Los problemas de España: siempre acabamos perdonando a la elite económica

El profesor Luis Garicano de la London School of Economics ofrece un diagnóstico interesante, aunque también bastante repetido, sobre los problemas políticos y económicos en España en una entrevista en El País. Como ha sucedido tradicionalmente en América Latina, el problema es que los empresarios tienen más probabilidades de éxito si cultivan relaciones con los políticos encargados de la regulación que si crean nuevos procesos productivos y nuevos productos. En otras palabras, es más provechoso ser Paco el Pocero que Bill Gates. Además, la atracción por convertirse en funcionario después de años de estudiar una oposición es mayor que el de crear e innovar. Todas ideas que se asemejan mucho a los argumentos de Acemoglu and Robinson en Why Nations Fail. No dudo que hay mucho de verdad en esta interpretación de los problemas españoles y que Garicano los explica muy bien. Sin embargo, me preocupa siempre el excesivo acento que se acaba poniendo en el Estado. Aunque se habla de que hay un problema institucional, en realidad se está diciendo que hay un problema con los partidos políticos y con la forma de gestionar el Estado. Ello contribuye a perdonar bastante a la élite económica (y con ello no me refiero a los pocos empresarios que han salido de la nada para crear las Zaras del país sino el entramado de familias que se sientan en los Consejos de Administración de bancos, constructoras, Telefónica y las otras grandes empresas). Su poder, su influencia y la falta de control sobre ellos es tan problemática como los otros chanchullos de los que habla Garicano. Sin embargo, no sólo no se mencionan sino que acaba por decir que "las empresas internacionalizadas [pregunto yo: ¿los grandes bancos? ¿Sacyr?] ya van por otro camino".

Readings on time management and similar topics for graduate students

In Inside Higher Education, Kaitlin Gallagher offers some book recommendations for graduate students. I have taken a quick look at them and they all look useful to organize our time better and to have a more positive state of mind in dealing with theses and exams. Yet I always find the concept of success in this kind of book troublesome and contradictory. Success is about happiness and fulfillment but at the same time about having powerful management roles and playing an important role in society. Do these two definitions always go hand in hand? And isn´t part of our problem that we hope to have it all at the same time?

How to understand Cuba

John Paul Rathbone traveled to Cuba and has an interesting article on the FT. He begins with a striking piece of data: "in a dusty Havana parking lot, a group of Cubans examine the prices of the modern cars they can now buy from the state for the first time: $263,000 for a 2013 Peugeot saloon that retails in Europe for $30,000". Yet his overall interpretation may not be the most accurate. According to the mainstream view on Cuba that he shares, Cuba is moving to slowly and timidly. Many liberalization reforms do not work because they are reversed or implemented too slowly. This type of approach assumes that a fully functioning market economy should be the ultimate goal and the faster you move to it the better. Yet Emily Morris, a UCL researcher,in her dissertation (and upcoming book) calls for a very different interpretation of Cuba. Using evolutionary economics, she shows how the Cuban government has always adopted a pragmatic strategy of "trial and error" and gradual adaptation. The issue is how to confront the problems of the present and gradually improve productivity, but without creating major disturbances or questioning the major objectives of the overall model (some level of equity and social provision for the whole population). Of course, this approach is not always the most efficient in economic terms but may be the most successful and politically savvy in the long run. In conclusion, we should evaluate Cuba in its own terms and considering the political constraints and development goals as a central component of the process and not simply as obstacles to a more market-friendly environment.

Public transportation, democracy and equity

The former mayor of Bogotá, Enrique Peñalosa, has an interesting TED talk on the need for public transportation. He (rightly) argues that improvement in bus and bicycle lines not only benefit the poor but also strengthen equity between individuals. Urban development and public transportation is one of the paradoxical areas in development: the social costs (even without considering the environmental implications) of private transport are much higher: cars are costly, roads are costly, infrastructure building also leads to corruption. Yet at the end public transportation is concentrated in rich country cities and is seen as a luxury that should only come when countries are richer. This is particularly problematic in middle income countries like those in Latin America, where roads are over-crowded but investment in public transportation does not always increase. Public transport is one more area in which state weaknesses are more significant than income levels to explain current problems.

Guatemala maintains its high ranking in... low taxation

Guatemala´s tax burden in 2013 was lower than expected: less than 11% of GDP. With this level of public income, it is almost impossible to meet any of the key development challenges that a country like Guatemala has. yet the likelihood of significant increases in the tax revenue are almost zero, a point Aaron Schneider made clearly in his 2012 book . Yet what are the main challenges for next year according to the Minister of Finance? Fiscal consolidation and to guarantee the payment of the public debt!

More of the same: fear of the bad left

Costa Rica will celebrate elections in less than a month and the candidate from the left-wing Frente Amplio, Jose María Villalta is polling quite well. This could seem surprisingly, but it reflects how tired Costa Ricans are with the PLN in power and how weak is the traditional leadership of the opposition PAC. Costa Rica's main newspaper has become nervous and has responded with the traditional approach of the Latin American elite: warning again the evils of communist. Yesterday's editorial reflects the power of the traditional division between good and bad left and how Venezuela has become the old Cuba. It also reflects how difficult it is to create modern, progressive movements in Central America... even after Funes' experience in El Salvador. This type of approach weakens democracy and prevents serious discussion of alternative social and economic policies to take place.

Inequality is receiving more and more attention... but is too focused on the US

This blog called Inequality Matters is one more sign of the growing attention to inequality among policymakers, academics and the press. One striking characteristic of this new move is its focus on the US and, to a lesser extent, the UK. It is much harder to find good discussions about the increase of inequality in Spain or other South European countries. Moreover, there is also limited attention to what other high inequality contexts can teach about the economic and political costs of a worsening in the income distribution. This provides a great opportunity for Latin Americanists, who understand this problem quite well and have witnessed its negative consequences for quite some time.