How competitive are presidential and legislative elections in Bolivia, France and Afghanistan? What are their electoral rules? How relevant are their political checks and balances across branches of government? In the past, scholars and analysts floundered in the dark trying to answer those questions. They might consult case studies. But the frameworks and methodologies were … [Read more...] about A Sharp New Light on Political Institutions
Want People to Pay Their Taxes? Try a Visit
For years, policy makers in Latin America and the Caribbean have struggled with the immense and chronic problem of tax evasion, which averages close to 50% in many countries and limits governments' ability to spend on schools, hospitals and other critical needs. The problem relates not only to the difficulty of finding tax delinquents. It has to do with the difficulty of … [Read more...] about Want People to Pay Their Taxes? Try a Visit
External Aid and Government Capacity Building
A recent report by AidData (summarized in the Washington Post ) shows that Multilateral Banks “exert larger-than-expected agenda-setting influence on the basis of their financial contributions.” That is, institutions such as the IDB and the World Bank influence the setting of the reform agenda and help countries develop policies beyond what their actual financial contributions … [Read more...] about External Aid and Government Capacity Building
Explaining Changes in Tax Burdens in Latin America
Most Latin American countries have more than enough infrastructure needs and social service demands to justify raising taxes. Still, on average, tax revenues in Latin America are below their potential. Fiscal woes are not unique to the region. The U.S. is also in need of major infrastructure and social investments and the discussion has focused on cutting rather than raising … [Read more...] about Explaining Changes in Tax Burdens in Latin America
Let There Be (More) Light: The Case for Impact Evaluations
Can impact evaluations make a difference? Can they be something more than looking for the keys where the light is instead of where the keys were actually lost? The answer is an unequivocal yes, but for reasons other than the ones usually put forth. The argument I make in this note is that impact evaluations are important not only because of their direct effect in showing which … [Read more...] about Let There Be (More) Light: The Case for Impact Evaluations