Over the last year, newspapers and television stations in the Americas have reported hundreds of stories about the Zika epidemic. The media is flooded with news accounts of people suffering from temporary paralysis, infants with brain damage, and the fears the virus has unleashed, especially among pregnant women. Yet despite these accounts—and thousands of warnings by … [Read more...] about Fighting Zika: The Need for Sustained But Flexible Messaging
A Sharp New Light on Political Institutions
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