Why it is so difficult for liberal economic ideas to become generally accepted (that is socially 'embedded') in industrialising countries despite the universal support for liberal political ideas and a single global market system? Drawing on the results of a sustained and collaborative interdisciplinary research project, international scholars provide a perspective on previous shifts towards (and away from) economic liberalism within Latin America, on the interaction of internal and external drivers in this process, and on the international context of the evolution of economic ideas.