Download or read book Why are Stabilizations Delayed written by Alesina, Alberto and published by London, Ont. : University of Western Ontario, Political Economy Research Group. This book was released on 1990 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Political Economy of Reform written by Federico Sturzenegger and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Federico Sturzenegger and Mariano Tommasi propose formal models to answer some of the questions raised by the recent reform experience of many Latin American and eastern European countries.
Download or read book Why are Stabilizations Delayed written by Alberto Alesina and published by London, Ont. : University of Western Ontario, Political Economy Research Group. This book was released on 1989 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When a stabilization has significant distributional implications (as in the case of tax increases to eliminate a large budget deficit) different socio-economic groups will attempt to shift the burden of stabilization onto other groups. The process leading to a stabilization becomes a "war of attrition", with each group finding it rational to attempt to wait the others out. Stabilization occurs only when one group concedes and is forced to bear a disproportionate share of the burden of fiscal adjustment. We solve for the expected time of stabilization in a model of "rational" delay based on a war of attrition and present comparative statics results relating the expected time of stabilization to several political and economic variables. We also motivate this approach and its results by comparison to historical episodes
Download or read book The Economics of Transition written by Egor Timurovich Gaĭdar and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 1066 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays discuss the economic policy problems that confront postcommunist countries. Most chapters focus on liberalization of the exchange rate and trade system, macroeconomic stabilization, and institutional reform.
Download or read book What Explains the Success Or Failure of Structural Adjustment Programs written by David Dollar and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: June 1998 A few political economy variables can successfully predict the outcome of an adjustment loan 75 percent of the time. To select promising candidates for adjustment, the World Bank must do a better job of understanding which environments are promising for reform and which are not. Being more selective may mean smaller volumes of lending. In the 1980s development assistance shifted largely from financing investments (such as roads and dams) to promoting policy reform. This change came because of a growing awareness that developing countries were held back more by poor policies than by a lack of finance for investment. After nearly 20 years' experience with policy-based or conditional lending, there have now been many studies of adjustment lending, most of which take a case-study approach. Many conclude that policy-based lending works if countries have decided on their own to reform. Dollar and Svensson examine a database of 220 World Bank-supported reform programs to identify why adjustment programs succeed or fail. They find that a few political economy variables can successfully predict the outcome of an adjustment loan 75 percent of the time. Variables under the World Bank's control-resources devoted to preparation and supervision or number of conditions-have no relationship with an adjustment program's success or failure. What development agencies must do, then, is select promising candidates for adjustment support. When the candidate is a poor selection, devoting more administrative resources or imposing more conditions will not increase the likelihood of successful reform. To improve its success rate with adjustment lending, the World Bank must become more selective and do a better job of understanding which environments are promising for reform and which are not. That is likely to lead to fewer adjustment loans, unless there is a significant change in the number of promising reformers. To become more effective at supporting policy reform, the agency must be willing to accept that this may lead to smaller volumes of lending. This paper-a product of the Macroeconomics and Growth, Development Research Group-is part of a larger effort in the group to examine aid effectiveness. The study was funded by the Bank's Research Support Budget under the research project Economic Policies and the Effect of Foreign Aid (RPO 681-70). The authors may be contacted at [email protected]. or [email protected].
Download or read book Crisis Stabilization and Economic Reform written by Michael Bruno and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1993 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book authoritatively considers the phenomenon of the severe economic crises of the 1970s and 1980s, as exemplified by the combination of high inflation and negative growth in Israel and Latin America. The author analyses the common characteristics of such processes and their possible cures-with a detailed first-hand account of Israeli stabilization policy, and a comparative policy-oriented analysis of Latin American reforms. Professor Bruno also calls on his experience to give a preliminary evaluation of recent stabilizations and reform attempts in several East European economies. The discussion of the theoretical underpinnings of `shock' treatments provides a good example for the blending of a number of disciplines: lessons of economic history; open economy monetary and macro theory; game-theoretic applications to the theory of economic policy design (concepts such as dynamic inconsistency, government reputation, and credibility); and the rationalization of incomes policy. The Clarendon Lectures in Economics were established in 1987. They consist of coherent sets of three or four lectures given by distinguished economists which are accessible to advanced undergraduates and also of interest to academics. Subjects vary from high theory and applications of theory to policy-oriented topics. Lecturers include Professors J.-M. Grandmont, David Kreps, Kenneth Arrow, Angus Deaton, Robert Schiller, and Oliver Hart.
Download or read book Fiscal Policy Stabilization and Growth written by Guillermo E. Perry and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2007-10-19 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fiscal policy in Latin America has been guided primarily by short-term liquidity targets whose observance was taken as the main exponent of fiscal prudence, with attention focused almost exclusively on the levels of public debt and the cash deficit. Very little attention was paid to the effects of fiscal policy on growth and on macroeconomic volatility over the cycle. Important issues such as the composition of public expenditures (and its effects on growth), the ability of fiscal policy to stabilize cyclical fluctuations, and the currency composition of public debt were largely neglected. As a result, fiscal policy has often amplified cyclical volatility and dampened growth. 'Fiscal Policy, Stabilization, and Growth' explores the conduct of fiscal policy in Latin America and its consequences for macroeconomic stability and long-term growth. In particular, the book highlights the procyclical and anti-investment biases embedded in the region's fiscal policies, explores their causes and macroeconomic consequences, and asesses their possible solutions.
Download or read book Lessons of Economic Stabilization and Its Aftermath written by Banḳ Yiśraʼel and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1991 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Comprises essays presented at a conference held in Jerusalem in 1990.
Download or read book The Political Economy of Inflation and Stabilization in Middle income Countries written by Stephan Haggard and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1990 with total page 69 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Macroeconomic stability is most precarious, and stabilization most likely to be delayed, where the party system is fragmented or polarized.
Download or read book Post Stabilization Politics in Latin America written by Carol Wise and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2003-07-28 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last twenty years Latin America has seen a definitive movement toward civilian rule. Significant trade, fiscal, and monetary reforms have accompanied this shift, exposing previously state-led economies to the forces of the market. Despite persistent economic and political hardships, the combination of civilian regimes and market-based strategies has proved to be remarkably resilient and still dominates the region. This book focuses on the effects of market reforms on domestic politics in Latin America. While considering civilian rule as a constant, the book examines and compares domestic political responses in six countries that embraced similar packages of reforms in the 1980s—Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. The contributors focus on how ambitious measures such as liberalization, privatization, and deregulation yielded mixed results in these countries and in doing so they identify three main patterns of political economic adjustment. In Argentina and Chile, the implementation of market reforms has gone hand in hand with increasingly competitive politics. In Brazil and Mexico, market reforms helped to catalyze transitions from entrenched authoritarian rule. Finally, in Peru and Venezuela, traditional political systems have collapsed and civilian rule has been repeatedly challenged. The contributors include Carol Wise (University of Southern California), Karen L. Remmer (Duke University), Carol Graham (Brookings Institution), Stefano Pettinato (United Nations Development Programme), Consuelo Cruz (Tufts University), Juan E. Corradi (New York University), Delia M. Boylan (Chicago Public Radio), Riordan Roett (Johns Hopkins University), Martín Tanaka (Institute for Peruvian Studies, Lima), and Kenneth M. Roberts (University of New Mexico).
Download or read book The Timing of Stabilizations written by Athanasios Orphanides and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Why Higher Fiscal Spending Persists when a Boom in Primary Commodities Ends written by Bruno Boccara and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1994 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the initial boom in fiscal spending that accompanies a commodity boom, why do commodity- exporting countries tend to maintain higher spending levels despite a drop in commodity prices? Probably because of liquidity constraints and the costs of policy reversal.
Download or read book The Political Economy of Budget Deficits written by Mr.Alberto Alesina and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 1994-08-01 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper provides a critical survey of the literature on politico-institutional determinants of the government budget. We organize our discussion around two questions: Why did certain OECD countries, but not others, accumulate large public debts? Why did these fiscal imbalances appear in the last 20 years rather than before? We begin by discussing the “tax smoothing” model and conclude that this approach alone cannot provide complete answers to these questions. We will then proceed to a discussion of political economy models, which we organize in six groups: (i) models based upon opportunistic policymakers and naive voters with “fiscal illusion;” (ii) models of intergenerational redistributions; (iii) models of debt as a strategic variable, linking the current government with the next one; (iv) models of coalition governments; (v) models of geographically dispersed interests; and (vi) models emphasizing the effects of budgetary institutions. We conclude by briefly discussing policy implications.
Download or read book Why Do Many Disinflations Fail the Importance of Luck Timing and Political Institutions written by Mr.A. Javier Hamann and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2002-12-01 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many inflation stabilizations succeed only temporarily. Using a sample of 51 episodes of stabilization from inflation levels above 40 percent, we show that most of the failures are explained by bad luck, unfavorable initial conditions, and inadequate political institutions. The evolution of trading partners' demand and U.S. interest rates captures the effect of bad luck. Past inflation affects the outcome in two different ways: a long history of high inflation makes failure more likely, while a high level of inflation prior to stabilization increases the chances of success. Countries with short-lived political institutions, a weak executive authority, and proportional electoral rules also tend to fail. After controlling for all these factors, we find that exchange-rate-based stabilizations are more likely to succeed. These findings are robust across measures of failure (two dichotomous and one continuous), sample selection criteria, and estimation techniques, including Heckman's correction for the endogeneity of the anchor.
Download or read book Monetary and Fiscal Policy Politics written by Torsten Persson and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1994 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first of two volumes on a theory of macroeconomic policy that analyzes which policies are credible or politically feasible. Instead of looking at policy as an end product, the contributors approach policy as an ongoing process of revised goals, changes in tactics, and political pressures. They consider what kinds of incentives within different institutional settings, drive policy-making and the behaviour of policy-makers. The approach explains why certain monetary and fiscal policies are implemented, and provides insights into situations that occur repeatedly in macroeconomic policy, such as the bias toward government deficits, partisan competition and central bank independence.
Download or read book The Politics of Economic Adjustment written by Stephan Haggard and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2018-06-05 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1980s some developing countries adopted orthodox market-oriented policies in response to international economic crises, others experimented with alternative programs, and still others failed to develop coherent adjustment strategies of any sort. Building on the case studies in Economic Crisis and Policy Choice, these essays offer comparative analysis of these divergent experiences with macroeconomic stabilization and structural adjustment. Barbara Stallings and Miles Kahler explore the external pressures on governments. Peter Evans and John Waterbury examine the role of the state in the adjustment process, Evans through the lens of earlier historical experience with economic restructuring, Waterbury by focusing on the politics of privatization. Joan Nelson analyzes the politics of income distribution in the adjustment process, and Haggard and Kaufman investigate the political correlates of inflation and stabilization. A final essay assesses the prospects for combining market-oriented reforms with political democratization.
Download or read book Post Stabilization Economics in Sub Saharan Africa written by Mr.Shanaka J. Peiris and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2008-05-01 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mozambique is an economic success story in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Its remarkable achievements offer valuable lessons to other low-income countries in a post-stabilization economic phase, including how they can efficiently manage a scaling up of foreign aid aimed at poverty reduction. Of special interest to other sub-Saharan countries are the book's discussions of Mozambique's progress toward consolidating macroeconomic and financial stability, and the challenges it faces in ensuring long-term sustainability, creating a virtuous cycle of natural resource use, and implementing second-generation structural reforms to sustain its growth. This book also provides a summary of the most recent research on issues related to post-stabilization economics in SSA.