Poverty or Development: Global Restructuring and Regional Transformation in the US South and the Mexican South / Edition 1

by Richard Tardanico, Mark Rosenberg

Overview

Offers a look at world inequality by comparing the development problems and prospects of southern Mexico and the US South in the context of global restructuring and NAFTA. Both regions have a history and legacy as labour-repressive producers of primary commodities. However, the US South today encompasses poles of considerable wealth and poverty, while the Mexican South remains mired in the world periphery. Ranging from the Mexico-US apparel connection and the restructuring of Mexico's coffee farming to agribusiness and immigration in Florida, the contributors trace the past and future of these two Souths.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415924320
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/03/1999
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Richard Tardanico is Associate Professor of Sociology at Florida International University. Mark B. Rosenberg is Provost and Professor of Political Science at Florida International University and founding director of the university's Latin American and Caribbean Center.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments INTRODUCTION 1. Two Souths in the New Global Order-Richard Tardanico and Mark B. Rosenberg 2. From Free Market Rhetoric to Free Market Reality: The Future of the U.S. South in an Era of Globalization-Amy K. Glasmeier and Robin Leichenko 3. The Impact of NAFTA and the WTO on Southern Mexico: Hypotheses and Preliminary Evidence-Michael E. Conroy and Sarah Elizabeth West SECTORAL AND GEOGRAPHIC CASE STUDIES 4. The Mexico-U.S. Apparel Connection: Economic Dualism and Transnational Networks-Gary Gereffi 5. Local Economic Development and Transnational Restructuring: The Case of Export-Assembly Manufacturing in Yucatán-Patricia A. Wilson and Thea Kayne 6. Politico-Economic Restructuring and Mexico's Small Coffee Farmers-Robert Porter 7. Work and Immigration: Winter Vegetable Production in South Florida-David Griffith 8. Politics of Decentralization and Rural Poverty: Municipal Solidarity Funds and Community Participation in Oaxaca-Jonathan Fox and Josefina Aranda 9. The Local Matters: The Port of New Orleans Responds to Global Restructuring-Alma H. Young 10. Employment Transformations in Mexican and U.S. Gulf Cities-Bryan Roberts and Richard Tardanico CONCLUSION 11. Poverty or Development?-Richard Tardanico

Editorial Reviews

Comparing the economic and social development of two regions as different as the U.S. South and southern Mexico stretches the imagination, but, conceding that a valid comparison is possible, this book of essays provides a set of unique case studies on the effects of NAFTA and global restructuring. In ten distinct chapters and a lengthy conclusion, scholars from a variety of disciplines offer views of the two regions, with NAFTA as the central theme. From an analysis of the U.S.-Mexican apparel connection to the impact of global restructuring on the Port of New Orleans, these essays share a socio-economic approach to commonalties between a poor region of an underdeveloped country and vulnerable conditions in the American South. The results are interesting, well-researched chapters that are nevertheless unconvincing--the two regions may be poor in comparison to other areas of the respective nations, but the comparison ends there. The editors issue a call for future studies based on the validity of their findings, but many economists and policy analysts will remain unconvinced. Recommended only for academic libraries that support graduate-level study.--Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., AL Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

"Poverty or Development is a trail-blazing contribution that shall be emulated by all those interested in reconciling theory and research with the shape the world is taking. Methodologically sound and rich in data, it is an invaluable resource for social scientists. Its various chapters are so expertly integrated that it is hard to tell it is an edited collection." — Patricia Fernandez-Kelly, Department of Sociology, Princeton University
"This is an important, much needed contribution to analyses that deconstruct unitary categories such as rich country, poor country. Examining the US South and the Mexican South produces novel insights into the politico-economic and territorial dynamics under NAFTA and globalization generally." — Saskia Sassen, author of Globalization and Its Discontents
"This is an important volume. By comparing parts of Mexico and the southern United States, it recasts our understanding of regional transformations and global integration. Between its suggestive introduction and conclusion are rich empirical studies of the many changes underway in the "souths" of North American societies." — Jeremy Adelman, Director, Program in Latin American Studies, Princeton University
"Richard Tardanico and Mark B. Rosenberg set a new trajectory for globalization studies with this integrated anthology of research papers comparing the Mexican South and the US South undergoing neoliberal restructuring. The anthology is an indespensable tool for readers who are interested not only in charting the course of globalization but alos in development policies that will transform it." — June C. Nash, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, City College of New York and Graduate Center
"Unlike many studies which read off local and regional changes as straightforward byproducts of the global restructuring of capitalism, Tardanico and Rosenberg's collection offers a series of carefully histroicized case studies of local and regional development in the bi-national Gulf Coast region. The book underscores the critical importance of government action in suporting the interests of specific groups, economic sectors, and localities in a globalizing economy, supporting the conclusion that "globalization" is very much an unfinished project." — Michael Peter Smith, Professor of Community Studies and Development, University of California, Davis
"The benefits of globalization, the authors find, seem to be thin for far too many...A welcome, if discouraging, reminder that there are costs as well as benefits. CHOICE A welcome, if discouraging, reminder that there are costs as well as benefits to any change. JL Dietz, CSU, Fullerton."

From the Publisher