State-building and Tax Regimes in Central America

by Schneider, Aaron

• ISBN13: 9781107019096
• ISBN10: 1107019095
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-03-31
• Publisher: Cambridge Univ Pr

Summary

In Central America, dynamic economic actors have inserted themselves into global markets. Elites atop these sectors attempt to advance a state-building project that will allow them to expand their activities and access political power, but they differ in their internal cohesion and their dominance with respect to other groups, especially previously constituted elites and popular sectors. Differences in resulting state-building patterns are expressed in the capacity to mobilize revenues from the most dynamic sectors in quantities sufficient to undertake public endeavors and in a relatively universal fashion across sectors. Historical, quantitative and qualitative detail on the five countries of Central America are followed by a focus on El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. The greatest changes have occurred in El Salvador, and Honduras has made some advances, although they are almost as quickly reversed by incentives, exemptions and special arrangements for particular producers. Guatemala has raised revenues only marginally and failed to address problems of inequity across sectors and between rich and poor.

Author Biography

Aaron Schneider is the Jill H. and Avram A. Glazer Professor of Social Entrepreneurship and Associate Professor of Political Science and Latin American Studies at Tulane University.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	p. vii
List of Acronyms	p. ix
Preface	p. xiii
Revenues, States, and Central America	p. 1
The Nature of Tax	p. 12
The Argument	p. 16
Methodology of Research and Comparison	p. 19
Structure of the Book	p. 23
State-Building in a Globalized Political Economy	p. 25
Globalization	p. 25
State-Building	p. 29
Fiscal Sociology	p. 34
Framework of State-Building and Tax Regimes	p. 40
Conclusion	p. 50
Historical Junctures in Central American State-Building and Tax	p. 52
Central American State-Building Over Time and Across Space	p. 54
Tax Regimes	p. 64
1980s Crisis	p. 75
Conclusion	p. 77
1990s Transnational Integration: Quantitative Evaluation of Socioeconomic Actors, Democratic Institutions, and Tax Regimes	p. 80
Introduction	p. 80
Socioeconomic Actors	p. 83
Political System	p. 92
Fiscal Conditions	p. 99
Conclusion	p. 106
Inside-Out State-Building in El Salvador: Dominant and Cohesive Transnational Elites	p. 109
Introduction	p. 109
Increase Taxes, but Not on the Wealthiest	p. 110
Dominant and Cohesive Transnational Elites	p. 115
Facilitating State-Building	p. 124
Reform Abundance	p. 128
Reforms by Fiat and Retreat	p. 132
Conclusion	p. 135
Outside-In State-Building in Honduras: Dominant but Divided Transnational Elites	p. 137
Increasing Taxes and Tax Breaks	p. 138
Dominant but Divided Transnational Elites	p. 142
Parallel Institutions	p. 155
Reform Cycles	p. 159
Reform from Outside and Erosion	p. 162
Conclusion	p. 169
Crisis in Guatemalan State-Building: Divided, Subordinate Transnational Elites	p. 171
Introduction	p. 171
Emergency Increases, Stagnating Tax	p. 172
Divided and Subordinate Transnational Elites	p. 175
Institutional Obstacles	p. 183
Many Reforms, Little Change	p. 187
Reform Collapse and by Stealth	p. 190
Conclusion	p. 196
Conclusion: Globalization and State-Building in Developing Countries	p. 198
The Politics of Tax Regimes	p. 199
Countervailing Power	p. 203
2009	p. 205
Appendix: Database on Tax Legislation	p. 213
Bibliography	p. 215
Index	p. 239
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