“This book deepens our understanding of dictatorships and their impact on the economy. Razo rightly points out that some of the main ideas people have about the political economy of development do not fit well with evidence about dictatorships. One key idea is that growth occurs when property rights are well enforced and that this will only happen when the state is constrained from preying on society. But formal constraints do not explain the large variation in economic outcomes under dictatorships. Razo investigates this issue in the context of the Porfiriato, the long reign of Porfirio Diaz in Mexico between 1876 and 1910. This highly puzzling period of relatively rapid economic growth under a dictatorship is an exciting area of research. Razo's scholarship is excellent and his work makes an important contribution.”
—James Robinson, Harvard University

"Numerous gems are to be found throughout his careful analysis of formal and informal institutions...with valuable insights into Mexico's political and economic development, many of which explain twentieth-century behaviors in Mexico and elsewhere."
—Political Science Quarterly

Armando Razo is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Indiana University. He is the co-author, with Steve Haber and Noel Maurer, of The Politics of Property Rights: Political Instability, Credible Commitments, and Economic Growth in Mexico, 1876-1929 (2003).