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A New Economic History of Argentina. Edited by Gerardo della Paolera and Alan M. Taylor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. xviii + 397 pp. + CD-ROM. Figures, tables, appendix, references, notes, index. Cloth, $60.00. ISBN: 0-521-82247-5.
A New Economic History of Argentina is an edited collection by twenty authors of thirteen articles that were first presented at a symposium in November 2000 to honor Carlos Diaz Alejandro and his major work, Essays on the Economic History of the Argentine Republic (1970). To ensure that the essays form a unified economic history, each chapter is organized in the same way: an introduction is followed by an analysis of the topic based on the latest research and methodology; the discussion is illustrated with appropriate charts and graphs; and the conclusion summarizes what is known on the subject, offers suggestions for further research, and provides a list of references.
Although the chapters vary in quality, this monograph provides new information about Argentine economic history and offers fresh perspectives on the Argentine economy. In the opening chapter, "Between Independence and the Golden Age," Ricardo D. Salvatore and Carlos Newland outline an economic history of Argentina from 1810 and 1970, touching on external-sector growth, farming and livestock, labor markets, income distribution, and the role of government. Della Paolera, Maria Alejandra Irigoin, and Carlos G. Bózzoli, in a fascinating chapter entitled "Passing the Buck," rank the macroeconomic performances of Argentine presidents from Adolfo Alsina (1853 and 1857-59) through Carlos Menem (1990-99). They examine a set of variables, including revenues, debts, and exports and imports,...