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Infrastructure Compression and Public Sector Solvency in Latin America

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Author Info
César Calderón
William Easterly
Luis Servén

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Abstract

Public investment and infrastructure spending are often singled out for drastic cuts at times of fiscal retrenchment. Fiscal austerity in Latin America during the 1980s and 1990s was characterized by a sharp contraction in infrastructure spending. In 5 of the 9 major Latin American countries, infrastructure investment cuts contributed half or more of the total fiscal adjustment. However, the compression of infrastructure spending does not guarantee the sustainability of the public sector. Infrastructure spending cuts not only reduce the public deficit (thereby raising the public sector’s net worth) but also leads to a decline in infrastructure stock accumulation and in output growth as well. This in turn implies a reduction in the economy’s debt-servicing capacity, thus weakening the public sector net worth (Easterly, 2001). In the present paper we quantitatively assess the growth cost of public infrastructure compression for major Latin American economies during the fiscal austerity period of the 1980s and 1990s, and examine the effectiveness of infrastructure spending cuts as a device to enhance public sector solvency.

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Paper provided by Central Bank of Chile in its series Working Papers Central Bank of Chile with number 187.

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Date of creation: Oct 2002
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Handle: RePEc:chb:bcchwp:187

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  1. Lars-Hendrik Roller & Leonard Waverman, 2001. "Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Development: A Simultaneous Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 909-923, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  1. Jensen, Olivia & Blanc-Brude, Frederic, 2006. "The handshake : why do governments and firms sign private sector participation deals ? Evidence from the water and sanitation sector in developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3937, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  2. Jamasb, T. & Mota, R. & Newbery, D. & Pollitt, M., 2004. "‘Electricity Sector Reform in Developing Countries: A Survey of Empirical Evidence on Determinants and Performance’," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0439, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge. [Downloadable!]
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  3. Ferreira, Pedro Cavalcanti Gomes & Araújo, Carlos Hamilton Vasconcelos, 2006. "On the Economic and Fiscal Effects of Infrastructure Investment in Brazil," Economics Working Papers (Ensaios Economicos da EPGE) 613, Graduate School of Economics, Getulio Vargas Foundation (Brazil). [Downloadable!]
  4. Norman Loayza & Raimundo Soto, 2003. "Market-Oriented Reforms: Definitions and Measurement," Documentos de Trabajo 237, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.. [Downloadable!]
  5. Suescun, Rodrigo, 2005. "Fiscal space for investment in infrastructure in Colombia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3629, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  6. Calderon, Cesar & Serven, Luis, 2004. "The effects of infrastructure development on growth and income distribution," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3400, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  7. Loayza, Norman V. & Soto, Raimundo, 2004. "On the measurement of market-oriented reforms," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3371, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  8. Igal Magendzo, 2004. "Determinantes de la Inversión en Chile," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 303, Central Bank of Chile. [Downloadable!]
  9. Gill, Indermit & Pinto, Brian, 2005. "Public debt in developing countries : has the market-based model worked?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3674, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  10. Luis Serven & César Calderon, 2004. "The Effects of Infrastructure Development on Growth and income," Econometric Society 2004 Latin American Meetings 173, Econometric Society. [Downloadable!]
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