Description
A frequent measure recommended by the international financial institutions in their structural adjustment programs for developing countries is using cutbacks in infrastructure spending as a means to fiscal adjustment. Easterly (economics, New York U.) and Servén (the World Bank) present six chapters exploring the major facets of infrastructure spending in Latin America over the past two decades. Contributors find that major high-return projects were mistakenly cut, that the privatization of infrastructure has had mixed results, and that fiscal austerity centered on the sale of public assets and the compression of expenditures is not a promising approach towards Latin America's public finances. Co-published by Stanford U. Press and the World Bank. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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Latin America's macroeconomic crises of the 1980s and '90s forced a severe fiscal adjustment across the region. More often than not, fiscal stability was achieved at the cost of a drastic compression of public infrastructure spending, accompanied by the hope that the private sector would take the leading role in infrastructure provision.This book documents the major trends in infrastructure provision in Latin America over the past two decades n order to assess the consequences of this changed public-private partnership from the perspective of economic growth, public finances, and the quantity and quality of infrastructure services. It will be of particular interest to those in the fields of infrastructure, fiscal policy, and economic growth, and anyone concerned with Latin America's development.For orders originating outside of North America, please visit the World Bank website for a list of distributors and geographic discounts at http://publications.worldbank.org/howtoorder or e-mail pubdistributors@worldbank.org.
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