Political Mandate and Clarity of Responsibility: Economic Policies under Rightist Governments in Latin America
Since the mid-1990s, some rightist governments in Latin America have adhered to a strict market orientation while others have shown less attachment to doctrinaire neoliberal policies, a puzzle as rightists are expected to favor minimal government intervention in the economy. In an environment over t...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2018-06-01
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| Series: | Latin American Research Review |
| Online Access: | https://larrlasa.org/articles/327 |
| _version_ | 1811324782621229056 |
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| author | Glen Biglaiser Ronald J. McGauvran |
| author_facet | Glen Biglaiser Ronald J. McGauvran |
| author_sort | Glen Biglaiser |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Since the mid-1990s, some rightist governments in Latin America have adhered to a strict market orientation while others have shown less attachment to doctrinaire neoliberal policies, a puzzle as rightists are expected to favor minimal government intervention in the economy. In an environment over the past two decades in which market-oriented policies, in general, have grown increasingly unpopular with many Latin Americans, we contend that rightists have less political cover to endorse neoliberal policies. Using panel data for eighteen Latin American countries from 1995 to 2015, we find that, because of the clarity of responsibility that occurs under political mandates and the unpopularity of market reforms, mandate-holding rightist governments will tend to go against their ideological preferences and decrease neoliberal policies. Our findings indicate that as presidential vote margins increase and responsibility for unpopular economic policies becomes clearer, rightist executives will be less willing to support such policies, but only to a point. The results suggest that clarity of responsibility can influence presidential decision-making concerning unpopular policies, especially microeconomic policies, but this influence diminishes as presidents become more electorally secure. Resumen A partir de mediados de la década de los 90, algunos gobiernos latinoamericanos de derecha han adoptado políticas estrictas de apertura comercial, mientras que otros se han mostrado más alejados de adoptar políticas neoliberales. Esto es un elemento relevante de análisis ya que se espera que los gobiernos de derecha estén en contra de la intervención del gobierno en la economía. Usando una base de datos panel sobre 18 países latinoamericanos para el periodo de 1995 a 2015, encontramos que los gobiernos de derecha actúan en contra de sus preferencias ideológicas disminuyendo políticas neoliberales por dos razones: la claridad que los mandatarios tienen sobre sus responsabilidades y la impopularidad de las reformas de libre mercado en Latinoamérica. Nuestros hallazgos indican que, si el margen de votos en las elecciones presidenciales incrementa y el sentido de responsabilidad sobre la adopción de políticas económicas impopulares es claro, los gobernantes de derecha estarán menos dispuestos a adoptar este tipo de políticas de libre mercado. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:21:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-23942b906d6148b797e466add0c34c11 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0023-8791 1542-4278 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:21:32Z |
| publishDate | 2018-06-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Latin American Research Review |
| spelling | doaj.art-23942b906d6148b797e466add0c34c112022-12-22T02:43:26ZengCambridge University PressLatin American Research Review0023-87911542-42782018-06-0153225027210.25222/larr.327128Political Mandate and Clarity of Responsibility: Economic Policies under Rightist Governments in Latin AmericaGlen Biglaiser0Ronald J. McGauvran1University of North TexasTennessee Tech UniversitySince the mid-1990s, some rightist governments in Latin America have adhered to a strict market orientation while others have shown less attachment to doctrinaire neoliberal policies, a puzzle as rightists are expected to favor minimal government intervention in the economy. In an environment over the past two decades in which market-oriented policies, in general, have grown increasingly unpopular with many Latin Americans, we contend that rightists have less political cover to endorse neoliberal policies. Using panel data for eighteen Latin American countries from 1995 to 2015, we find that, because of the clarity of responsibility that occurs under political mandates and the unpopularity of market reforms, mandate-holding rightist governments will tend to go against their ideological preferences and decrease neoliberal policies. Our findings indicate that as presidential vote margins increase and responsibility for unpopular economic policies becomes clearer, rightist executives will be less willing to support such policies, but only to a point. The results suggest that clarity of responsibility can influence presidential decision-making concerning unpopular policies, especially microeconomic policies, but this influence diminishes as presidents become more electorally secure. Resumen A partir de mediados de la década de los 90, algunos gobiernos latinoamericanos de derecha han adoptado políticas estrictas de apertura comercial, mientras que otros se han mostrado más alejados de adoptar políticas neoliberales. Esto es un elemento relevante de análisis ya que se espera que los gobiernos de derecha estén en contra de la intervención del gobierno en la economía. Usando una base de datos panel sobre 18 países latinoamericanos para el periodo de 1995 a 2015, encontramos que los gobiernos de derecha actúan en contra de sus preferencias ideológicas disminuyendo políticas neoliberales por dos razones: la claridad que los mandatarios tienen sobre sus responsabilidades y la impopularidad de las reformas de libre mercado en Latinoamérica. Nuestros hallazgos indican que, si el margen de votos en las elecciones presidenciales incrementa y el sentido de responsabilidad sobre la adopción de políticas económicas impopulares es claro, los gobernantes de derecha estarán menos dispuestos a adoptar este tipo de políticas de libre mercado.https://larrlasa.org/articles/327 |
| spellingShingle | Glen Biglaiser Ronald J. McGauvran Political Mandate and Clarity of Responsibility: Economic Policies under Rightist Governments in Latin America Latin American Research Review |
| title | Political Mandate and Clarity of Responsibility: Economic Policies under Rightist Governments in Latin America |
| title_full | Political Mandate and Clarity of Responsibility: Economic Policies under Rightist Governments in Latin America |
| title_fullStr | Political Mandate and Clarity of Responsibility: Economic Policies under Rightist Governments in Latin America |
| title_full_unstemmed | Political Mandate and Clarity of Responsibility: Economic Policies under Rightist Governments in Latin America |
| title_short | Political Mandate and Clarity of Responsibility: Economic Policies under Rightist Governments in Latin America |
| title_sort | political mandate and clarity of responsibility economic policies under rightist governments in latin america |
| url | https://larrlasa.org/articles/327 |
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