Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-ph5wq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-19T08:53:27.385Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Institutions and development: what a difference geography and time make!

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2011

KENNETH P. JAMESON*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

Abstract:

Ha-Joon Chang, in his article ‘Institutions and Economic Development: Theory, Policy, and History’, provides a description and critique of the mainstream view of institutions and development. It applies well to Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s. However, the effort to introduce these Anglo-American institutional structures (Global Standard Institutions; GSIs) in the 1980s and 1990s resulted in uneven and unstable economic performance, not development. As a result, the relationship among institutions, development and economic policy in Latin America today has generally moved far beyond this ‘mainstream’. The institutions to insure macro stability have generally been preserved, and some countries do follow GSI prescriptions. However in most countries, especially in South America, the effort to find the right mix of institutions for development has moved far beyond this mainstream. The result has been innovative initiatives to address more fundamental development issues such as inequality, property rights and international economic institutions. This process is likely to continue, facilitated by the currently robust democratic political systems that grew out of the earlier turmoil.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The JOIE Foundation 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bhatnagar, D., Kanungo, P., Rathore, A., and Torres, M. M. (2010), ‘Participatory Budgeting In Brazil’, http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEMPOWERMENT/Resources/14657_Partic-Budg-Brazil-web.pdf (accessed 12 October 2010).Google Scholar
Birdsall, N. and de la Torre, A., with Menezes, R. (2001), Washington Contentious: Economic Policies for Social Equity in Latin America, Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Inter-American Dialogue.Google Scholar
Chang, H. (2011), ‘Institutions and Economic Development: Theory, Policy and History’, Journal of Institutional Economics, 7 (4): doi:10.1017/S1744137410000378.Google Scholar
DeFeo, C. (2010), ‘ALBA: How Much of a Turn to the Left in Latin American Governance and Economic Policy?’, Washington, DC: Council on Hemispheric Affairs.Google Scholar
Ferreira, F. H. G. and Robalino, D. (2010), ‘Social Protection in Latin America: Achievements and Limitations’, IBRD, Policy Research Working Paper 5305, Washington, DC: The World Bank.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jameson, K. P. (2011), ‘The Indigenous Movement in Ecuador: The Struggle for a Plurinational State’, Latin American Perspectives, 38 (1): 6373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mather, S. (2010), ‘Venezuela Pays for First ALBA Trade with Ecuador in New Regional Currency’, Venezuela Analysis, 7 July 2010, http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/5480 (accessed 4 October 2010).Google Scholar
NotiSur (2009), ‘Region: Unasur Makes Headway in Integration Efforts’, 17 April 2009, Albuquerque, NM: LADB, https://ladb.unm.edu/publication/ViewArticle/article_id/050870 (accessed 4 October 2010).Google Scholar
Planas, R. (2010), ‘UNASUR Finds a Role in Conflict Mediation’, World Politics Review, http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/6623/unasur-finds-a-role-in-conflict-mediation (accessed 10 October 2010).Google Scholar
Williamson, J. (1990), Latin American Adjustment: How Much Has Happened?, Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics.Google Scholar
Wise, T. A. (2010), ‘Small-Scale Farmers and Development: Assume a Different Economic Model’, Triple Crisis Blog, http://triplecrisis.com/small-scale-farmers-and-development/ (accessed 18 October 2010).Google Scholar