The State of State Reform [Paperback]

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 Americareviews and assesses the outcomes of these less studied institutional reforms.This book examines four major areas of institutional reform: a) political institutions and the state organization; b) fiscal institutions, such as budget, tax and decentralization institutions; c) public institutions in charge of sectoral economic policies (financial, industrial, and infrastructure); and d) social sector institutions (pensions, social protection, and education). In each of these areas, the authors summarize the reform objectives, describe and measure their scope, assess the main outcomes, and identify the obstacles for implementation, especially those of an institutional nature.Eduardo Lora is Principal Advisor of the Research Department of the Inter-American Development Bank. He is also coeditor ofIs Geography Destiny?: Lessons from Latin America(Stanford University Press, 2003). This important book provides and illuminating and informative account of reforms that are changing the institutional landscape of the public sector of Latin America countries. The book provides a gold mine of information on many of these reforms. It ought to become required reading for both policy makers and serious scholars. Vito Tanzi. Former Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.CThis book reviews state reforms in Latin America since the mid-1980s. A valuable addition to Latin American economics and politics collections. Reaching the conclusion that the problems of underdevelopment are largely due to poorly functioning public institutions has become as popular as prescribing 'institution building' as a cure for poverty. Unfortunately, the popularity of tlƒš