Evaluating Neoliberalism, Article Review Example

The market reforms that took place in the 1980s and late into the 1990s have brought about political, social and economic development. Liberalization brought about many competitive challenges although commodity markets, according to Weyland (2007) continued to flourish. Weyland’s article tries to make sense of these mixed results that have characterized Latin America’s economic landscape.

The article discusses the question of whether the cost of neoliberalism in Latin America outweighs economic benefits. In order to reduce impoverishment and emergence of neopopulist leaders, it is proposed that market regulation is needed. Additionally, institutions need to be reformed.

For comparison’s sake, it is important to highlight the issues raised by Weisbrot (2007) in his article entitled: “Changes in Latin America”. In this article, Weisbrot lists the reasons why he thinks that the effects of market changes have been misunderstood and even underestimated. The main misconception listed is that the 25 years of economic failure in Latin America are attributable to political instability in the region.

A review on economic growth that was written by Rodrick (2006) and whose point of focus was the Washington Consensus tries to confront the issue of whether in deed Washington Consensus is still alive. This review emphasizes on humility, modest reforms and policy diversity among market policy reformers. It demonstrates how much development thinkers have changed tact while dealing with emerging economic issues. However, the review is not without competing perspectives, with the need for foreign aid being heavily contested.

Meanwhile, Weyland (2007) presented the best research notes on social and economic repercussions of neoliberalism. The conclusion of these research notes is that neoliberalism yielded very disappointing results both in the economic circles and in terms of democracy.