The Life and Times of Ral Prebisch, 1901-1986

Raul Prebisch was a leader in economic development theory and international economic policy, an institution builder, and an international diplomat. The Life and Times of Raul Prebisch, 1901-1986 provides the first book-length account of his life and work, a story cast against the backdrop of Latin America, the Cold War, the rise of the United Nations, and the struggle for equity between First and Third Worlds. A wunderkind, Prebisch occupied key positions at the Argentine Ministry of Finance in his twenties and was the general manager of the Argentine Central Bank before age forty. Exiled by Juan Peron after World War II, he became arguably the most influential Latin American official at the UN, heading such international organizations as the Economic Commission for Latin America and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. He was the first to conceptualize the relationship between developed countries and Latin America in terms of "center-periphery" - a foundational concept in structuralist economics. Edgar Dosman has used archival research and interviews with family, friends, and associates to look at the historical and political contexts of Prebisch's career, providing new information on such topics as the creation and development of international networks, the tensions within international bureaucracies, and the constitution of a Latin American field of social sciences. Many of Prebisch's ideas were originally rejected as unorthodox but are now taken for granted. His life and work remain an enduring symbol of leadership for Latin America and the global community.