Carmelo Mesa-Lago Research Articles

Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Reassembling Social Security: A Survey of Pensions and Health Care Reforms in Latin America (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2008), pp. xxvi+453, £75.00, hb.

Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Reassembling Social Security: A Survey of Pensions and Health Care Reforms in Latin America (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2008), pp. xxvi+453, £75.00, hb.

Reassembling social security: A survey of pensions and healthcare reforms in Latin America – By Carmelo Mesa‐Lago

Reassembling social security: A survey of pensions and healthcare reforms in Latin America – By Carmelo Mesa‐Lago

Book Review: Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Reassembling Social Security: A Survey of Pensions and Healthcare Reforms in Latin America.

Book Review: Carmelo Mesa-Lago, <i>Reassembling Social Security: A Survey of Pensions and Healthcare Reforms in Latin America.</i>

The Ever-Studied Isle

[First paragraph]Cuba Transnational. Damián J. Fern ández (ed.). Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2005. xvii + 216 pp. (Cloth US$ 65.00)Cuba’s Aborted Reform: Socioeconomic Effects, International Comparisons, and Transition Policies. Carme lo Mesa-Lago &amp; Jorge F. Pére z-Lópe z. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2005. xx + 223 pp. (Cloth US$ 59.95)Cuba, the United States, and the Post-Cold War World: The International Dimensions of the Washington-Havana Relationship. Moris Morley &amp; Chris McGillion (eds.). Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2005. xi + 286 pp. (Cloth US$ 65.00)There are perhaps few countries other than France for which the ratio of academic word per population is higher than Cuba. Notwithstanding its symbolic significance over the past fifty years, it is important to remember that we are talking of a small island of something over ten million souls exporting sand and sugar. Even the Cuban diaspora has benefited from this arguably undeserved notoriety, and hardly a week goes by without yet another exile memoir. Over the past two weeks (this is being written in mid-August 2006), the attentionmeter once again jumped as Fidel’s illness and the temporary (?) transfer of power was documented by the global media. Given all this attention, new books on Cuba face a daunting challenge: to say something new about a place that has been much studied, but which, in many ways, has remained the same for the past half century. Is there something we don’t yet know?

The Ever-Studied Isle

[First paragraph]Cuba Transnational. Damián J. Fern ández (ed.). Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2005. xvii + 216 pp. (Cloth US$ 65.00)Cuba’s Aborted Reform: Socioeconomic Effects, International Comparisons, and Transition Policies. Carme lo Mesa-Lago &amp; Jorge F. Pére z-Lópe z. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2005. xx + 223 pp. (Cloth US$ 59.95)Cuba, the United States, and the Post-Cold War World: The International Dimensions of the Washington-Havana Relationship. Moris Morley &amp; Chris McGillion (eds.). Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2005. xi + 286 pp. (Cloth US$ 65.00)There are perhaps few countries other than France for which the ratio of academic word per population is higher than Cuba. Notwithstanding its symbolic significance over the past fifty years, it is important to remember that we are talking of a small island of something over ten million souls exporting sand and sugar. Even the Cuban diaspora has benefited from this arguably undeserved notoriety, and hardly a week goes by without yet another exile memoir. Over the past two weeks (this is being written in mid-August 2006), the attentionmeter once again jumped as Fidel’s illness and the temporary (?) transfer of power was documented by the global media. Given all this attention, new books on Cuba face a daunting challenge: to say something new about a place that has been much studied, but which, in many ways, has remained the same for the past half century. Is there something we don’t yet know?

Carmelo Mesa-Lago and Jorge F. Pérez-López, Cuba's Aborted Reform: Socioeconomic Effects, International Comparisons and Transition Policies (Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2005), pp. xx+223, $59.95, hb. Jorge F. Pérez-López and José Alvarez (eds.), Reiventing the Cuban Sugar Agroindustry (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2005), pp. xxv+323, £17.99, pb. Archibald R. M. Ritter (ed.), The Cuban Economy (Pittsburgh, PA: University of

Carmelo Mesa-Lago and Jorge F. Pérez-López, Cuba's Aborted Reform: Socioeconomic Effects, International Comparisons and Transition Policies (Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2005), pp. xx+223, 49.95, hb. - Volume 38 Issue 4

Book Reviews

GovernanceVolume 18, Issue 3 p. 505-517 Book Reviews First published: 13 June 2005 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0491.2005.00286.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract Books reviewed: Colin J. Bennett and Charles D. Raab. The Governance of Privacy: Policy Instruments in Global Perspective.Reviewed by DENNIS W. JOHNSON Erik Jones. The Politics of Economic and Monetary Union: Integration and Idiosyncrasy.Reviewed by DANIEL WINCOTT Raul L. Madrid. Retiring the State: The Politics of Pension Privatization in Latin America and Beyond.Reviewed by CARMELO MESA-LAGO Vivien A. Schmidt. The Futures of European Capitalism.Reviewed by VICKI BIRCHFIELD Jonathan A. Rodden, Gunnar S. Eskeland, and Jennie Litvack, eds. Fiscal Decentralization and the Challenge of Hard Budget Constraints.Reviewed by DANIEL ZIBLATT Peter A. Swenson. Capitalists against Markets: The Making of Labor Markets and Welfare States in the United States and Sweden.Reviewed by SANDRA SUÁREZ Volume18, Issue3July 2005Pages 505-517 RelatedInformation

Whither Cuban Socialism?

Given overwhelming global dominance of neoliberalism and capitalism today, Cuba is almost alone in providing an alternative socialist political, social, and economic path to development. This path has undergone huge changes over past four decades, and since breakup of Soviet bloc in early 1990s Cuban socialism has suffered greatly and has had to respond in unforeseen ways. Though changed fundamentally, Cuban Revolution has not only managed to survive, surprising critics and supporters alike, but in latter half of 1990s developed further, despite intensification of U.S. economic blockade of country. The political and economic transformation of Cuba and intensely hostile environment in which it has had to operate make it a fascinating subject for analysis. Twenty years ago Carmelo Mesa-Lago stated that the Cuban Revolution continues to polarise opinion, being a source of uncritical admiration, passionate criticism, and intriguing curiosity (1981: 1). This remains case today. This article adopts a political economy perspective, bringing together main ideological forces and changing political/institutional frameworks with key economic changes that have taken place during course of Revolution. Discussion is given to various stages of development of Cuban Revolution, with particular emphasis on recent economic reforms and their implications for future socialist development. A number of important issues are examined, including changing nature of Cuban socialism, implications of tying Cuba's economic development to Soviet bloc,

Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Market, Socialist, and Mixed Economies: Comparative Policy and Performance – Chile, Cuba, and Costa Rica (Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000), pp. xxiv+707, £58.00 hb.

Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Market, Socialist, and Mixed Economies: Comparative Policy and Performance – Chile, Cuba, and Costa Rica (Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000), pp. xxiv+707, £58.00 hb. - Volume 33 Issue 4

Market, socialist, and mixed economies: comparative policy and performance, Chile, Cuba, and Costa Rica

How can we determine which economic model best provides for economic development and social welfare? In this major comparative work, noted economist Carmelo Mesa-Lago analyzes three Latin American countries with divergent economic systems: Chile (a market economy), Cuba (socialist), and Costa Rica (mixed). He examines their economic and social policies, shows how these policies affect performance based on a set of socioeconomic variables, and ranks the countries among themselves (using new techniques) and in comparison with international indicators. The time frame of the study embraces thirty-eight years for Costa Rica (under the democratic social democracy) and Cuba (under the socialist revolution) and twenty-four years for Chile (under Pinochet and the return to democracy). Mesa-Lago focuses on the three diverse socioeconomic models that these countries represent during these periods.

Conflict and Change in Cuba. Edited by Enrique A. Baloyra and James A. Morris. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1993. 347p. $45.00 cloth, $19.95 paper. - Cuba after the Cold War. Edited by Carmelo Mesa-Lago. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1993. 383p. $49.95 cloth, $19.95 paper.

Conflict and Change in Cuba. Edited by Enrique A. Baloyra and James A. Morris. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1993. 347p. $45.00 cloth, $19.95 paper. - Cuba after the Cold War. Edited by Carmelo Mesa-Lago. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1993. 383p. $49.95 cloth, $19.95 paper.

The State and Policy Outcomes in Latin America. By Lawrence S. Graham. New York: Praeger, 1990. 206p. $39.95. - Ascent to Bankruptcy: Financing Social Security in Latin America. By Carmelo Mesa-Lago. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1989. 290p. $49.95. - The State, Corporatist Politics, and Educational Policy Making in Mexico. By Daniel A. Morales-Gomez and Carlos Alberto Torres. New York:

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The USSR and Latin America: A Developing Relationship

Part 1 Latin America in the Soviet Third World strategy: the political dimension, David E.Albright Soviet economic strategy in Latin America, Elizabeth K.Valkenier an unclear menace - US perceptions of Soviet strategy in Latin America, Richard L.Millett. Part 2 Soviet perspectives on Latin America: the Latin American Communist movement - realities and relations with the Soviet Union, Edme Dominguez the nature and uses of the Soviet-Cuban connection, Jorge I.Dominguez Soviet economic relations with Cuba, Carmelo Mesa-Lago and Fernando Gil Soviet trade relations with Latin America, Robert K.Evanson Eastern Europe and Latin America, Michael Radu. Part 3 Soviet policy toward Latin America: the Soviet Union and Latin America, Peter Clement and W.Raymond Duncan the USSR and Mexico, Brian Latell pragmatism and rapprochement - Soviet relations with Argentina and Brazil, Aldo C.Vacs the USSR and the Andean countries, Ruben Berrios.

Carmelo Mesa-Lago (ed.): The Crisis of Social Security and Health Care Latin American Experiences and Lessons (Latin American Monograph &amp; Document Series, no. 9, Center for Latin American Studies, University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh, 1985, p.b. $9.50). Pp. ix + 365.

Carmelo Mesa-Lago (ed.): The Crisis of Social Security and Health Care Latin American Experiences and Lessons (Latin American Monograph &amp; Document Series, no. 9, Center for Latin American Studies, University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh, 1985, p.b. $9.50). Pp. ix + 365.

Cuba in Africa. Edited by Carmelo Mesa-Lago and June S. Belkin. (Pittsburgh: Center for Latin American Studies, University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh, 1982. Pp. ix + 230. $5.95, paper.)

Cuba in Africa. Edited by Carmelo Mesa-Lago and June S. Belkin. (Pittsburgh: Center for Latin American Studies, University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh, 1982. Pp. ix + 230. $5.95, paper.) - Volume 78 Issue 3

Cuba's Policy in Africa, 1959–1980 by William M. LeoGrande Berkeley, University of California, Institute of International Studies, 1980. Pp. vii + 82. $4.50. - Cuba in Africa edited by Carmelo Mesa-Lago and June S. Belkin University of Pittsburgh, Center for Latin American Studies, 1982.Pp ix + 230. $5.95 paperback. - Changing Realities in South Africa: implications for American policy edited

Cuba's Policy in Africa, 1959–1980 by William M. LeoGrande Berkeley, University of California, Institute of International Studies, 1980. Pp. vii + 82. $4.50. - Cuba in Africa edited by Carmelo Mesa-Lago and June S. Belkin University of Pittsburgh, Center for Latin American Studies, 1982.Pp ix + 230. $5.95 paperback. - Changing Realities in South Africa: implications for American policy edited

Review: The Economy of Socialist Cuba: A Two-Decade Appraisal by Carmelo Mesa-Lago

Review: <i>The Economy of Socialist Cuba: A Two-Decade Appraisal</i> by Carmelo Mesa-Lago

Erratum

The publication information for THE ECONOMY OF SOCIALIST CUBA: A TWO DECADE APPRAISAL by CARMELO MESA-LAGO (William M. LeoGrande, “Two Decades of Socialism in Cuba,” LARR 16, no. 1 [1981]: 187–206) was incorrectly given as New York University Press, forthcoming. This work, which appeared in July 1981, was published by the University of New Mexico Press. In our effort to make the review as comprehensive and up-to-date as possible, our reviewer worked from galleys. The publishers have indicated that “several of the objections he raises concern points which are either not present or treated differently in the final galleys and pages of this book.” LARR regrets any inconvenience this may have caused.

Cuba in the World. Edited by Cole Blasier and Carmelo Mesa-Lago. (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1979. Pp. vii + 343. $21.95, cloth; $5.95, paper.)

Cuba in the World. Edited by Cole Blasier and Carmelo Mesa-Lago. (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1979. Pp. vii + 343. $21.95, cloth; $5.95, paper.)

Social Security in Latin America: Pressure Groups, Stratification, and Inequality. By Carmelo Mesa-Lago. (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1978. Pp. xix + 351. $19.95.)

Social Security in Latin America: Pressure Groups, Stratification, and Inequality. By Carmelo Mesa-Lago. (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1978. Pp. xix + 351. $19.95.)