Managing Mexico: Economists from Nationalism to Neoliberalism.

Rating:
Summary: Good Scholarship; must read for some
Review: Sarah Babb presents a very interesting study of the economic profession in Mexico and the economists who have held the top government positions. It is a must read -of course- for every student in economics, political science and related fields in Mexico. Needless to say, the few who are pursuing graduate studies in economics must look at it carefully.
The book is very well researched and it's well written. The sociological stuff will be tough to read for non-specialists, nevertheless it is worth it. I suspect that the majority of non-sociologists (i.e. economists) reading the book will disagree with Babb's reasons for the growing importance of economists in the mexican government. Read it and get your own conclusions.
Even the plain historical facts are appealing. How UNAM and ITAM competed for the profession in 1950s-1970s and finally ITAM stayed alone at the top. How that school was (and is) a bastion of free-market economics in Mexico and mentor of generations of leaders in their field. And most importantly, why is that not going to change in a while.
Finally, any who aspires to understand recent mexican history and its institutions, will learn a lot from the context of the creation of several of them in the twentieth century.