Alejandro Portes, sociologist currently at Princeton University, will give a lecture co-sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies and the Department of Sociology.

"Institutional Adequacy and National Development in Latin America"

Location: Buttrick 101 (Google map of this location)

 
ABSTRACT

I review the theoretical literature on the concept of institutions and its relationship to national development, propose a definition of the concept, and advance six hypotheses about institutional adequacy and contributions to national development.  I then present results of a comparative empirical study of existing institutions in three Latin American countries and examine their organizational similarities and differences.  Employing the qualitative comparative method (QCA) proposed by Ragin, I then test the six hypotheses.  Results converge in showing the importance of meritocracy, immunity to corruption, absence of “islands of power”, and proactivity in producing effective institutions.  Findings strongly support Evans’ theory of developmental apparatuses.