Who Gets a Bailout? A Comparative Analysis of U.S. and IMF Responses to Economic Crisis in Mexico (1995), Brazil (1998), and Argentina (2001)

Abstract

This thesis seeks to explain why the U.S. government came to the assistance of the Mexican and Brazilian governments in 1995 and 1998, respectively, but refused to do so during Argentina's economic crisis in 2001. At first glance, all three countries appeared attractive candidates for U.S. assistance--they had similarly enacted U.S.-backed neoliberal reformist agendas prior to their crises. The study argues that the decision by the U.S. government and the International Monetary Fund to issue a bailout to a country enduring an economic crisis is a carefully considered policy choice that results from a combination of that country's geopolitical significance, as well as the ability of U.S. policymakers to learn and apply lessons from past policy experiences.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA514422

Entities

People

  • Jeremy L. Watkins

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Commerce
  • Department Of State
  • Economic Policy
  • Economic Systems
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • International Relations
  • International Trade
  • Investments
  • Market Economy
  • Money
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Political Systems
  • Public Policy
  • South America
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Economics
  • International Relations and European Studies
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.