Doctoral Dissertation Research: Power and Pesos: Economics, Expertise and National Currencies in Mexico and Argentina

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AbstractMonetary and exchange rate policies are among the most important areas of government regulation of the economy, but scholars have only recently begun to study the political determinants of these policies. Given that episodes of monetary instability over the past several decades, particularly in the developing world, have frequently been blamed on flawed policies, a better understanding of these determinants is a key concern for scholars and policymakers. This dissertation argues that conventional theories that emphasize interest group politics or electoral incentives are insufficient to account for variations across countries and over time in these policy outcomes. Instead, it is argued that the dynamics of competition among economic experts are a crucial determinant of policies. Drawing on recent developments in science and technology studies and sociological field theory, a framework is developed for analyzing processes of competition and learning among experts. This framework is applied to changes in monetary and exchange rate policy in Mexico and Argentina since the early 1980?s. Data include interviews with key informants, archival evidence, and a new database consisting of observations of the educational background and career trajectories of high-ranking officials in the central banks and finance ministries of these two countries. This study will inform recent debates in the science and technology studies literature about the nature of expertise and its relation to democracy and the role of economic science in shaping the economy. Findings will also be used to draw conclusions about the quality of expert advice and the design of monetary institutions.