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Few propositions in economics are as widely accepted as the theory of comparative advantage: If two countries have a comparative advantage in the production of different goods and services, trade can be welfare-enhancing for both. But trade policy has always been controversial in Latin America, as it is not made by academic economists but by politicians who need to gather and maintain the support of constituents who in some cases have much to lose or gain from different trade policies. This book walks the reader through a complex thicket of contending interests and disparate political institutions to analyze why Latin American governments make the trade policies they do. Its chapters show how an array of different governments have attempted to navigate frequently conflicting interests and ideas, and how different institutional arrangements impinge on trade policy design and outcomes. It is to be hoped that the experiences analyzed here can inform the making of future policy and, perhaps, help improve it.

After the great liberalization and structural reforms that started in the 1980s, most of Latin America has failed in its attempts to transition from a commodity-based to a highly diversified, knowledge-intensive economy. Mexico (and specifically the state of Jalisco) and Costa Rica are partial exceptions to this trend: both economies have developed diversified, high-complexity, knowledge-intensive export sectors on the basis, mostly, of FDI by MNCs. Neither region has been fully transformed into a modern, high-productivity economy. The sources of their relative success, but also the limiting factors that have prevented them from achieving wider economic transformation are explored in this chapter.

This paper provides a general characterization of overall power regulation and a detailed characterization of the ongoing evolution of distributed rooftop photovoltaic (PV) regulation in Costa Rica. The paper further develops rooftop PV adoption models for several classes of consumers and evaluates maximum adoption rates under current regulations and alternative regulations, evaluating the impact on the cash flow of distribution utilities under each scenario. The paper subsequently assesses the institutional architecture of power regulation in Costa Rica and contrasts it with international best practices / regulatory consensus. Finally, the paper offers policy recommendations that might help Costa Rica achieve a better balance between conflicting regulatory goals through changes in regulatory rules and institutions.

Productive development policies (PDPs) are notoriously hard. They involve a daunting level of technical detail, require public-private collaboration, are in constant danger of capture, and demand time consistency hard to achieve in a politically volatile region. Nevertheless, the potential of PDPs to revitalize the region’s economic performance and spur productivity growth cannot be ignored. This book takes an in-depth look at 17 cases involving productive development agencies from Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica and Uruguay, identifying key features of institutional design and agency-level practices that make success more likely in this difficult policy arena. Careful study of these experiences might help successful productive development policies gain currency across the region. The cases in this book should not be seen as the exceptions that prove the rule of lackluster PDP performance, but rather as examples that demonstrate the rule can be broken.

This paper explores the development of public sector capabilities for Productive Development Policies in Costa Rica through four case studies of successful experiences, with less successful cases presented as counterfactuals. To some extent the paper tests the Technical, Organizational and Political Capabilities (TOP) conceptual framework of Cornick (2013), suggesting adjustments and extensions of that framework. Strong commonalities are found among the cases, notably high technical and political capabilities. All cases likewise involve well-managed organizations, but identifying organizational capabilities proved difficult. While the TOP Capabilities framework may be useful for understanding institutional performance, it has three major weaknesses: i) organizational capabilities are not clearly defined; ii) it does not provide tools for identifying and measuring capabilities ties independently of institutional performance; and iii) it needs to be integrated into a more general framework that takes into account the interactions among the political economy, the Policy Making Process, the institutional setup and TOP capabilities.

This paper explores the development of public sector capabilities for Productive Development Policies in Costa Rica through four case studies of successful experiences, with less successful cases presented as counterfactuals. To some extent the paper tests the Technical, Organizational and Political Capabilities (TOP) conceptual framework of Cornick (2013), suggesting adjustments and extensions of that framework. Strong commonalities are found among the cases, notably high technical and political capabilities. All cases likewise involve well-managed organizations, but identifying organizational capabilities proved difficult. While the TOP Capabilities framework may be useful for understanding institutional performance, it has three major weaknesses: i) organizational capabilities are not clearly defined; ii) it does not provide tools for identifying and measuring capabilities ties independently of institutional performance; and iii) it needs to be integrated into a more general framework that takes into account the interactions among the political economy, the Policy Making Process, the institutional setup and TOP capabilities.

This paper discusses the organizational structure and technical, operational and political capabilities required for successful productive development policies (PDPs). It also discusses how countries can match their PDPs to existing capabilities, as well as expand their capabilities in the long run. The specific difficulties associated with PDPs are also discussed.

This paper explores the development of public sector capabilities for Productive Development Policies in Costa Rica through four case studies of successful experiences, with less successful cases presented as counterfactuals. To some extent the paper tests the Technical, Organizational and Political Capabilities (TOP) conceptual framework of Cornick (2013), suggesting adjustments and extensions of that framework. Strong commonalities are found among the cases, notably high technical and political capabilities. All cases likewise involve well-managed organizations, but identifying organizational capabilities proved difficult. While the TOP Capabilities framework may be useful for understanding institutional performance, it has three major weaknesses: i) organizational capabilities are not clearly defined; ii) it does not provide tools for identifying and measuring capabilities ties independently of institutional performance; and iii) it needs to be integrated into a more general framework that takes into account the interactions among the political economy, the Policy Making Process, the institutional setup and TOP capabilities.

This paper discusses the organizational structure and technical, operational and political capabilities required for successful productive development policies (PDPs). It also discusses how countries can match their PDPs to existing capabilities, as well as expand their capabilities in the long run. The specific difficulties associated with PDPs are also discussed.

La política fiscal en América Central enfrenta serios problemas. Los niveles actuales de inversión en infraestructura y de gasto público en educación, salud y seguridad son claramente insuficientes frente a lo que se requiere para impulsar un proceso sostenido de crecimiento con bienestar y equidad en un contexto de globalización y democracia. Verificar de manera sistemática, pública y comprensiva la eficacia con que se utilizan los recursos públicos en el ámbito nacional y local para alcanzar los resultados y las metas de desarrollo es todavía una asignatura pendiente.

Public-private collaboration in productive development policy in Costa Rica frequently takes the form of policy co-governance: an autonomous institution in charge of policy for a particular economic sector is created, with a board of directors comprising representatives from both the public and the private sectors, often with the public sector in a minority position. This paper analyzes five cases of co-governance: tourism, fisheries, rice, coffee, and the attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI). When co-governance has been used in conjunction with market discipline and as a means to discover and remove obstacles to higher productivity, as in tourism and FDI attraction, PDPs have been quite successful. When, on the contrary, it has been used to shield producers from market discipline or to allow unsustainable use of natural resources, as in rice and fisheries, they have turned into failures. Coffee stands in between, with considerable social achievements but only modest competitiveness achievements.

The dairy products industry is adjusting the types of products being marketed by increasing the availability of reduced-fat foods. The desire of consumers to purchase foods with lower fat content is affecting the cheese market with the introduction of recently developed reduced-fat cheese varieties. Econometric models of cheese expenditures for three specific cheese types are estimated, which incorporate censoring of cheese expenditures and the interrelationship between expenditures of full and reduced-fat varieties. Le secteur des produits laitiers s'adapte a la demande a la consommation pour des aliments a teneur reduite en matieres grasses. Cette evolution est en train de toucher le marche du fromage, comme le revele l'arrivee recente de nouvelles varietes de fromage a basse teneur en matieres grasses. Les autres presentent des modeles ecnometriques des depenses affectees e trois types de formuges, comportant une censurisation des depenses en fromage et l'interrelation entre les delpenses accordees aux fromages a teneur en matieres grasses normale et celles devolues aux varietes a i teneur reduite.

We formulate an econometric model of fluid milk expenditures, taking into account two important characteristics: expenditures may be censored at zero and may be interdependent across milk type. Censoring of fluid milk expenditures is addressed with a generalized Tobit system estimator. Interdependence of milk expenditures is examined through a likelihood function with no restrictions on elements of the Engel curve error covariance matrix. Expenditure function parameters are estimated using a March 1991 to March 1992 U.S. consumer panel.

RESEÑA INTERPRETATIVAMENTE LOS LOGROS Y AJUSTES DEL PROCESO DE MODERNIZACIÓN DEL ESTADO EN COSTA RICA Y SU INCIDENCIA EN LA GESTIÓN PÚBLICA, LA CAPACIDAD INSTITUCIONAL, LA PRODUCTIVIDAD DEL GASTO Y EL FINANCIAMIENTO DEL SECTOR PÚBLICO.

POSTULA LA ADMINISTRACIÓN FINANCIERA MODERNA ES EL REQUISITO PARA LA MODERNIZACIÓN DEL APARATO ESTATAL EN SU CONJUNTO, PUNTO CLAVE PARA RASGOS CENTRALES DE UNA GESTIÓN MODERNA DE LAS FINANZAS PÚBLICAS: GESTIÓN DE LOS INGRESOS, EQUILIBRIO FISCAL Y GESTIÓN DEL GASTO.

Las políticas industriales a menudo han causado más daño que beneficio. El nuevo marco conceptual presentado en este libro permite a los países adoptar las políticas de desarrollo productivo necesarias para prosperar, evitando caer en los errores del pasado. El libro replantea el desarrollo productivo a través de la investigación de las fallas de mercado que impiden la transformación y de las fallas de gobierno que pueden convertir a los remedios de políticas en algo peor que los males de mercado. Utilizando un marco conceptual simple, basado en el alcance y naturaleza del enfoque de políticas, los autores sistemáticamente analizan las políticas de los países en áreas clave como innovación, empresas nuevas, financiamiento, capital humano e internacionalización. Reconociendo que incluso las mejores políticas fallarán sin la capacidad técnica, organizacional y política para implementarlas, el libro concluye con ideas sobré cómo diseñar instituciones con los incentivos adecuados, incrementar las capacidades del sector público a lo largo del tiempo y promover una constructiva colaboración público-privada.

"Recaudar para crecer" aboga por un sistema tributario que garantice una recaudación acorde con las necesidades de desarrollo y que ayude a superar el enorme rezago centroamericano frente a las buenas prácticas internacionales en materia tributaria. Consiste en una serie de estudios preparados en el marco del proyecto de cooperación técnica regional "Reforma tributaria para el desarrollo humano en Centroamérica y República Dominicana", ejecutado por el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo con financiamiento de la Agencia Sueca para el Desarrollo Internacional (ASDI) y la Agencia Noruega para el Desarrollo Internacional (NORAD). El libro contiene siete capítulos. El primero presenta las razones que sustentan la reforma tributaria en Centroamérica en términos del papel del Estado en el desarrollo humano, la sostenibilidad fiscal y los desafíos de la nueva inserción internacional. El segundo capítulo efectúa un diagnóstico comparativo de la situación tributaria regional e indica cursos de acción concretos para el mejoramiento de los sistemas impositivos con miras a aumentar la recaudación, hacerlos más progresivos y mejorar sus características técnicas. Los cinco capítulos siguientes analizan, cada uno, la situación y perspectivas de los sistemas tributarios de Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras y Nicaragua, proponiendo alternativas de reforma de la mayor relevancia y rigor técnico.