Corporatism, trade liberalization and sectoral responses: The case of Venezuela, 1989-99

The Venezuelan manufacturing sector, unlike agriculture, cooperated with st ate's efforts to liberalize trade in the 1990s, despite the economic costs it absorbed and the political opportunities to sabotage the reforms. This p aper offers two explanations for this, which modify and conciliate traditio nal interest-based and corporatist theories of state-society relations. Hig h levels of sectoral autonomy from the bureaucracy and political parties (a nd hence Congress), together with low levels of involvement in profit-makin g on the part of the associations representing the sector, encourage sector al cooperation with costly and risky state policies. In addition, tradition al corporatist instruments used by states-inducements and constraints-hurt rather than enhance state-sector cooperation. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd . All rights reserved.