Costa Rica, though largely an agricultural country, has achieved a stable government and a relatively high standard of living. The people of Uruguay have suffered tremendously from the instability of their government, inflation, and the resulting price control and devaluation of their peso. In this work, leading economists originally from these countries compare and contrast the existing equity and growth patterns of Costa Rica and Uruguay. They explore government policies and discuss how development economics is and is not working in both of these countries. "An excellent analysis of Costa Rican history and political economy....A thorough analysis of Uruguayan public policies."-- Choice Simon Rottenberg is a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.