Crucial Needs, Weak Incentives: Social Sector Reform, Democratization, and Globalization in Latin America

by Kaufman, Robert R.; Nelson, Joan M.

• ISBN13: 9780801880490
• ISBN10: 0801880491
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-10-13
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr

Summary

Crucial Needs, Weak Incentives studies the politics of efforts to reform education and health services in Latin America in the 1990s. Both sectors were common targets of reform -- education because of its economic importance, health care because of needs to reduce great inequities of access and opportunities to increase domestic savings presented by reforms. Both sectors also have large numbers of unionized public employees, whose presence affects patronage as well as political power. The book presents case studies that offer a wealth of new information not previously accessible to the English-speaking academic and policy community. For health care, these cover Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Peru; for eductaion, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Four chapters by the editors set out for each sector the goals, structure, and outcomes of reform efforts. Contributors are Marta Arretche, Josefina Bruni Celli, Mary A. Clark, Javier Corrales, Sonia M. Draibe, Christina Ewig, Alec Ian Gershberg, Alejandra Gonzalez Rossetti, Merilee S. Grindle, Peter Lloyd-Sherlock, Pamela S. Lowden, and Patricia Ramirez.

Author Biography

Robert R. Kaufman is a professor of political science at Rutgers University. Joan M. Nelson is a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a scholar in residence at the School of International Service at American University.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures	ix
Acknowledgments	xiii
List of Abbreviations and Acronyms	xv
Introduction: The Political Challenges of Social Sector Reform	1	(22)
Robert R. Kaufman
Joan M. Nelson
Part One The Politics of Health Sector Reform
The Politics of Health Sector Reform: Cross-National Comparisons	23	(42)
Joan M. Nelson
Change Teams and Vested Interests: Social Security Health Reform in Mexico	65	(28)
Alejandra Gonzalez Rossetti
Ambitious Plans, Modest Outcomes: The Politics of Health Care Reform in Argentina	93	(31)
Peter Lloyd-Sherlock
A Sweeping Health Reform: The Quest for Unification, Coverage, and Efficiency in Colombia	124	(31)
Patricia Ramirez
Toward a Unified and More Equitable System: Health Reform in Brazil	155	(34)
Marta Arretche
Reinforcing a Public System: Health Sector Reform in Costa Rica	189	(28)
Mary A. Clark
Piecemeal but Innovative: Health Sector Reform in Peru	217	(32)
Christina Ewig
Part Two The Politics of Education Sector Reform
The Politics of Education Sector Reform: Cross-National Comparisons	249	(34)
Robert R. Kaufman
Joan M. Nelson
Interests, Institutions, and Reformers: The Politics of Education Decentralization in Mexico	283	(32)
Merilee S. Grindle
Multiple Preferences, Variable Strengths: The Politics of Education Reform in Argentina	315	(35)
Javier Corrales
Education Reform in Colombia: The Elusive Quest for Effectiveness	350	(25)
Pamela S. Lowden
Federal Leverage in a Decentralized System: Education Reform in Brazil	375	(32)
Sonia M. Draibe
Empowering Parents while Making Them Pay: Autonomous Schools and Education Reform Processes in Nicaragua	407	(31)
Alec Ian Gershberg
Innovation and Frustration: Education Reform in Venezuela	438	(35)
Josefina Bruni Celli
Part Three Conclusions
Conclusions: The Political Dynamics of Reform	473	(48)
Robert R. Kaufman
Joan M. Nelson
List of Contributors	521	(4)
Index	525