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Debt and Adjustment: Social and Environmental Consequences in Jamaica
Book reviews / Political Geography 19 (2000) 927–941
937
Lynn A. Staeheli Institute of Behavioral Science, Campus Box 487, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0487, USA PII: S 0 9 6 2 - 6 2 9 8 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 2 2 - 6
Debt and Adjustment: Social and Environmental Consequences in Jamaica Patricia Lundy; Ashgate, Aldershot, 1999, ISBN 1-85972-114-1 While this is a short book (105 pages including the bibliography) it makes an important contribution to debates both in terms of the specific discussion of the Jamaican experience and in the more general area of the impact of structural adjustment policies in Third World countries. One of the major strengths of the book is that an important case is made for the use of alternative methodologies to assess the impact of structural adjustment policies. Lundy does this by both exposing the weaknesses in the quantitative approaches, which have predominated in previous assessments of the policy impact of the international financial institutions, and by using qualitative methodologies in her research in Jamaica. These qualitative methods add richness to the data and as Lundy states ‘it was important to examine Jamaicans’ perceptions into their own situation and that doing so would provide valid insights into the adjustment process’ (p. 37). Using a variety of methods to assess the impact of the policies is important but Lundy does not address how much weight should be given to each. This is particularly pertinent when the evidence from the two methods differs. The book begins with a useful summary of the economic crisis of the 1970s, locating it within historical, structural, internal political and external factors. It is a coherent and succinct introduction for students and researchers interested in Jamaican political economy. In chapter two Lundy presents the statistical evidence and explains why the data might not reflect the realities which have resulted from the implementation of structural adjustment policies. The qualitative data found in chapters three, four and five is fascinating and informative. I would have liked to have more of this material as it highlights the problems experienced on the ground as a result of structural adjustment. The title of chapter three is rather misleading though as the bulk of the chapter is about the impact of policies on health care personnel and service provision rather than alternative methodologies. Chapter four jumps to examine the environmental impact and given the change in focus uses a different framework of analysis (p. 55). Chapter five contains some very interesting data about the development of social action movements in the environmental sphere, capturing the motivations behind membership, tensions within organisations and the concerns of members regarding their role. While the impact of structural adjustment policies links chapters three, four, and five I think this could have been made more obvious.
938
Book reviews / Political Geography 19 (2000) 927–941
The concluding chapter summarises the previous chapters in a useful manner. However, and this is a problem I had during my reading of the book, the style is rather cumbersome and inaccessible. It reads like a Ph.D. thesis so there is rather too much reiteration and use of the terms, first, second, third, to highlight particular issues. A closer editing of the text would have also revealed a number of grammatical errors. A tighter approach to the style and format as well as more concentration on linking the chapters would have led to an easier and more enjoyable reading of the text. Having said that, there is much to praise in this book. The importance of alternative methods and their application in the Jamaican context reveal interesting and useful information about the impact of structural adjustment at the grassroots level. Strategies to resist the negative environmental impact of structural adjustment, through the establishment of non-governmental organisations, is also a valuable contribution to the debates about the continuing impact of these policies in Third World countries. Amanda Sives Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, 28 Russell Square, London, UK PII: S 0 9 6 2 - 6 2 9 8 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 2 3 - 8
Political Geography: World-Economy, Nation-State and Locality Peter Taylor and Colin Flint, Prentice Hall, Harlow, England, 2000, ISBN 0 582 35733 0 The fourth edition of Peter Taylor’s Political Geography, now co-authored with Colin Flint, ushers this classic text into the twenty-first century with fresh insights into the dynamics of the world economy, the state system and localities under conditions of globalization. Since its first publication in 1985, Political Geography has earned its reputation as one of the best texts for students of the subdiscipline through its masterful integration of political geography’s trends and debates within an overarching theoretical framework, Immanuel Wallerstein’s geo-historical world-systems theory. As demonstrated by its 1989 and 1993 editions, Political Geography has aimed to keep pace both with the changing state of political-geographic research and the material, geopolitical changes of the world order over the past fifteen years. In the same spirit, this latest edition includes many new sections addressing globalization and what have come to be heralded as its attendant processes, the attenuation of state power and the rise of the place-based identities. In some ways, Wallerstein’s theory may seem an odd vantage point from which to view the current buzz about globalization. After all, according to the Braudelian historical perspective of world-systems theory, there has been nothing new under
937
Lynn A. Staeheli Institute of Behavioral Science, Campus Box 487, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0487, USA PII: S 0 9 6 2 - 6 2 9 8 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 2 2 - 6
Debt and Adjustment: Social and Environmental Consequences in Jamaica Patricia Lundy; Ashgate, Aldershot, 1999, ISBN 1-85972-114-1 While this is a short book (105 pages including the bibliography) it makes an important contribution to debates both in terms of the specific discussion of the Jamaican experience and in the more general area of the impact of structural adjustment policies in Third World countries. One of the major strengths of the book is that an important case is made for the use of alternative methodologies to assess the impact of structural adjustment policies. Lundy does this by both exposing the weaknesses in the quantitative approaches, which have predominated in previous assessments of the policy impact of the international financial institutions, and by using qualitative methodologies in her research in Jamaica. These qualitative methods add richness to the data and as Lundy states ‘it was important to examine Jamaicans’ perceptions into their own situation and that doing so would provide valid insights into the adjustment process’ (p. 37). Using a variety of methods to assess the impact of the policies is important but Lundy does not address how much weight should be given to each. This is particularly pertinent when the evidence from the two methods differs. The book begins with a useful summary of the economic crisis of the 1970s, locating it within historical, structural, internal political and external factors. It is a coherent and succinct introduction for students and researchers interested in Jamaican political economy. In chapter two Lundy presents the statistical evidence and explains why the data might not reflect the realities which have resulted from the implementation of structural adjustment policies. The qualitative data found in chapters three, four and five is fascinating and informative. I would have liked to have more of this material as it highlights the problems experienced on the ground as a result of structural adjustment. The title of chapter three is rather misleading though as the bulk of the chapter is about the impact of policies on health care personnel and service provision rather than alternative methodologies. Chapter four jumps to examine the environmental impact and given the change in focus uses a different framework of analysis (p. 55). Chapter five contains some very interesting data about the development of social action movements in the environmental sphere, capturing the motivations behind membership, tensions within organisations and the concerns of members regarding their role. While the impact of structural adjustment policies links chapters three, four, and five I think this could have been made more obvious.
938
Book reviews / Political Geography 19 (2000) 927–941
The concluding chapter summarises the previous chapters in a useful manner. However, and this is a problem I had during my reading of the book, the style is rather cumbersome and inaccessible. It reads like a Ph.D. thesis so there is rather too much reiteration and use of the terms, first, second, third, to highlight particular issues. A closer editing of the text would have also revealed a number of grammatical errors. A tighter approach to the style and format as well as more concentration on linking the chapters would have led to an easier and more enjoyable reading of the text. Having said that, there is much to praise in this book. The importance of alternative methods and their application in the Jamaican context reveal interesting and useful information about the impact of structural adjustment at the grassroots level. Strategies to resist the negative environmental impact of structural adjustment, through the establishment of non-governmental organisations, is also a valuable contribution to the debates about the continuing impact of these policies in Third World countries. Amanda Sives Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, 28 Russell Square, London, UK PII: S 0 9 6 2 - 6 2 9 8 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 2 3 - 8
Political Geography: World-Economy, Nation-State and Locality Peter Taylor and Colin Flint, Prentice Hall, Harlow, England, 2000, ISBN 0 582 35733 0 The fourth edition of Peter Taylor’s Political Geography, now co-authored with Colin Flint, ushers this classic text into the twenty-first century with fresh insights into the dynamics of the world economy, the state system and localities under conditions of globalization. Since its first publication in 1985, Political Geography has earned its reputation as one of the best texts for students of the subdiscipline through its masterful integration of political geography’s trends and debates within an overarching theoretical framework, Immanuel Wallerstein’s geo-historical world-systems theory. As demonstrated by its 1989 and 1993 editions, Political Geography has aimed to keep pace both with the changing state of political-geographic research and the material, geopolitical changes of the world order over the past fifteen years. In the same spirit, this latest edition includes many new sections addressing globalization and what have come to be heralded as its attendant processes, the attenuation of state power and the rise of the place-based identities. In some ways, Wallerstein’s theory may seem an odd vantage point from which to view the current buzz about globalization. After all, according to the Braudelian historical perspective of world-systems theory, there has been nothing new under