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Robert H. Bates And Anne O. Kruger (Eds.). Political And Economic Interactions In Economic Policy Reform (Book Review), Sandra F. Joireman, Winston Wells

Political Science Faculty Publications

This volume is a welcome attempt to combine extremely disparate regional literature on structural adjustment programs. The empirical research for the book was conducted in such a way as to generate truly economic hypotheses and conclusions. Bates and Krueger commissioned eight teams of researchers; each composed of at least one political scientist and an economist. The teams' initial agenda was to unravel the puzzle of why good economics means bad politics in relation to these structural adjustment programs. To meet that end, the teams were asked to investigate three phases surrounding the adjustment programs: Informed by current theories of interest …