Narratives of Wealth and Poverty: A Cultural History of the Mexican Economy

FAIN: FT-52661-04

Richard Huntington Weiner
Indiana University, Purdue University at Fort Wayne (Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1445)

Mexico’s economic history from the age of conquest until today has been akin to a roller coaster ride, for it has been marked by peaks and valleys. Europeans viewed New Spain as the most valuable colony in the New World and after independence tales of the fledgling nation’s legendary riches inspired repeated foreign military interventions, but in the twentieth century Mexico became part of the "Third World." In sharp contrast to the New Economic History with its dedication to quantitative analysis, I explore this volatile history from the vantage point of economic culture. By infusing culture into economic history I counter the current insular trend in economic scholarship and thus provide novel insights into the bumpy road of Mexican development.