Title

From Democratic Socialism To Neoliberalism: The Metamorphoses Of The People'S National Party In Jamaica

Authors

Authors

B. M. Wilson

Comments

Authors: contact us about adding a copy of your work at STARS@ucf.edu

Abbreviated Journal Title

Stud. Comp. Int. Dev.

Keywords

POLICY; International Relations; Planning & Development; Political Science

Abstract

Why are leftist parties in government abandoning their state-led, redistributive economic development models in favor of market-determined neoliberal ones? Conventional explanations emphasize conditionality of international financial institutions. This argument, though, fails to account for differences in economic policy choices across countries or within a country over time. Analyzing the social democratic People's National Party of Jamaica during two periods when it accepted IMF-mandated neoliberal economic reform measures (1977-80 and 1989-present), an alternative approach is presented to illuminate why and how leftist governments switch economic policy programs. The two time periods show that IMF conditionality might be a necessary motivation for the adoption of neoliberal economic measures, but it is not sufficient motivation. I argue that the actual policies the PNP governments employed reflect changes in the relative influence of competing factions within the party. This approach, focusing on domestic actors rather than international ones to account for economic policy shifts, highlights the ways in which politicians can manipulate institutional rules to change the relative weight of different factions within the party to gain support for policy decisions that contradict the party's traditional social democratic ideology.

Journal Title

Studies in Comparative International Development

Volume

31

Issue/Number

2

Publication Date

1-1-1996

Document Type

Article

Language

English

First Page

58

Last Page

82

WOS Identifier

WOS:A1996WC62300003

ISSN

0039-3606

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