The State of State Reforms in Latin America

This book is structured around four major areas of institutional reform: political institutions and organization of the state; fiscal institutions, such as budget, tax and decentralization institutions; public institutions in charge of sectoral economic policies (financial, industrial and infrastructure); and, institutions in the so-called social sectors (education, health, and pensions and social protection). In each of these areas, it summarizes the objectives and motivations of the reforms, describes and measures their scope, assesses their main outcomes, and identifies the main obstacles for their implementation and effectiveness, especially those of an institutional nature. The methodological approach is essentially comparative static between the situation before and after the reforms.