Since the late 1990s, a broad reform movement has swept Latin America, aimed at granting independence to central banks and freeing them from government pressure to print money to finance government spending. Laws have been passed and constitutions changed to allow independent central banks to focus on the fight against inflation. A more complicated case has been Brazil, where … [Read more...] about When Central Bank Autonomy Makes All the Difference
Politics and Institutions
Latin America and the Risk of State Failure
By Arjun Chowdhury and Cesi Cruz What links Latin American nations to failed states like Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo? By most objective measures, not much. Syria is the epitome of chaos, suffering from a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced or exiled millions more. Ethnic, religious and political conflict similarly takes a huge human … [Read more...] about Latin America and the Risk of State Failure
Keeping the Best Teachers: Is Money the Answer?
Teaching is one of the most important professions, vital to a nation's long-term dynamism and productivity. But it is simply too hard to get all but the most dedicated teachers to commit to long-term careers, when, as in Chile and the United States, they make two-thirds of what people of a similar educational background earn. That is the dilemma Chile tried to confront in 2002 … [Read more...] about Keeping the Best Teachers: Is Money the Answer?
Mexico: Growth of a Multi-Party System
By Mauricio Báez and Katherine Poole For 71 years, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) held sway over virtually every aspect of Mexican life. It was, in the words of writer and Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, "the perfect dictatorship.” But Mexico has undergone a dramatic evolution. Since 2000, the PRI has alternated in power with the right wing National Action … [Read more...] about Mexico: Growth of a Multi-Party System
Do Term Limits Benefit Voters?
When allies of President Horacio Cartes tried to force an amendment through Paraguay's congress last year to allow him to run for a second term, rioters took to the streets and set fire to Congress, illustrating in particularly dramatic fashion the sharp divisions around term limits. Cartes eventually decided not to run again, but he may have been the exception. In recent … [Read more...] about Do Term Limits Benefit Voters?