Why do some societies fare well, and others poorly, at reducing the risk of early death? Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America finds that

James W. McGuire explores why some East Asian and Latin American societies have done better than others at raising life expectancy and reducing infant mortality

Comparing the welfare states of Latin America, East Asia and Eastern Europe, the authors trace the origins of social policy in these regions to political change

Over the 1980s Latin America made great strides in democratization, while East Asia led the world in economic growth. Are the two converging toward a model that

Long run processes of socio-economic change generate prodigious problems of social conflict and social control, and governments responsible for these processes