What Role for Learning? The Diffusion of Privatisation in OECD and Latin American Countries

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
COVADONGA MESEGUER
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Learning From Experience ◽  
The Public ◽  
Rational Learning ◽  
Political Conditions ◽  
International Pressures ◽  
Latin American Countries ◽  
The International Monetary Fund

In this paper, I enquire whether 37 governments in industrial and in Latin American countries privatised as a result of learning from experience. Using a rational updating model, I examine whether the decision in the 1980s and 1990s to streamline the public sector was the outcome of a revision of beliefs about the effectiveness of privatisation or whether, alternatively, it was triggered by international pressures or mimicry. The results suggest that rational learning and especially emulation were two important factors in the decision to privatise. International pressures, here proxied by the presence or absence of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and by European Union membership, are irrelevant to explanations of the decision to privatise. Finally, domestic political conditions appear relevant to the decision to launch privatisation but only when the analysis is carried out for each of the regional sub-samples. In the OECD countries, centre-left governments were more likely to privatise whereas in Latin American more repressive regimes were more willing to divest.

scholarly journals When Does the Public Get It Right? The Information Environment and the Accuracy of Economic Sentiment

2021 ◽  
pp. 001041402198975
Author(s):  
Ryan E. Carlin ◽  
Timothy Hellwig ◽  
Gregory J. Love ◽  
Cecilia Martínez-Gallardo ◽  
Matthew M. Singer
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Economic Evaluations ◽  
Government Performance ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Government Accountability ◽  
The Public ◽  
High Quality Information ◽  
The Media ◽  
Latin American Countries

Public evaluations of the economy are key for understanding how citizens develop policy opinions and monitor government performance. But what drives economic evaluations? In this article, we argue the context in which information about the economy is distributed shapes economic perceptions. In high-quality information environments—where policies are transparent, the media is free, and political opposition is robust—mass perceptions closely track economic conditions. In contrast, compromised information environments provide openings for political manipulation, leading perceptions to deviate from business cycle fluctuations. We test our argument with unique data from eight Latin American countries. Results show restrictions on access to information distort the public’s view of economic performance. The ability of voters to sanction governments is stronger when democratic institutions and the media protect citizens’ access to independent, unbiased information. Our findings highlight the importance of accurate evaluations of the economy for government accountability and democratic responsiveness.

Public policies of connectivity in Latin America in the context of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-136
Author(s):  
Bernadette Califano ◽  
Martín Becerra
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Legal Regulations ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Status ◽  
Telecommunications Policies ◽  
Latin American Countries

This article analyses the digital policies introduced in different Latin American countries during the first three months after the outbreak of COVID-19 reached the region (March–June 2020). This analysis has a three-fold objective: (a) to give an overview of the status of connectivity in five big Latin American countries – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico; (b) to study comparatively the actions and regulations implemented on connectivity matters by the governments of each country to face the pandemic; and (c) to provide insights in relation with telecommunications policies in the context of pandemic emergence at a regional level. To that end, this study will consider legal regulations and specific public policies in this field, official documents from the public and private sectors, and statistics on ICT access and usage in the region.

Who’s to Blame? The Distribution of Responsibility in Developing Democracies

2010 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabella Alcañiz ◽  
Timothy Hellwig
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Foreign Debt ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Developing Democracies ◽  
Mass Politics ◽  
World Markets ◽  
High Volatility ◽  
Latin American Countries ◽  
The International Monetary Fund

International structures tie the hands of policy makers in the developing world. Dependency on the world economy is blamed for low growth, high volatility and less redistribution of income than average, but the effect of international constraints on mass politics is relatively unknown. This study examines how citizens of developing democracies assign responsibility for policy outcomes. A theory of the distribution of responsibility, combining insights from the political economy of development and the study of mass behaviour, is presented. Evidence from seventeen Latin American countries shows that citizens often blame policy outcomes on international and private-sector actors, to which they, as voters, have no direct recourse. Ties to world markets and the International Monetary Fund, especially foreign debt, shift responsibility towards international actors and tend to exonerate national politicians.

scholarly journals Taxing Higher Incomes: What Makes the High-Income Earners Consent to More Progressive Taxation in Latin America?

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 703-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Berens ◽  
Armin von Schiller
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
High Income ◽  
Public System ◽  
Progressive Taxation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Trust In Institutions ◽  
Fiscal Contract ◽  
Latin American Countries ◽  
Progressive Income Taxation

Abstract When do high-income earners get ‘on board’ with the fiscal contract and accept paying a larger share of the tax burden? Progressive taxes perform particularly poorly in developing countries. We argue that the common opposition of the affluent to more progressive taxation is not merely connected to administrative limitations to coercively enforce compliance, but also to the uncertainty that high-income earners associate with the returns to taxes. Because coercion is not an option, there is a need to convince high-income earners to ‘invest’ in the public system via taxes. Trust in institutions is decisive for the fiscal contract. Expecting that paid contributions will be used in a sensible manner, high-income earners will be more supportive of progressive income taxation. We study tax composition preferences of a cross-section of Latin American countries using public opinion data from LAPOP for 2012. Findings reveal that higher levels of trust in political institutions strongly mitigate the opposition of the affluent towards more progressive taxation.

International Monetary Fund

1961 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 710-712
Keyword(s):  
International Monetary Fund ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Monetary Policies ◽  
United States Dollar ◽  
Capital Movements ◽  
The Government ◽  
One Year ◽  
Latin American Countries ◽  
The International Monetary Fund

On June 7, 1961, it was announced that the International Monetary Fund had entered into a stand-by arrangement authorizing the government of Ecuador to draw up to $10 million in currencies held by the Fund during the following twelve months. Then, on July 19 the Fund announced that it had concurred in the establishment of a new par value for Ecuador's currency, accompanied by a simplification of the country's exchange system. The par value as of that date was changed from 15 to 18 sucres per United States dollar, and Ecuador discontinued most of its multiple rate practices. Under the new system at least 90 percent of all trade and trade-connected transactions, including the export of such major products as bananas, coffee and cacao, was to be conducted within one percent either side of parity, while a small free market with a fluctuating rate, mainly for nonessential invisible transactions and unregistered capital transactions, was to continue to operate, chiefly as a means of controlling capital movements. During the period under review the Fund also entered into stand-by agreements wkh other Latin American countries. On July 14, 1961, the Fund announced a one-year stand-by arrangement with the government of El Salvador authorizing drawings in an amount equivalent to $11.25 million. The Fund's assistance was designed to help to support the country's reserve position and ensure the continued convertibility of its currency while measures were being adopted to improve El Salvador's internal situation through appropriate fiscal and monetary policies.

Multiple Exchange Rate Policies in Latin America

1968 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang König
Keyword(s):  
Monetary Policy ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Exchange Rates ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Import Substitution ◽  
Multiple Exchange ◽  
International Monetary Policy ◽  
Trade And Exchange ◽  
Latin American Countries ◽  
The International Monetary Fund

The persistence of trade and exchange controls in developing countries is of growing concern among economic circles and has been dealt with in recent discussions and papers, both published and unpublished. In Latin America exchange practices have severely tested the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which represents the prevailing ideology of a liberal international monetary policy. The principles and activities of this institution have tended to conflict in many ways with the development efforts of Latin American countries—a fact that has not always been fully recognized due to the confidential nature of many of the Fund's actions. One important issue has been the problem of multiple exchange rates, which, in many Latin American countries, came to constitute an important instrument of the policy of industrialization through import substitution.

Private healthcare will expand in Latin America

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Health Spending ◽  
Health Coverage ◽  
Lower Growth ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Private Healthcare ◽  
Latin American Countries ◽  
Universal Health

Subject The outlook for private healthcare. Significance During 2003-13, various Latin American countries introduced expansionary healthcare reforms. Aiming to secure universal health coverage, they increased spending and created new non-contributory programmes. This did not necessarily affect private provision, which in several countries benefited from growing purchasing power and new private-public interactions. Impacts Regional expansion of private healthcare is likely to accelerate in the coming decade. Ageing populations will require increased health spending in both the public and private spheres. Lower growth and commodities prices may increasingly put the onus on private health spending.

Selling Neoliberalism: Brazil's Instituto Liberal

1993 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Nylen
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Structural Adjustment ◽  
Fiscal Crisis ◽  
Policy Mix ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Public ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
Economic Elites ◽  
Latin American Countries

In the 1980s more and more Latin American countries attempted to address daunting economic problems with variations on the so-called neoliberal theme. While one should have expected governments to implement some form of short-term fiscal and monetary adjustments to address the region's generalised fiscal crisis, it was less inevitable that this neoclassical formula should coincide with a more long-term structural adjustment formula, including such neoliberal (or neo-orthodox) policies as privatisation of State-owned companies, liberalization of tariffs, and reduction of the public sector workforce. As a result of this policy mix, the normal recessionary impact of adjustment intensified. The clamour for protection from that impact, and/or for putting an end to the policies themselves, has also intensified not only from the popular sector (that perennial target of all adjustments), but from the ranks of economic elites as well.

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