Despite decades of reform and global integration, many people in Latin America claim they are worse off. Why do they lack productive jobs? Why do they sit on the political sidelines, deprived of the ability to influence the government policies that could improve their lot? Why are they the most common victims of rising crime and violence? Are these people Outsiders?

Social exclusion is an inefficient and dysfunctional social, political, and economic process by which individuals and groups are denied access to opportunities and quality services to live productive lives outside poverty....

What determines the capacity of countries to design, approve, and implement effective public policies? To address this issue, this book builds on the results of a comparative study of political institutions, policymaking processes, and policy outcomes in eight Latin American countries. The volume benefits from both micro detail on the intricacies of policymaking in individual countries and a broad cross-country interdisciplinary analysis of the process in the region.

The country studies demonstrate a deep knowledge of the specific historical dynamics and idiosyncratic structural...