Transnational Alliances and Development Policy in Latin America: Nontraditional Export Promotion in Costa Rica

In the 1980s, students and practitioners of the political economy of development in Latin America became enthralled with East Asia's spectacular economic performance. Researchers wrote cross-regional comparisons trying to discover where Latin America had gone wrong and how it could catch up to the “four dragons,” meaning South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong (see Deyo 1987; Gereffi and Wyman 1990; Haggard 1990). This quest to determine the key ingredients of East Asia's growth held particular policy relevance as many Latin American countries sought to escape from the “lost decade.” The best-known attempts to describe the political basis for East Asia's successful turn toward policies stressing export-led growth have emphasized two factors: initiative of state leadership and highly capable technocracies insulated from societal interference (Haggard 1990; Wade 1990). Among Latin America countries, Chile, the region's premier exporter, seemed to confirm these ideas.