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How can we determine which economic model best provides for economic development and social welfare? In this comparative work, noted economist Carmelo Mesa-Lago analyzes three Latin American countries with divergent economic systems: Chile (a market economy), Cuba (socialist) and Costa Rica (mixed). He examines their economic and social policies, shows how these policies affect performance based on a set of socioeconomic variables, and ranks the countries among themselves (using new techniques) and in comparison with international indicators. The time frame of the study embraces 38 years for Costa Rica (under the democratic social democracy) and Cuba (under the socialist revolution) and 24 years for Chile (under Pinochet and the return to democracy). Mesa-Lago focuses on the three diverse socioeconomic models that these countries represent during these periods. Topics include: the roles of the state and the market; development strategies; potential trade-offs between growth and equity; the divergent effects of the 1980s economic crisis in these countries; and short- and medium-term prospects for each of these three economic systems. Of particular interest are the indicators used to evaluate performance, including domestic macroeconomic indicators, external economic indicators, distribution and employment indicators, and social standards indicators.