Institutions and national development in Latin America: a comparative study

Area of Science:

• Socio-economics
• Political Science
• Development Studies

Background:

• Existing literature on institutions and national development lacks clear definitions and relies on reputational indices.
• Current research often uses countries as the primary unit of analysis, limiting subnational insights.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a rigorous, measurable definition of institutions for national development.
• To develop and apply a methodology for studying institutional impact at national and subnational levels.
• To identify factors influencing the developmental role of specific institutions.

Main Methods:

• Comparative case study of five strategic organizations (federal agencies, public administrative bodies, stock exchanges) in five Latin American countries.
• Utilized algebraic methods developed by Ragin for hypothesis testing.
• Analyzed institutional quality differences between economic-focused and service-oriented organizations.

Main Results:

• Identified distinct patterns of institutional quality between economically-oriented institutions and those providing basic public services.
• Observed consistent variations in institutional quality across countries, irrespective of similar economic development levels.
• Tested six hypotheses regarding determinants of institutional developmental character.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a refined framework for defining and measuring institutions in national development research.
• Findings highlight the importance of institutional type and national context in development outcomes.
• Results offer implications for theoretical advancements and methodological improvements in the field.