17.905  Reading Seminar in Soc Science

This class offers an historical overview of the political economy of development in Mexico.  Political economy in this context means analyzing both how politics affects development and how economics affects politics, with a special focus on the process of making development policies.  Among other themes and topics, the course will examine colonial legacies, inequality, technocracy, energy policy, technology policy, big business, the resource curse, and drug trafficking, as well as other issues in overall democratization and development.  Some of the key, and abiding, questions include:  Why is socio-economic inequality so high?  Why was democracy so late in coming (only in 2000)?  And, why has Mexican development been so slow?  The first half of the course deals with crucial historical background, mostly 20th century developments.  The second half deals with central contemporary challenges to growth and democracy.