
Is Geography Destiny?
Lessons from Latin America
Stanford University Press
Published on 26. September 2003
Book
Paperback/Softback
188 pages
978-0-8047-4927-5 (ISBN)
Description
Geographic interpretations of development recently have become the subject of much renewed interest and debate within scholarly and public policy circles. Focusing on Latin America, this book examines how physical and human geography has influenced the region's potential for economic and social development. The book assesses how geography affects differences in development between countries and more specifically between Latin America and other regions of the world. The effects of geography on regional development are examined through four channels: the productivity of land, health conditions, frequency and intensity of natural disasters, and access to markets. The book then explores how geography has influenced development within countries through case studies of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru-countries significant for their geographical diversity as well as their wide socioeconomic disparities. These case studies illustrate numerous exceptions to international patterns and prove that while geography matters, it need not determine a country's destiny.
Using the knowledge gained from these two perspectives, the book concludes with recommendations for policies that can help countries overcome the limitations imposed by geography and thereby enhance their potential for economic and social development.
Using the knowledge gained from these two perspectives, the book concludes with recommendations for policies that can help countries overcome the limitations imposed by geography and thereby enhance their potential for economic and social development.
Reviews / Votes
"...It is a very illustrative example of how geography is being reincorporated into other fields of investigation, and geographers should be aware of the ways in which this is being accomplished." -- Progress in Human GeographyMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Palo Alto
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 231 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
272 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8047-4927-5 (9780804749275)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
John Luke Gallup is an economic consultant and former Research Fellow at the Center for International Development at Harvard University. Alejandro Gaviria is the Deputy Director of the National Planning Department of Colombia. Eduardo Lora is the Principal Advisor of the Research Department of the Inter-American Development Bank.