www.sup.org. For decades, the prevailing sentiment was that since geography is unchangeable, there is no reason why public policies should take it into account. In fact, charges that geographic interpretations of development were deterministic, or even racist, made the subject a virtual taboo in academic and policymaking circles alike. Is Geography Destiny? Challenges that premise and joins a growing body of literature studying the links between geography and development.Focusing on Latin America, the book argues that based on a better understanding of geography, public policy can help control or channel its influence toward the goals of economic and social development."Gallup, Gaviria and Lora have succeeded in applying rigorous, original thinking to one of the most controversial debates on economic development. No one interested in the determinants and remedies of world poverty can afford to ignore the data and analysis offered in this book."Moses Naim, Editor, Foreign Policy Magazine "If you care about development, you will read this book." Peter Hakim, President, Inter-American Dialogue, Washington, D.C