From Collective Punishment to Constraints on Authority: Rethinking the Impact of US Sanctions on Venezuela (Elements in the Economics of Emerging Markets) - Softcover

Santos, Miguel Angel; Morales-Arilla, José; Cornielles, Zinedine Partipilo

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1009704281 ISBN 13: 9781009704281

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2026

Synopsis

This Element critically examines the claim that United States economic sanctions on Venezuela constituted 'collective punishment' of the Venezuelan population, contributing significantly to the country's economic collapse and humanitarian crisis. Through comprehensive analysis of economic, developmental, and welfare indicators from 2013 to 2023, it demonstrates that the bulk of Venezuela's economic devastation - including 52 percent of GDP losses and 98 percent of import declines - largely occurred before financial sanctions were imposed in August 2017. Key welfare indicators such as infant mortality, undernourishment, and life expectancy had deteriorated substantially by 2017 and subsequently stabilized or improved following sanctions implementation, contradicting narratives that attribute Venezuela's collapse primarily to external economic pressure. The Element provides a timeline of Venezuelan economic and political events around sanctions and a critical review of the literature on their economic effects. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1009704281
• ISBN 13: 9781009704281
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 75