In this paper we test the impact of elections on fiscal policy in Latin American economies in comparison to OECD countries over the period 1990-2006. We find that in Latin American countries, the average primary balance declines by an amount close to 0.7 per cent of GDP during an election year,...

For the first time in its history, Latin America can benefit from not one but three major engines of world growth. Until the 1980s, the United States was the region's major trade partner. In the 1990s, a second growth engine emerged with the European investment boom in Latin America. Now, at the...

Latin America is looking towards China and Asia -- and China and Asia are looking right back. This is a major shift: for the first time in its history, Latin America can benefit from not one but three major engines of world growth. Until the 1980s, the United States was the region’s major...

Latin America suffers from low fiscal legitimacy. In many Latin American countries, fiscal performance and democratic governance are damaged by citizens' lack of trust and confidence in democratic fiscal institutions. One explanation for this distrust of the government's fiscal responsibility is...

Intro -- Contents -- Figures -- Tables -- Foreword -- Introduction -- 1 A Novus Mundus -- An Olympic effect -- Farewell to the old world -- Investments in the emerging countries -- Latin America and the Arab countries -- Latin America and Asia -- The new Latin American contagion -- Multilatinas...