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This is a comprehensive and detailed account of the economic
history of Puerto Rico from the period of Spanish colonial domination
to the present. Interweaving findings of the "new" Puerto Rican
historiography with those of earlier historical studies, and using
the most recent theoretical concepts to interpret them, James Dietz
examines the complex manner in which productive and class relations
within Puerto Rico have interacted with changes in its place
in the world economy.
Besides including aggregate data on Puerto Rico's economy, the
author offers valuable information on workers' living conditions
and women workers, plus new interpretations of development since
Operation Bootstrap. His evaluation of the island's export-oriented
economy has implications for many other developing countries.
About the author
James L. Dietz
Summary
This is a comprehensive and detailed account of the economic
history of Puerto Rico from the period of Spanish colonial domination
to the present. Interweaving findings of the "new" Puerto Rican
historiography with those of earlier historical studies, and using
the most recent theoretical concepts to interpret them, James Dietz
examines the complex manner in which productive and class relations
within Puerto Rico have interacted with changes in its place
in the world economy.
Besides including aggregate data on Puerto Rico's economy, the
author offers valuable information on workers' living conditions
and women workers, plus new interpretations of development since
Operation Bootstrap. His evaluation of the island's export-oriented
economy has implications for many other developing countries.
Additional text
"Dietz has written a remarkably comprehensive account of the historical background to all this, using the latest theoretical concepts in economic science to buttress his case that the industrialization program of the last thirty years has essentially failed to solve the problems of persistent structural unemployment, continuing inequities in income, escalating consumerism followed by massive personal indebtedness, and continuing structural dependency on the U.S. market system."
