Suchergebnisse

Sovereign debt crises have regained attention since the recent crises in several European countries. This paper focuses on a particular aspect of the debt crisis literature: the impact of sovereign default on economic growth. Previous research agrees on the negative impact, but not on size and duration. We are particularly interested in the heterogeneity of crisis impacts: Why are some crises deeper and longer than others? And what is the role of business cycles? We analyze four Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico) for the period 1870-2012, covering 14 sovereign debt defaults. We find that most sovereign defaults start in recessions, and in unfavorable international circumstances. Economic growth is heavily affected in the year of the default and the year after. Then economic growth picks up, but recovery is far from smooth, including periods of recurrent negative growth. We observe strong heterogeneity in the impact, which we attribute to commodity price changes, economic growth and government expenditure in the run-up to the crisis.

What beliefs do citizens who perceive levels of corruption in their countries to be of significance hold? Do those beliefs arise from their exposure to corruption? Furthermore, do perceptual and experiential corruption decrease the reservoir of legitimacy of a democratic regime? We attempt to answer these questions using the 2012 Americas Barometer survey of 24 Latin American countries. We find that whereas "rational-choice corruptors," males and, to a lesser extent, individuals with resources are particularly exposed to corruption, perceived corruption originates from a sense of impunity derived from a negative evaluation of the state's ability to curb corruption. In addition, we show that perceived corruption significantly decreases citizen satisfaction with democracy, but exposure to corruption does not. AU in all, the policy implications of our study are straightforward: having an efficient and trusted judiciary is central to curbing both experiential and perceived corruption, even if it increases the latter in the short run. Adapted from the source document.

Do Latin American citizens share a common conception of the ideological left-right distinction? And if so, is this conception linked to individuals' ideological self-placement? Selecting questions from the 2006 Latinobarometro survey based on a core definition of the left-right divide rooted in political theory and philosophy, this paper addresses these questions. We apply joint correspondence analysis to explore whether citizens who relate to the same ideological identification also share similar and coherent convictions and beliefs that reflect the ideological content of the left-right distinction. Our analysis indicates that theoretical conceptions about the roots of, and responsibility for, inequality in society, together with the translation of these beliefs into attitudes regarding the state versus market divide, distinguish those who self-identify with the left and those who self-identify with the right. Adapted from the source document.

Many Latin American countries democratized between 1975 and 2000, and research has confirmed that contemporary Latin Americans hold democratic political attitudes. Using America's Barometer surveys of 18 countries from 2008, we examine the commitment of Latin Americans to three democratic attitudes -- preference for democracy over other forms of government, support for general participation rights, and tolerance for participation by system critics. We also explore the impact of personal resources, crime and corruption, evaluation of system performance, social capital, and the sociopolitical context on democratic attitudes. A preference for democracy and support for citizens' participation rights are strong, but tolerance is lower than the other attitudes. Evidence is found for acculturation -- that Latin Americans acquire democratic attitudes by living in democratic regimes and through education. Adapted from the source document.

The books discussed in this review essay all investigate the same basic phenomenon: presidents who do not complete their terms in office, but who are removed without open democratic breakdown. The essay traces the conceptual frameworks used, as they shifted from impeachment to the broader presidential breakdown. It evaluates explanations of the causes of presidential breakdown, and makes suggestions for further research on how the presidential regime type functions. The essay concludes with a call for more empirical investigation of the consequences of presidential breakdown. Adapted from the source document.

Introduces a special journal issue devoted to addressing methodological & theoretical issues related to the topic of Latin American "subnational authoritarianism & democratization." At issue is the measurement & conceptualization of variations in democracy across nation-state jurisdictions & the key mechanisms of continuity & change in subnational authoritarianism in nationally democratic countries. Contributions are discussed in this light. D. Edelman