"In the last decade the issue of the optimal degree of central bank independence has been at the center of attention of academics and policymakers in many countries. The direction of institutional reform has almost universally been toward making central banks more independent from political pressure. The motivation of this move is linked to an increased emphasis on price stability as the main or only goal of monetary ...

The rules that govern the budget process are important determinants of fiscal outcomes, with potentially important macroeconomic implications. This paper starts with a review of the theoretical underpinnings of the effects of budget processes and the main empirical evidence. After a brief institutional description of the Colombian budget process, an assessment and proposals for reform are made. The main issues analyzed ...

"Public education is one of the largest components of the public sector in Colombia, in term of its size, share of public expenditures, and geographic coverage. In 1997, Colombia had 85 thousand educational establishments, 390 thousand teachers, and 8.6 million students. In addition, public school teachers and educational staff comprise the highest percentage of public sector employment. During the last half of the ...

"In the 1990 s descentralization in Colombia, a process which had begun a decade earlier, was sharply accelerated. The percentage of current Central Government revenues that are automatically transferred to the regional ...

"We attempt to spell out the causes and costs of Colombia´s crime situation. Homicide rates are the highest in the world, three times higher than those of Brazil - Mexico and ten times higher than those of other Latin American countries. Paradoxically, Colombia is not exceptional with relation to property crime. In recent years, homicide rates have dropped in some of the most violent regions. Our conclusion is that ...

"En este estudio, nosotros evaluamos la estructura legal e institucional del gobierno colombiano. En particular, queremos determinar cómo puede estructurarse un sistema de división de poderes institucional para promover el imperio de la ley, preservar los derechos de propiedad, y estimular el crecimiento económico. La Constitución de 1991 realmente hace compromisos loables sobre estos objetivos. No obstante, debido a ...

En este estudio, nosotros evaluamos la estructura legal e institucional del gobierno colombiano. En particular, queremos determinar cómo puede estructurarse un sistema de división de poderes institucional para promover el imperio de la ley, preservar los derechos de propiedad, y estimular el crecimiento económico. La Constitución de 1991 realmente hace compromisos loables sobre estos objetivos. No obstante, debido a ...

Descentralization has meny benefits, but it can also weaken fiscal discipline, specifically, expectations on the possibility of a bailout by central government create incentives for fiscal misbehavior, fiscal discipline does not pay because it carries a smaller expected bailout. In Colombia the substantial transfer form the central government to the sub-regions created structural expenditure pressures and irresponsible ...

"Since the 1960s Colombia has exhibited notorius economic stability and institutional continuity. Until rencently, the political system was based on an entreched bipartisan coalition, with little ideological confrontation. Power sharing, which was mandatory during the National Front (NF, 1954-74), lasted until 1991. Coffee, the main export, is a labor-intensive activity, taking place in thousands of family-owned small ...

This technical paper, prepared as a part of FEDESARROLLO's research programme on Colombian economic policy analysis, presents the new database developed for the its long-run Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model. The database takes the form of a detailed Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) estimated for the 1994 year. The dociment list all the relevant data sources and data adjustments that were necessary to archive a ...