Panel data for seven Latin American countries are used to assess the influence of public indebtedness on public investment in infrastructure in the period 1987-2001. Debt increases are associated with higher public infrastructure investment, an effect that is robust to the inclusion of many...

"Traces the main tendencies of the Colombian economy during the 1980s. A solid macroeconomic review and an analysis of the handling of foreign debt explain how Colombia escaped the 'lost decade.' This examination is coupled by an overview of the decade's political swings, marked especially by...

During the past decade, structural polices in the region have been aimed increasingly at improving economic efficiency and reducing government interference in economic decisions. The effects of this shift have not yet been accurately evaluated due to the lack of systematic measurements of the...