Earthquake aftershock of magnitude 7.2: Not a dent to the democratic transfer of power in Chile
By Kaufmann | March 11, 2010 | No Comments »
Not a minor tremor by any means, even if not the 8.8 mega-earthquake of 12 days ago: 7.2 in the Richter scale is the magnitude of another earthquake aftershock that took place a few minutes ago in Chile, followed by a couple of aftershocks to the aftershock (including one measuring 6.9). A tsunami alert has been issued, preventively.
All this takes place exactly as another peaceful and democratic transfer of power is about to take place. The epicenter is a mere 70 miles or so from the major coastal city of Valparaiso, the seat of Parliament, where the Presidents in Chile pass the baton. President Michelle Bachelet leaves with 84% popularity, and President Sebastian Piñera takes the oath of office, with high expectations and enormous reconstruction and social challenges ahead. He is the first democratically elected right-of-center President in the past 50 years in Chile.
Meanwhile, the peaceful proceedings of this transition in power continue apace, and exactly according to schedule, whether the earth is shaking or not. Visiting heads of state and dignitaries, many of whom are not used to earthquakes, appear to be much more rattled (and pale) than local citizens and officials.
Notable people and institutions.
Topics: Rule of Law, Voice and Human Rights | Read and Submit Comments
Desastres Naturales y Deberes Nacionales: El Terremoto de Chile en una Perspectiva Internacional
By Kaufmann | March 9, 2010 | No Comments »
Un enfoque amplio de gobernabilidad comparativa conlleva a nuestra conclusión de que Chile ha respondido relativamente bien al mega-terremoto, a pesar de errores serios en la etapa inicial. Identificamos logros, errores, y desafíos en la reacción frente al terremoto, los cuales constituyen una oportunidad de reforma para el país.
Traducción del artículo “Natural Disasters, National Diligence: The Chilean Earthquake in Perspective”, por D. Kaufmann y J. Tessada, publicado en la página web de The Brookings Institution, el 5 de Marzo de 2010 (link). El artículo en inglés también se encuentra en este espacio blog (here)…
Topics: Aid Effectiveness, Corruption, Measurement Frontiers, Public Financial Management, Regulation & Security, Rule of Law, capture | Read and Submit Comments
Natural Disasters, National Diligence: The Chilean Earthquake in Perspective
By Kaufmann | March 6, 2010 | 3 Comments »
The Chilean earthquake that hit during the early morning hours of February 27 has brought searing images of devastation; and international news coverage has shown scenes of looting and arson incidents occurring in its immediate aftermath. In Chile, criticism of the government’s response is widespread.
Many are wondering whether numerous deaths and severe destruction could have been prevented; whether the government’s emergency response and rescue to this natural disaster was speedy and effective; and why law and order broke down in the earthquake’s aftermath.
Criticism has focused on the failure by the central authorities to alert coastal populations of the impending tsunami, its delayed and timid reaction to unrest in the most devastated region in the south (where most of the looting has taken place), and its slow initial distribution of essential supplies.
Topics: Aid Effectiveness, Corruption, Measurement Frontiers, Public Financial Management, Regulation & Security, Rule of Law, capture | 3 Comments
National Disasters Today Provide Governance Lessons
By Kaufmann | March 1, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Let us consider three countries:
Country 1: Its approach to industrialization has relied heavily on a very large public sector that accounts for well over 40 percent of GDP, and on aid financing from richer countries. The country has no fiscal discipline, running a deficit exceeding 13 percent of GDP. Rather, leaders have focused more on ensuring adequate compensation for civil servants and providing a generous social safety net, including retirement at a young age. And transparency and integrity have not been a top priority, contributing to high corruption. This financial mis-governance has resulted recently in the downgrading of their sovereign risk ratings by commercial risk rating agencies.
Country 2: Like Country 1, it also has had numerous governments from the left-of-center; but in contrast, it pays attention to good governance, anti-corruption, and integrity. The state owns some of the country’s large corporations and commercial banks. It has also focused on improvements in health, education and poverty alleviation. Further, fiscal discipline is prioritized more highly than in Country 1 (even if that is not saying much). Consistent with its strategy, the country instituted a very aggressive and generous fiscal stimulus plan during the global crisis, which amounted to over 2 percent of GDP…
Topics: Aid Effectiveness, Corruption, G-20, Measurement Frontiers, Public Financial Management, Regulation & Security, Rule of Law, Transparency, financial crisis | 3 Comments
Guns, uninterrupted: beyond Alabama killings, onto Virginia and National Parks
By Kaufmann | February 19, 2010 | No Comments »
Predictably, the Alabama faculty killings by Amy Bishop have generated views from all sides, including to my previous post (here, and in Facebook as well). I posted that entry as news about the shootings were emerging. Subsequently I contributed a commentary piece at Brookings (here).
In that commentary I mention that it could be argued that the system did not fail, but that Amy Bishop broke the law by obtaining and carrying a gun illegally in the Alabama campus. The problem with this argument goes beyond the simple fact that the gun that killed her own brother 24 years ago was actually a ’legal’ one (so in one lethal incident it was illegal, in the other one it was legal). The more fundamental challenge touches on the ubiquity of guns and thus on basic supply and demand economics…
Topics: Regulation & Security, Rule of Law, capture | Read and Submit Comments
Harvard Educated Professor Kills Faculty Colleagues: Second Amendment of the Constitution traveled from Massachusetts to Alabama
By Kaufmann | February 13, 2010 | 7 Comments »
I defer to the news outlets to continue to cover yesterday afternoon killings of three faculty member at the University of Alabama at Huntsville, allegedly perpetrated by a Amy Bishop, a Harvard doctorate in neurobiology. She is accused of opening fire during the biology department faculty meeting she was a member of, which discussed a prior decision to deny her of tenure at the University of Alabama. In addition to those she shot dead, Amy Bishop also shot and injured three other faculty colleagues. The focus in the media so far is on the shock of a Harvard super-educated scientist committing such an heinous act, and on the related perennial issue of fierce academic competition and tenure decisions, as in today’s article in the New York Times (here)…
Topics: Regulation & Security, Rule of Law, capture | 7 Comments
State Capture by “Main Street”?: The Toyota Saga Accelerates
By Kaufmann | February 11, 2010 | No Comments »
A few days ago I argued that one ought not point a finger at Toyota alone for the ’sudden unintended acceleration’ (SUA) woes in their vehicles, and suggested that the problem also reflects the failure of the US Government regulatory agency (NHTSA) to do its job. At that time I provided incipient evidence that there may be elements of regulatory capture by the car maker, in fact. In the meantime, further evidence has been emerging about it. Further, we know now that there will be a plethora of upcoming Congressional hearings on this. But key members of the Congressional Committees for these hearings have important interests vested with the car maker, yet so far they have not indicated that they intend to recuse themselves from the hearings.
In today’s longer opinion piece at Brookings on this Toyota SUA issue (here), I argue that the complex politics in the relationship between the industry and the government regulator, and between the industry and Congress, require a much deeper look and merits particular monitoring by public interest groups and the media. Further transparency measures and timely disclosure of data and financial interests are also needed…
Topics: Regulation & Security, Rule of Law, Transparency, capture, financial crisis | Read and Submit Comments
Revamping Aviation Security: Non-terrorist Delta Flight 59 Exposes Ongoing Risks
By Kaufmann | February 8, 2010 | 1 Comment »
In a previous entry critical of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) new profiling guidelines in the aftermath of the Christmas Day attempted terrorist attempt, I suggested that instead of focusing on nationality as a profiling devise for travel screening, a different and multi-pronged strategy may prove more effective. It would entail shifting away from national identity toward a focus on the individual traveler—reviewing their passports and visas, observing their behavior, and making effective use of a well-integrated background database of individuals of concern (here). Now it becomes clear that I should also have been explicit about the obvious: aviation safety is also essential outside of the airport terminal… .Topics: Rule of Law, Transparency, capture | 1 Comment
Regulatory Capture outside of Finance: NHTSA not just asleep at the Toyota wheel?
By Kaufmann | February 5, 2010 | No Comments »
Plenty has been written on the role of financial institutions in the global crisis, and also in how they may have influenced their own generous rescue by the government. Many writings also touch on the ineffective role of the financial regulatory institutions. Some of the writings, including in this space, have suggested that such financial regulatory institutions may have been subject to some modality of (soft or hard) capture by the financial conglomerates themselves…
Topics: Corruption, Public-Private Linkages, Regulation & Security, Rule of Law, Transparency, capture, financial crisis | Read and Submit Comments
Misrule of Law Matters: Time to Reboot?
By Kaufmann | January 21, 2010 | 3 Comments »
A full fledged reboot of the Rule of Law and the Law and Development fields may be salutary, and it may also improve aid effectiveness. I am not a legal scholar, but alongside many legal experts was invited to join a Symposium on the Future of Law and Development. Valuable contributions ensued, now published by the Northwestern Law Review website. Not for the first time I took advantage of being an ‘outsider’ to challenge orthodoxy. My own priors come from empirical analysis in economics and governance, combined with a selective reading of the literature and from practical observation as a practitioner in many countries.
In my brief paper contribution (here full version with charts), I start by reflecting upon three disparate circumstances, centuries and worlds apart, ranging from institutions presently in Kenya and the U.S. to those ruling the mighty seas hundreds of years ago…
Topics: Aid Effectiveness, Corruption, Measurement Frontiers, Public-Private Linkages, Regulation & Security, Rule of Law, capture, financial crisis | 3 Comments
Haiti: Rescue, Recovery, and Effective Development Aid
By Kaufmann | January 18, 2010 | 4 Comments »
We are pained about the death toll and human suffering in Haiti and we share their sorrow. With the exception of the tsunami in Asia, this tragedy is unprecedented in recent memory in a country not at war. Current technology makes the devastation and death instantly clear around the globe. Such technology also enables the outpouring of private financial contributions to charity (like the ease by which one can contribute by texting the number 90999 and typing “Haiti” to contribute to the Red Cross efforts in that country).
It is also clear what the immediate emergency rescue and relief needs are, such as water, food and medical treatment, and then some shelter and emergency power. While precious few days may have been lost at first, the international community is now rushing assistance to Haiti, and improved coordination efforts on the ground are beginning to show results. And we know that in recent times international donors have generally had a decent track record recently in emergency relief efforts when disaster strikes…
Topics: Aid Effectiveness, Corruption, Measurement Frontiers, Public Financial Management, Rule of Law, Transparency, Voice and Human Rights | 4 Comments
Will Profiling Make our Skies Safer?: A Governance Perspective on New TSA Guidelines
By Kaufmann | January 7, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Since profiling impinges on civil liberties, it bears a negative connotation particularly when narrowly based on nationality, race or religion. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has just instituted a nationality-based criterion, under which travelers from a list of 14 countries are subject to special airport screening procedures. Controversy has naturally ensued.
Topics: Aid Effectiveness, Corruption, Measurement Frontiers, Regulation & Security, Rule of Law, Voice and Human Rights | 1 Comment
Marian Anderson in Opera, Civil Liberties, and the end of another Decade
By Kaufmann | December 31, 2009 | No Comments »
Seventy years ago, the famous American singer Marian Anderson was barred from performing at the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Constitution Hall in Washignton, DC, because of her race. As a result, Eleanor Roosevelt, then the US First Lady, resigned as a Board member from the DAR…
Topics: Voice and Human Rights | Read and Submit Comments
On the changing ethos at Goldman Sachs (they showed up to this meeting)
By Kaufmann | December 16, 2009 | No Comments »
We know that key Wall Street investment bankers did not show up to this past Monday meeting called by President Obama. We just wrote about it. No such problem with no-shows in this other recent meeting held between the head of Goldman Sachs (Lloyd Blankfein, who was among those who did not make it to the White House meeting), and Goldman’s previous partners. Reporting on this well attended meeting, the New York Times reports about the evolution of the ethos at Goldman’s (here).
Topics: Corruption, Public-Private Linkages, Regulation & Security, capture, financial crisis | Read and Submit Comments
Chile ingresando a la OCDE: como ir al Mundial de Futbol?
By Kaufmann | December 15, 2009 | No Comments »
Es ya oficial ahora: Chile entrará a la OCDE, y pronto. Un gran reconocimiento y logro. Según la BBC, Chile festeja como un Mundial, ya que Andrés Velasco dice en París: “Es como clasificar para el Mundial, donde están los 32 mejores equipos. Aquí en la OCDE son 30 y con Chile vamos a ser 31, con la diferencia de que no clasificamos para el Mundial por una vez sino para siempre, porque esta es una membresía permanente”.
Topics: Corruption, G-20, Public Financial Management | Read and Submit Comments
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