Public Finances, Stabilization and Structural Reform in Latin America

Résumé du livre

The relationship between macroeconomic developments and the management of public finances played a key role in Latin America's economic crisis and subsequent recovery. Public Finances, Stabilization and Structural Reform in Latin America examines the fiscal deficits and balance of payments problems of the 1980s as well as the macroeconomic reforms that have since stabilized many of the region's economies. The book examines how overvalued exchange rates in the region reduced the tax base and tax revenues. It also looks at the fiscal impact of specific elements of the reform process, such as decentralization and privatization. Studies of four countries - Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico - extract long-term trends with respect to the management of public finances, particularly tax systems. However, differences in initial conditions, economic structures and management of economic and fiscal policy point to the importance of tailoring recommendations to the specific circumstances of each country's economy.