The Political and Institutional Determinants of Social Policy A Transactions Framework

Latin American countries (among many others) face tremendous social problems. A strategy to address those problems is the key challenge for these polities. At this point, there is no shortage of (reasonably sound) technical advice on these matters by international organizations and other actors, yet progress is quite limited in many cases. Most recently, attention has turned to the role of institutions, particularly political institutions, in shaping the qualities of public policies – for instance Inter-American Development Bank (2000) and the World Bank’s World Development Report 2000/01.