Subject: International

Compiled by Susan LaCette.International.pdf: 820 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

The Globalisation and its Implications for the Economic Development of Latin America

The process of globalisation has in several ways an impact on the Latin American Economies. The recent developments give a carefully optimistic view on the economic consequences for these countries. While all of the Latin American nations still lag behind the industrialised countries with respect to their integration into global information networks, the digital divide seems to be narrowing in the near future. Concerning the trade and production structure most countries of the region are moving towards a higher degree of diversity while industrialisation and modernisation are progressing. While capital inflows into the region have spurred growth, the experience of the financial crisis in the emerging markets during the second half of the 90s showed the necessity of creating sound financial institutions. In addition other institutions e.g. in the field of education, administration and jurisdiction have to be built up for ensuring the possible benefits of a globalised world.globalisation, Latin America, information technology, trade, investment, institutions

Independent regulatory agencies in emerging economies

While the diffusion of independent regulatory agencies (IRAs) across economically advanced countries has attracted much scholarly attention in recent years, systematic work on their spread across developing countries is still scarce. In an effort to address this gap in literature, this paper aims to analyze the diffusion of regulatory agencies in emerging economies in Latin America, Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe. At this early stage of our research, we aim to emprically map out regulatory agencies in economic regulation sectors (e.g. competition, finance, and utilities/infrastructure) enjoying some degree of autonomy or independence in emerging economies, rather than limiting our focus solely on those that meet all the criteria for independence in the strictest definition of the term. Such exploratory analysis constitutes the first step towards studying processes of diffusion in general and the mechanisms that lead to the creation of regulatory agencies in these economies in particular. The second objective of this paper is to examine the mechanisms which we expect to be at work in the spread of IRAs in the selected emerging economies. We argue that despite the creation of a number of agencies in the countries concerned before 1990, diffusion has become evident and “interdependent”, as opposed to spurious in the 1990s.independent regulatory agencies; emerging economies

Competitiveness and Growth of the Mexican Economy.

We address the role that deep, structural factors may have as determinants of Mexico’s economic growth. We argue that Mexico’s poor growth performance appears to be associated not only with shorter-run events such as the "lost decade" of the eighties, but also with supply-side features of the economy that have been present for at least four decades. Mexico’s low competitiveness and poor growth potential seem to reflect an institutional framework that tends to support rigid, non-competitive market structures, and incentives that promote the allocation of resources towards unproductive rent-seeking activities relatively more than into investment, production, productivity, and adoption of superior technologies. We present examples of input markets where we believe these issues are central. We conclude that solving this situation requires microeconomic policies that lead to fundamental changes in the incentive structure of the economy.Competitiveness and growth, productivity, efficiency, comparative advantage.

Infrastructure services in developing countries : access, quality, costs and policy reform

The authors review the evidence on the state of infrastructure in the developing world, emphasizing the investment needs and the emerging policy issues. While their assessment is seriously constrained by data gaps, they provide useful insights on the main challenges ahead, emphasizing that, in addition to the widely discussed access problems, the poorest also face major affordability and service quality issues which were not well addressed by the reforms of the 1990s. The authors make a case for a stronger commitment of the international community to generate the information needed to assess and monitor infrastructure needs and policies.Health Economics&Finance,Decentralization,Environmental Economics&Policies,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Banks&Banking Reform,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Health Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Urban Services to the Poor,Urban Services to the Poor

Regulatory effectiveness : the impact of regulation and regulatory governance arrangements on electricity industry outcomes

The authors review a number of studies on the effectiveness of utility regulatory agency and governance arrangements for the electricity industry, particularly for developing countries. They discuss governance criteria and their measurement, both legal frameworks and surveys of regulatory practice. They also discuss the results from econometric studies of effectiveness for regulatory agencies in the electricity and telecommunications industries and compare these with the results from econometric studies of independent central banks and their governance. The authors conclude with a discussion of policy implications and of priorities for information collection to improve understanding of these issues.National Governance,Banks&Banking Reform,Governance Indicators,Administrative&Regulatory Law,Municipal Financial Management

Reform and Regulation of the Electricity Sectors in Developing Countries

Reform and Regulation of the Electricity Sectors in Developing Countrie