Costa Rica

by Mitchell, Meg Tyler

• ISBN13: 9781851099924
• ISBN10: 1851099921
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-02-28
• Publisher: Abc-Clio Inc

Summary

This work is a fascinating guide to one of Latin America's most stable and progressive nations, examining the country's development, unique features, and the challenges Costa Ricans face in the 21st century.

Table of Contents

Series Editor's Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xvii
Maps	p. xix
Narrative Section	p. 1
Geography and History	p. 3
Pre-Hispanic Costa Rica	p. 15
The Conquest of Costa Rica and the Colonial Era	p. 28
Economic Development in the Central Valley: Coffee and Railroads	p. 41
The Rest of the Country: Cattle and Bananas	p. 50
Political Development, 1824-1870	p. 53
Order and Progress: The Constitution of 1871 and the Liberal State	p. 57
Education and Modernization	p. 62
Economic Crisis and Challenges to the Liberal Order	p. 67
The Crisis of the Export Model	p. 75
Machine Politics, Reform, and the Civil War of 1948	p. 77
References	p. 87
The Costa Rican Economy	p. 93
The Exhaustion of the Classical Export Model and the Birth of the Mixed Economy	p. 94
Nationalization of the Banks	p. 96
Autonomous Institutions and the Manager State	p. 97
Coffee and Cooperatives	p. 101
Cattle Ranching and Deforestation in Guanacaste	p. 106
Industrialization and the Central American Common Market	p. 110
CODESA and the Entrepreneur State	p. 114
The Debt Crisis and Neoliberal Reforms	p. 116
USAID and the Parallel State	p. 118
From 1990 to the Present: A New Economic Model with Some Familiar Weaknesses	p. 125
Manufacturing	p. 128
Agriculture	p. 131
Service Industries	p. 137
Social Development	p. 149
References	p. 163
Politics and Institutions	p. 169
Education	p. 170
Health Care	p. 179
Other Autonomous Institutions	p. 184
National Parks, Protected Areas, and Private Conservation Efforts	p. 187
Political Institutions	p. 200
Political Parties	p. 207
The Abolition of the Army and Costa Rican Foreign Policy	p. 211
Institutional Change in the Neoliberal Era	p. 215
Corruption and the 2006 Elections	p. 217
From Gridlock to Referendum in 2007	p. 219
References	p. 221
Society and Culture	p. 227
Urbanization, Population Growth, and the Role of Women	p. 229
Social Cohesion and Political Participation	p. 234
Religion	p. 238
Ethnic Minorities and the Costa Rican Self-image	p. 246
Nicaraguan Immigrants	p. 261
Insecurity and Crime	p. 266
Soccer	p. 271
Arts and Literature	p. 274
References	p. 286
Reference Section	p. 293
Key Events in Costa Rican History	p. 295
Significant People, Institutions, Places, and Events	p. 303
Costa Rican Language, Food, and Etiquette	p. 321
Language	p. 321
Food and Beverages	p. 324
Common Costa Rican Dishes	p. 325
Etiquette	p. 329
Costa Rica-Related Organizations	p. 333
Business and Economics	p. 333
Culture, Education, and Exchange	p. 334
The Environment	p. 337
Costa Rica's Government Representatives in the United States	p. 339
Tourism	p. 341
Annotated Bibliography of Recommended Works on Costa Rica	p. 345
Geography and History of Costa Rica	p. 345
The Economy of Costa Rica	p. 348
Costa Rican Institutions	p. 350
Costa Rican Society and Contemporary Issues	p. 351
Index	p. 355
About the Authors	p. 367
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