1st Edition
Poverty or Development Global Restructuring and Regional Transformation in the US South and the Mexican South
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.
Biography
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.
"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."