Alex Segura-Ubiergo

The Puzzle of Brazil's High Interest Rates

This paper highlights that real interest rates in Brazil have declined substantially over time, but are still well above the average of emerging market inflation targeting regimes. The adoption of an inflation-targeting regime and better economic fundamentals (reduction in inflation volatility and improvements in the fiscal and external positions) has helped Brazil sustain significantly lower real interest rates than in the past. Going forward, the paper shows that Brazil can converge towards lower equilibrium real interest rates if domestic savings increase to the level of other emerging market countries. The effect is particularly pronounced if the increase in domestic savings is achieved through higher levels of public savings. Still, econometric results suggest that, controlling for everything else in the model, real interest rates in Brazil are about two full percentage points higher than in other countries in the sample, suggesting that there are still Brazil-specific factors that have not been captured by the empirical analysis. Some of these factors may include credit market segmentation and inflation inertia generated by still pervasive indexation practices.

Globalização, política interna e gasto social na América Latina: uma Análise de corte transversal com série temporal, 1973-1997

This study examines the effects of globalization, democratization, and partisanship on social spending in 14 Latin American countries from 1973 to 1997, using a pooled time-series error-correction model. Weexamine three sets of issues. First, following debates in the literature on OECD countries, we want to know whether social spending has been encouraged or constrained by integration into global markets. Within this context, we examine the extent to which such outcomes might be influenced by two additional sets of domestic political and institutional factors discussed in work on developed countries: the electoral pressures of democratic institutions, and whether or not popularly-based governments are in power. We show that trade integration has a consistently negative effect on aggregate social spending, and that this is compounded by openness to capital markets. This is the strongest and most robust finding in our study. Neither democratic nor popularly-based governments consistently affect overall social spending. We then disaggregate spending into social security transfers and expenditures health and education. We find that popularly-based governments tend to protect social security transfers, which tend to flow disproportionately to their unionized constituencies, but have a negative impact on health and education spending. Conversely, the change to democracy leads to increases in health and education spending, which reaches a larger segment of the population. We conclude by emphasizing the contrasting political logics of the different types of social spending.

Reforming Government Subsidies in the New Member States of the European Union

Subsidy reform has been a key component of the pre-accession reform agenda of the 10 new member states that joined the EU in 2004 (EU-10). During the pre-accession period, these countries had to undertake a number of important structural reforms in their economies. One of the most critical reforms was to reduce, and in some cases, eliminate their subsidy programs. This paper analyzes how key subsidy reforms (in state aid to enterprises, agriculture, energy, and transportation) were carried out in the EU-10 during 1995–2005, and explains observed variations across types of subsidies and across countries. Based on an extensive qualitative analysis, the paper draws lessons for future successful reforms of government subsidies. 32B

Postconflict Countries Strategy for Rebuilding Fiscal Institutions

One of the most destructive effects of conflicts is the damage they inflict on the social, economic (including fiscal and monetary), legal, and political organization of a society; that is, its ‘institutions’. In particular, conflicts affect at least five market-supporting institutions: property rights, regulatory institutions, institutions for macroeconomic stabilization, institutions for social insurance, and institutions for conflict management (Rodrik 2000b). Recent empirical evidence shows a strong relationship between these market-supporting institutions and economic growth (Acemoglu et al. 2003; North 1990; Olson 1993; Rodrik 2004; Rodrik et al. 2002). Hence, institutional reconstruction and development is one of the key priorities in the post-conflict era. Re-establishing institutions can help to sustain peace by laying the groundwork for a resumption of economic activity. Sustained peace, in turn, can further accelerate the process of recovery in the aftermath of conflict.

Real Exchange Rate Appreciation in Emerging Markets: Can Fiscal Policy Help?

A number of emerging markets have experienced substantial real exchange rate appreciation in recent years, generating concerns about competitiveness and prompting policymakers to respond with a combination of mitigating policies. This paper shows that fiscal policy can play a role in alleviating these pressures. Using a sample of 28 emerging market economies over 1983-2011, we estimate a dynamic model of the real exchange rate and find that a permanent fiscal adjustment may reduce appreciation pressures over the long term. Furthermore, the composition of public spending matters, with reductions in current spending playing a key role. To illustrate the importance of these findings, the paper focuses on the case of Brazil. Our results suggest that maintaining fiscal discipline while increasing public investment in Brazil is likely to ease real appreciation pressures, highlighting the importance of tackling long-standing budget rigidities.