Table 6.1 Key Features of Public Policies since the 1980s

Table 6.1

Key Features of Public Policies since the 1980s

Country	Stability	Adaptability	Enforcement and implementation	Coordination and coherence	Public-regardness	Efficiency	Policy index
Argentina	Low	Medium	Low	Low	Medium	Low	Low
Bolivia	Medium	High	Medium	Medium	Medium	Medium	Medium
Brazil	High	High	High	High	Medium	Medium	High
Chile	High	High	High	High	High	High	Very High
Colombia	High	High	High	Medium	Medium	Medium	High
Costa Rica	High	Medium	High	Medium	High	High	High
Dominican Republic	Medium	Medium	Medium	Medium	Low	Medium	Medium
Ecuador	Low	Medium	Low	Low	Low	Low	Low
El Salvador	High	High	High	Medium	Medium	High	High
Guatemala	Medium	Medium	Low	Medium	Low	Medium	Low
Honduras	High	Medium	Medium	Medium	Low	Medium	Medium
Mexico	High	Medium	High	Medium	Medium	High	High
Nicaragua	Medium	Medium	Medium	Low	Low	Medium	Low
Panama	Medium	Low	Medium	Low	Low	Low	Low
Paraguay	Medium	Low	Low	Low	Low	Low	Low
Peru	Medium	Medium	Medium	Medium	Medium	Medium	Medium
Uruguay	High	High	High	Medium	Medium	Medium	High
Venezuela	Low	Low	Medium	Low	Medium	Low	Low
Note: The key features of public policies are classified as “high,” “medium,” or “low” using cluster analysis (see Data Appendix). For the case of the policy index, because Chile outperforms all the other countries, it has been classified as “very high,” and the remaining countries have been classified as previously noted. These measures are intended to capture features of a country’s public policies over the last couple of decades, or since the return to democracy, and do not necessarily reflect the characteristics of policies in the current administration. Source: Stein and Tommasi (2005).