A street market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Photo: Flickr user luvjnx)
There are so many versions of Haiti right now.
Shattered Haiti still lingers. This week marks one year since the earthquake that reduced much of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince to dust, and by all accounts rebuilding efforts have been disappointing at most. Generations without effective democratic governance deprived construction firms and workers any guidance or codes to which they could adhere for earthquake-proofing or just general solid construction. Meanwhile without effective property rights administration, as is common throughout the developing world, migrants from rural areas settled into shantytowns without any formally-recognized documentation of residency or ownership that might have entitled them to insurance or maybe public compensation for lost property.
Inclement weather conditions throughout December have had a heavy impact on Venezuela. Torrential rains and mudslides have left over 130,000 people homeless and hundreds dead. The rains have also caused extensive damage to infrastructure: 250 roads are notdrivable, dams have been broken, and several bridges have been closed. Governmental response to the crisis included a rather unconventional type of emergency response. President Hugo Chávez asked the outgoing Assembly to grant him special legislative powers for him to be able to deal with the crisis legislating by decree for an 18-month period. The President argued that enabling him to legislate would allow him to correct the environmental damages caused by “capitalism’s irrationality.” In a lame duck session held on December 17, the outgoing Assembly approved the Enabling Law. Read the rest of this entry »
Support for democracy has risen in Latin America, according to a new poll from Latinobarómetro. In Peru, for example, support for democracy has peaked at 61 percent, after a low of 40 percent in 2005. In Uruguay, nearly 80 percent of respondents are satisfied with the way democracy works in their country. And in Venezuela, 84 percent believe that democracy is preferable to any other form of government.
Equally promising (but not surprising) is the corresponding rise in support for free market institutions. Read the rest of this entry »
That wasn't the first piece of red tape Madonna had to get past in order to open her newest gym. (Photo: Henry Romero/Reuters)
Last week, my work at CIPE unexpectedly coincided with Madonna’s.
On November 29 it was all smiles for the opening of Madonna’s new gym, Hard Candy Fitness, in Mexico City. By December 1, a web of confusing requirements and regulations had ensnared the Material Girl’s entrepreneurial venture. Just before the first of the franchise was scheduled to open, Mexico City authorities informed Madonna that she lacked the proper permits and had yet to show that there was sufficient parking on site for patrons. A series of intense negotiations soon put an end to this issue and the gym was finally granted permission to open its doors while waiting to obtain the proper permits. Madonna’s experience is unfortunately a striking reflection of the challenges that many other entrepreneurs in Mexico face every day. Read the rest of this entry »
With all the buzz on corporate social responsibility, or corporate citizenship, it’s easy to lose track of the real world examples of companies engaging in responsible business practices in their everyday activities. Even as companies pledge their adherence to such principles by signing agreements such as the United Nations Global Compact (UNCG), good corporate citizenship extends beyond statements and declarations. It requires firms to make their commitment to social responsibility an integral part of corporate strategy.
This Economic Reform Feature Service article shows how six firms of different sizes and from different sectors use one tool, the SA8000 global social accountability standard for decent working conditions, in applying corporate citizenship principles to their everyday practices. Read the rest of this entry »
Favela Cantagalo, on the hill in the background. Thanks to comprehensive property titling, satellite dishes are no longer the only connection Brazil's favelas can have to the formal economy. (Photo: CIPE)
Cantagalo is a community perched on the hills above the affluent neighborhood of Ipanema, with magnificent views of the coastline and surrounding mountains. It is one of the older favelas in Rio, with a 100-year history of families living on, inheriting and even selling land that they do not formally own. For years they have survived without legitimate access to basic services such as water, electricity, or sewers. Without city streets, residents had to climb stairways to reach their homes on Cantagalo Hill from Ipanema down below. Read the rest of this entry »
One of the recently award-winning CEDICE campaign advertisements on behalf of private property rights in Venezuela. (Translation: “The law of social property will take away what is yours. No to the Cuban law.” Image: CEDICE)
Living in the U.S., it is hard to grasp how important private property rights are. Whenever we buy, sell, or produce something we automatically assume that we own it. We don’t think about it because we live in a country where the government guarantees the right to private property. This is not, however,the case in other parts of the world. In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez has launched a mission to restrict and expropriate private property. Every day the headlines in the local newspapers in Venezuela talk about how government has “nationalized” a bank, a supermarket or a factory. One brave organization has gained international recognition for defending property rights in Venezuela as a basic human right. Read the rest of this entry »
Quality democracies ensure that citizens have a way to participate in governance between elections. In the above video, Hernando de Soto and Larry Diamond explain why democracies need institutions in order to operate with accountability and deliver policies to tangibly improve people’s lives. Additionally, in the latest Economic Reform Feature Service article, Hernando de Soto desribes the challenges of building democratic institutions in Peru. Read the rest of this entry »
Last Sunday, Venezuelans went to the polls to elect a new congress. Depending on whom you ask in Venezuela this election marks either a triumph for the opposition or a vote of confidence for Hugo Chavez’s Bolivarian revolution. One important result of the elections is that Chavez’s party (PSUV) no longer holds a super majority in the legislature. The opposition now has control over 1/3 of the assembly which means that Chavez will no longer be able to use the legislature as a simple rubber-stamp. Read the rest of this entry »
Chile has been one of the most developed countries in Latin America for the last 25 years, with a dynamic free market economy. As a role model for economic reform, Chile has seen strong growth rates coupled with sound monetary policies to limit the deficit and balance the national budget. The Global Competitiveness Report for 2009-2010 ranks Chile as the 30th most competitive country in the world and the most competitive in Latin America. While these economic characteristics help Chile stand out among its neighbors, they’ve also contributed greatly to sustaining what really separates Chile from its neighbors – democratic governance. Read the rest of this entry »
A recent front cover story from The Economist (“Leviathan,” Aug. 7-13 2010) details the creeping advances of state capitalism. Though the article broadly declares the trend toward state-owned enterprises is a threat to democratic governance and long-term economic growth, it does acknowledge the reality that not all state-owned enterprises are the same. Colombia’s Ecopetrol and Venezuela’s PDVSA, for example, are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to corporate governance and their relationships with their respective governments. There’s now a chance they could end up dancing together as business partners. Read the rest of this entry »
Daniel Cordova is currently the dean of the Graduate School at Universidad del Pacifico (Lima, Peru), and President of Instituto Invertir.
The EmpredeAhora program was specifically designed by Instituto Invertir and CIPE as a response to a lack of confidence in democracy and the free market economy. The program provides an alternative to the negative image of the private sector and entrepreneurship among youth, especially those from low-income families located in the countryside. Instituto Invertir selects 100-200 students from a pool of applicants to attend three sessions of three days each at the Universidad del Pacifico in Lima. In this video blog, Daniel Cordova provides a personal perspective on why Instituto Invertir felt the need for the program, and how program alumni have far exceeded expectations.
Bob Esponja: An innovative marketing campaign in Encarnación, Paraguay for a student business selling cleaning products. (Photo: Fundación Paraguaya)
On the United Nations’ webpage, you will see that this is the day “to celebrate young people’s energy, imagination and initiatives” and that this year’s event will “highlight youth’s critical contributions to peace and development.”
Another International Day of…? Maybe, but what better moment in the year to reflect on the connection between youth, peace, and development.
For some years now, international organizations have been putting out the word that there is a critical connection among the three. Said the World Bank in its 2007 World Development Report, “Development and the Next Generation:”
The developing world’s 1.3 billion young people ages 12-24 are the next generation of economic and social actors. Making sure that they are prepared for their futures…is thus enormously important to the course of poverty reduction and growth. Because missed opportunities to invest in and prepare this generation will be extremely costly to reverse, both for its young people and society.
The need for effective reconstruction efforts around the world continues to grow and financial support for it has never been greater. So why is reform languishing? An insightful report from NPR’s This American Life on Haiti’s road to recovery tries to make sense of this quandary as national elections in the country approach this year. With “unprecedented amounts” of money pledged to Haitian relief since March alone, in addition to the active work of some 10,000 aid groups and NGOs, the country’s development has stalled, if not regressed. Haiti’s case is all too common. The challenge is getting past simply the best of intentions and actually embarking on a policy that helps Haitians help themselves. Read the rest of this entry »
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