This book contributes to our understanding of the trajectories and prerogatives of female political leaders in the varying context of democratization, political institutions and cultural norms. No woman had been elected leader of a country before 1960, but with democratic transitions on the rise since the 1970s, the number of women in executive office gradually became a trend of global scope. In 2015, nineteen countries had an elected female Head of State and/or Government, a proportionally small number that is expected to climb as more women compete for high office, sometimes against other female candidates. This volume compares how women executives differ in promoting gender equality and advocating for women's rights and interests, as well as in their ability to negotiate gender policy agendas. Comparative and theoretical chapters on post-transition women leaders are complemented by case studies in eight countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern and Central Europe. This book will be of use to students and scholars interested in gender studies, comparative politics, and political leadership.

Probably no region's economists have had greater public visibility or greater impact on regional and national public policy than Latin America's and no region has been more directly affected by the spread of US economics. Economists in the Americas joins a small but important comparative literature on economics as a profession and is the first comparative treatment of professional economists in the United States and Latin America. A multidisciplinary group of scholars discusses the last sixty years of shifting trends in economics in seven countries in the Western Hemisphere - Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and the United States. The chapters address the history of economics in the Americas, the role of economists in politics and policy-making, economics education and competing paradigms in the field. This collection points to the interconnections among the national cases, the forging and breakdown of consensus around state and market dominance, the transnational diffusion of economic ideas and professional norms, as well as the embrace and rejection of an increasingly Americanized professional identity among Latin American economists. The book will be of interest to policymakers and scholars interested in the comparative history and sociology of economics, development, public policy, international affairs, political science and Latin American studies.

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.