Structural Reforms in Latin America: What Has Been Reformed and How to Measure it

Lora, Eduardo

doi:10.2139/ssrn.909562

Cited by 55 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…7,8 Corruption data is obtained from the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG). 9 Data on education is obtained from the Global Development Network Growth Database 10 and data on privatisation (cumulative percentage of GDP) is taken from Lora (2001), which covers the period 1985-1999. For years prior to 1985 the cumulative percentage figure is zero since the 1985 figure for all countries is zero.…”

Section: Data and Empirical Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is There an Openness Kuznets Curve?

Dobson

Ramlogan

2009

Kyklos

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One of the key features of research on income inequality is the search for a Kuznets curve. Two curvilinear relationships in particular have been documented in the literature: one between inequality and income and the other between inequality and environmental factors. More recently, inequality and its link to trade liberalisation has received a good deal of attention, not least because it is among the major controversies provoked by the globalisation process. The outcomes for developing countries of greater openness do not fit neatly with the predictions of standard trade theory. Given this, it is natural to ask whether the relationship between trade openness and inequality may be better understood in terms of the Kuznets hypothesis. To this end, the study tests the Kuznets hypothesis in the context of trade liberalisation using data for Latin America. The evidence is new and is consistent with the Kuznets hypothesis: inequality increases with trade openness until a critical level of openness is reached after which inequality begins to fall. The curvilinear relationship between openness and inequality suggests that Latin American countries should continue with trade liberalisation measures but also introduce redistribution policies to ease the (initial) adverse consequences of liberalisation. Copyright 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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Section: Data and Empirical Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is There an Openness Kuznets Curve?

Dobson

Ramlogan

2009

Kyklos

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“…Some scholars question the power of IFIs, including the World Bank and the IMF, to affect the content of national policies, but there is evidence that these IFIs have been important for national policy reform, especially but not limited to the case of pensions and monetary policy (Babb, 2009;Cruz-Saco & Mesa-Lago, 1999;Lora, 2001;Teichman, 2004). The World Bank is the largest external funder of global health, so understanding its priorities, foci, and suggestions in health is especially important (Ruger, 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Washington Consensus and Social Policy: World Bank Projects and Health Sector Reform in Costa Rica

Noy¹

2015

Latin American Policy

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International financial institutions-namely the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank-have been central in diffusing neoliberal ideas. However, little is known about the World Bank's involvement in health policy reform in Latin American countries, and even less about governments' responses to these recommendations and directives. I use World Bank project and loan documents together with national policy documents to examine health sector reform in Costa Rica between 1980 and 2005. I trace World Bank involvement in and discourse surrounding Costa Rican health sector reform, including the ideal role of government in health, the shifting relationship between the Costa Rican social security system and the Ministry of Health, and the focus on primary care. Using the policy paradigm approach, I identify two paradigmatic goals apparent in World Bank and national documents: efficiency and equity. I find that, although the government and the World Bank are consistent in their approach to these goals, they do not emphasize them in the same way, and they describe them in the context of differing logics. I conclude by assessing the implications of this study for our understanding of the relationship between neoliberalism, international financial institutions, and health sector reform in Latin America.Las instituciones financieras internacionales, en particular el Fondo Monetario Internacional y el Banco Mundial, han sido centrales en la difusión de ideas y prácticas neoliberales, pero poco se conoce de la participación del Banco Mundial en las reformas de los sectores de salud en los países latinoamericanos y menos aún sobre la respuesta de los gobiernos a estas recomendaciones y directivas. Basada en documentos de los proyectos y los préstamos del Banco Mundial y en documentos de política nacional, esta investigación examina la reforma del sector de salud en Costa Rica. Se examina la participación del Banco Mundial en el discurso que rodea la reforma de salud costarricense, incluyendo las discusiones del papel ideal del gobierno en la salud, la relación cambiante entre la CCSS (seguridad social) y el Ministerio de Salud y un énfasis en la atención primaria. Al utilizar el enfoque del paradigma político, se identifican dos objetivos paradigmáticos aparentes del discurso del Banco Mundial y en los documentos nacionales, la eficiencia y la equidad. Mientras que el gobierno y el Banco Mundial son consistentes en su acercamiento a estos objetivos, las instituciones los enfatizan de manera distinta y los describen en el contexto de lógicas diferentes. Se concluye con una evaluación de la importancia de este estudio con respecto a un entendimiento de las consecuencias del neoliberalismo y las instituciones financieras internacionales para la reforma de los sectores de salud en América Latina.

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“…In order to capture the impact of the presidential agenda on the expansion of the institutional presidency, we include the Structural Reform Index (SRI), as calculated by Lora (2012), to measure the extent of structural economic reforms. The SRI is an average of partial indices regarding five policy areas: privatization, financial and trade liberalization, labor regulation, and tax reforms.…”

Section: Data Variables and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Institutional Presidency in Latin America: A Comparative Analysis

Inácio¹,

Llanos²

2016

Pres Stud Q

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This article focuses on the evolution of the institutional presidency in six Latin American presidential democracies since the last wave of redemocratization. Institutional presidency refers to the bulk of agencies that operate under direct presidential authority and are in charge of supporting the presidential leadership. We document all structural changes occurring under the umbrella of the president for the period of analysis. We find that the expansion in the number of presidential agencies is a deliberate response to situations of conflict or weakness. It is more likely under coalitional presidentialism—when presidents must share cabinet positions and manage relationships with coalition partners—as well as when presidents implement structural reform policies to face critical economic circumstances.

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Structural Reforms in Latin America: What Has Been Reformed and How to Measure it

Cited by 55 publications

References 15 publications

Is There an Openness Kuznets Curve?

Is There an Openness Kuznets Curve?

The Washington Consensus and Social Policy: World Bank Projects and Health Sector Reform in Costa Rica

The Institutional Presidency in Latin America: A Comparative Analysis

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