Political Determinants of State Capacity in Latin America

Abstract

In this article, we argue that þÿ b o t h d e m o c r a c y a n d g o v e r n m e n t s partisanship have had a bearing on state capacity in Latin America.We also maintain that state capacity is a condition rooted in history and society: it can be built or purposefully undermined. In particular, Dear Editors, Please find enclosed our manuscript, "Political Determinants of State Capacity in Latin America )", which we would like to submit for publication in World Development.In this article, we argue that both democracy and governments' partisanship have had a bearing on state capacity in Latin America. We also maintain that state capacity is a condition rooted in history and society: it can be built or purposefully undermined. In particular, in Latin America parties of the left have frequently operated to reallocate social and political clout in favor of underprivileged groups: the inclusion of the latter in the political process helped states to thwart pressures from dominant elites opposing redistribution and tax increases. These mobilized groups have also pushed for universal public services, as high-quality education, health care or public housing, which required well-functioning administrations and an adequate institutional capacity, thus contributing to consolidate stateness in the area. Whereas previous qualitative studies analyzed the mechanisms that relate democracy and political partisanship to state capacity, we test this hypothesis quantitatively. To this end, we estimate the effect over time of democracy, political parties and other socio-demographic factors on a composite measure of stateness, obtaining supportive evidence: in particular, we find that higher democracy levels and left-leaning governments favored the growth of state strength in the area between 1975 and 2009 and discuss these findings with reference to the political experience of Latin America. We believe our findings would appeal to the readership of WD for both methodological and substantive reasons. We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. Davide Grassi and Vincenzo Memoli Short Bio State CapacityState capacity is a thorny concept, arduous to define and operationalize: in fact, there is greater scholarly agreement on key features of the state than on how to operationalize such features or the concept of the state itself (Carbone 2013, p. 6).In the last few years, however, political scientists and sociologists have engaged in an extensive and critical debate:7 while failing to yield a common position, the ongoing discussion Other indicators, finally, show the link between actual revenue collection and the expected tax yield, given GDP per capita, mineral production, exports and additional relevant factors. Independent and control variablesWe decided to use a minimalist notion of democracy to avoid merging attributes of political authority and state qualities 14 We begin with a descriptive analysis of the trend of stateness (Fig. 1). This impression is strengthened by a graphic assessment of the wa...

Evolution and early government responses to COVID-19 in South America

“…The development of the state capacity in Latin America during the twentieth century is usually associated with historical processes ( Luna, 2020 , Mahoney, 2010 ), as well as with socioeconomic inequalities and lack of trust in institutions ( Centeno, 2009 , Grassi and Memoli, 2016 ). State capacity is related with the idea of infrastructural power, which in turn is associated with the control exercised by a state, the ability to implement public policies and to enforce the established norms ( Soifer & vom Hau, 2008 ; see also Soifer, 2015 , Mann, 1993 ).…”

The dual role of state capacity in opening socio-political orders: assessment of different elements of state capacity in Belarus and Ukraine

“…Yet in regimes where an autocrat is a monopolist on rent extraction, bad institutions will serve to maintain this monopoly, ensuring there is "bad enough governance" (2016, 138-139; see also Gel'man 2017). Furthermore, there is growing body of evidence showing that, in general, higher level of democracy increases state capacity (Carbone and Memoli 2015;Grassi and Memoli 2016). D'Arcy and Nistotskaya challenge the notion of high state capacity autocracies from a different perspective.…”

Combating Inequality: Is There a “Scandinavian Way” to Reduce Inequality in Latin America?

“…This generated a large number of conflicts and tensions as well as inefficiencies and abuses that hampered the sustainability of the projects of redistribution. However, as shown by the existing serious attempts at measuring state capacity, it is increasing in most countries in Latin America, providing some hopes for future improvement in services as well as ability to tax (Grassi and Memoli 2016).…”