On the basis of available data, this paper compares public sector employment and pay in Latin America and the Caribbean. It highlights the methodological challenges of gathering and making valid comparisons on the basis of such data.

Latin America suffered a profound state crisis in the 1980s, which prompted not only the wave of macroeconomic and deregulation reforms known as the Washington Consensus, but also a wide variety of institutional or 'second generation' reforms. 'The State of State Reform in Latin America' reviews...

Although recent research has shed new light on the political determinants and economic consequences of tax lawmaking, existing analyses rely on coarse data measuring political aggregates. Consequently, little is known about the political processes determining how tax legislation is written or...

Veto player theory argues that a higher number of veto players lowers the likelihood of change; in turn, policies that do not change help to sustain commitments but may prevent adaptation to changing circumstances. This paper challenges that claim of veto player theory by arguing that policy...

This paper uses new data on fiscal transparency for a cross-section of countries; these data possess several advantages. First, the data are based on in-depth reports using a standardized methodology and protocol. Second, this study covers 82 countries, more than previous comparable studies....

Este documento fue presentado en la Conferencia "MERCOSUR: En busca de una nueva agenda", realizada en la Fundación Getulio Vargas en Rio de Janeiro, en junio de 2003. Considerando la dinámica de las políticas emergentes, que apuntan a un renovado interés en profundizar la iniciativa...

According to an influential theoretical argument, presidential systems tend to present smaller governments because the separation between those who decide the size of the fiscal purse and those who allocate it creates incentives for lower public expenditures. In practice, forms of government...

Varios países y regiones latinoamericanos van a comenzar a negociar con la Unión Europea (UE) acuerdos comerciales para crear zonas de libre comercio. Para la UE el objetivo de estos acuerdos va más allá de la simple supresión de barreras al comercio exterior de productos. La UE negocia...

This paper seeks to understand why political actors, institutions and legal reforms have systematically failed to produce cooperation in the Ecuadorian policymaking process. From a comparative and historical standpoint, Ecuador has been trapped in a cycle of low-quality public policies that fail...

This case study of Venezuela's democratic institution and policymaking processes is part of the broader regional project based on the theoretical framework developed by Spiller, Stein and Tommasi (2003). The framework focuses on the conditions that foster political cooperation among political...