This paper examines the effect of elections on fiscal policies in 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean from 1983 to 1996. The budget surplus proves to be lower than normal in the preelectoral and higher in the postelectoral years. Both the expenditure and revenue sides contribute to...

This paper considers whether institutional factors, in this instance electoral systems and procedures, affect Latin American countries` fiscal performance as measured by the size of the public sector, fiscal deficits, the size of the public debt, and the degree of procyclality of fiscal policy....

Recent literature on Latin American countries shows that private expenses as a share of the total expenditures in health tend to be higher the lower the nation's level of economic development. This paper considers a discrete choice model of product differentiation, where consumer choice is based...