Working Papers #11 - 20

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Wages and Employment in International Recessions: Recent Latin American Experience

Victor E. Tokman

Working Paper #11 - February 1984

Prepared for presentation at "Crisis and Adjustment: Latin American in the 1980s" speaker series sponsored by the Kellogg Institute and the Economics Department, University of Notre Dame, April 20, 1983.

Víctor E. Tokman is Director of PREALC (Regional Employment Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean), Santiago de Chile.

Abstract

This paper examines the various economic policy responses of Latin American countries to the international recessions of the 1970s, particularly their impact upon wages and employment. It highlights the diversity of reactions by comparing the cases of small countries with relatively open economies, of medium and large-size economies and of oil-exporting versus non oil exporting countries. The paper argues that despite significantly different conditions and different economic policies, adjustment policies cease to be neutral and tend to affect wages and employment more than other variables. It also explores the effects of the rise in international interest rates on the potential growth of the Latin American economies. Finally, it looks at the specific impact of economic adjustment policies on the labor market in Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, and Costa Rica.

Resumen

Este trabajo examina diversas políticas económicas desarrolladas como respuesta a la recesión internacional de la década del 70, en particular focaliza en los impactos de aquellas sobre salarios y ocupación. Se enfatiza la diversidad de las reacciones a través de las siguientes comparaciones: pequeños países con economías relativamente abiertas y países medianos y grandes, países exportadores de petroleo versus países no exportadores. El papel argumenta que, más allá de significativamente diferentes condiciones estructurales y diferencias en las políticas económicas, las políticas de ajuste no son neutrales y tienden a afectar salarios y niveles de ocupación más que a otras variables. También se exploran los efectos del alza de las tasas de interés internacionales sobre el potencial de crecimiento de las economías latino-americanas. Finalmente, el trabajo observa el impacto específico de las políticas de ajuste económico en los mercados de trabajo en Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, y Costa Rica.

(35 pages)

Despues del Monetarismo

Alejandro Foxley

Working Paper #12 - March 1984

Abstract

This paper discusses some aspects of an economic policy which would be an alternative to the monetarist policies employed by the Chilean military regime since 1973. Starting form an analysis of the crisis produced by monetarism, it emphasizes the importance of stable, productive activities as a central element in an alternative economic project. It argues that towards this end, an effective project of economic development must stress industrial reconstruction and, more specifically, reactivate demand, reduce the interest rate, and reorient financial mechanisms towards long term objectives, among other goals. While not advocating a statist approach to development, the author argues that the state must create conditions for and support industrialization.

The second half of the paper underscores the importance of fostering an economic stability which has been absent in recent decades, particularly under monetarist policies. It argues that the country needs to diminish its external vulnerability without returning to traditional import substitution industrialization policies. The author then discusses the importance of macroeconomic stability. He concludes analyzing the critical role a new economic policy must play in any attempt to reconstruct democracy in Chile.

Resumen

Este artículo discute algunos aspectos de una política económica alternativa para Chile, distinta a la de corte monetarista aplicada por el régimen militar imperante en ese país desde 1973. A partir de un análisis de la crisis generada por el monetarismo, el autor enfatiza la importancia de las actividades productivas estables como un elemento central de un proyecto económico alternativo. Afirma que para alcanzar este objectivo, un proyecto de desarrollo económico efectivo debe enfatizar la reconstrucción industrial y más específicamente, reactivar la demanda, reducir las tasas de interés y reorientar los mecanismos financieros hacia objectivos de largo plazo. Sin adherir a un enfoque estatista del desarrollo, el trabajo sostiene que el Estado debe crear condiciones favorables a la industrialización apoyarla en su desarrollo.

La segunda parte del trabajo subraya la importancia de promover la estabilidad económica, ausente,durante estos años, particularmente durante el período de aplicación de las políticas monetaristas. El país dice, necesita disminuir su vulnerabilidad externa sin retornar a las políticas tradicionales de industrialización por sustitución de importaciones. Se analiza en seguida la importancia de la estabilidad macroeconómica. El autor concluye analizando el rol fundamental que una nueva política económica debe jugar en cualquier intento por reconstruir la democracia en Chile.

(68 pages)

Industrial Development in Mexico: Problems, Policy Issues and Perspectives

Kwan S. Kim

Working Paper #13 - March 1984

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1983 Latin American Studies Association meeting in Mexico City. Appreciation is due to Dr. Leonal Corona for helpful comments on an earlier draft of the paper Nacional Financiera cooperated in providing data and other information for this project. The author gratefully acknowledges a seed money grant from the Kellogg Institute at the University of Notre Dame for collection of research materials.

Kwan Kim is Associate Professor of Economics and a member of the Kellogg Institute of the University of Notre Dame. He specializes in questions about trade and development and has written on Mexico, South Korea, and Eastern Africa.

Abstract

This study undertakes an evaluation of the Mexican Governments industrial development strategies from a historical perspective e, focusing on the relationship between policy measures and the pattern of industrial development in the post-World War II period. It also attempts to identify constraints on the possibilities of industrial development for Mexico. The paper concludes with some suggestions for future directions of industrial development for Mexico.

Resumen

Este trabajo busca hacer una evaluación de las estrategias de desarrollo industrial del Gobierno Mexicano, desde una perspectiva histórica. Para ello, la atención será focalizada sobre las relaciones entre las medidas políticas y el modelo de desarrollo industrial del período posterior a la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Además, el trabajo intenta identificar las dificultades y posibilidades para el desarrollo industrial mexicano. El texto finaliza con la presentación de algunas sugestiones sobre las proyecciones futuras del desarrollo industrial de México.

(34 pages)

Societal Preconditions of Corporatism and Some Current Dilemmas of Democratic Theory

Claus Offe

Working Paper #14 - March 1984

Claus Offe, Professor of Sociology at the University of Bielefeld, is one of the best known German social scientists. He has published extensively on Western European politics, theories of the state, social movements, and corporatism, among other subjects. This paper was presented at the Conference on "Issues on Democracy and Democratization: North and South," sponsored by the Kellogg Institute, November 1983.

Abstract

This paper discusses some practical and normative issues linked to corporatist institutions of representation. The paper begins with a discussion of the problem of order in advanced capitalist societies. The failure of both the market and the welfare state to answer important needs within these societies has led to a new emphasis on social groups and representative interest associations. The author argues that the apparent appeal of these corporatist groups should not be overestimated. On the one hand, they may not function as well as many people have suggested. The corporatist groups may behave in self-interested ways rather than attempting to maximize societal objectives. Also, the potential for conflict rather than cooperation between groups is significant. On the other hands, even if corporatist mechanisms function well, their implications for democracy are of dubious value. Political institutions do not always provide effective channels for representing important concerns, and consequently extra-institutional political practices are sometimes needed. While corporatist institutions preserve the autonomy of societal actors, they frequently replace government regulation with corporatist regulation. Participation in corporatist decision making is generally determined not by rights of individual citizens, but by the functional weight of collective actors; this criterion institutionalizes a discriminatory bias against actors which are of no strategic significance. Corporatist institutions escape democratic legitimation, constrain rather than augment the potential for socio-economic change, and violate individualist notions of autonomy.

Resumen

Este trabajo discute algunos puntos prácticos y normativos ligados a las instituciones corporativas de representación. El trabajo comienza con una discusión de los problemas del orden en las sociedades capitalistas avanzadas. La incapacidad del mercado y del estado de bienestar para responder a importantes necesidades dentro de estas sociedades ha llevado a un nuevo énfasis sobre grupos sociales y asociaciones representativas de intereses. El autor muestra que la aparente capacidad de atracción de estos grupos corporativos no debe ser sobreestimada. Por un lado, ellos pueden no funcionar tan bien como mucha gente ha sugerido. Los grupos corporativos pueden actuar de modo estrechamente particularista antes que intendando maximizar los objectivos de la sociedad. De la misma forma, es significativo un mayor potencial para el conflicto que para la cooperación entre grupos. Por otro lado, aún cuando los mecanismos corporativos funcionan bien, sus implicaciones para la democracia son de valor dudoso. Dado que las instituciones políticas no siempre proveen canales efectivos para la representación de importantes inquietudes, las prácticas políticas extra-institucionales son a veces necesarias. A pesar de que las instituciones corporativas preservan la autonomía de los actores sociales, ellas frecuentemente reemplazan la regulación gubernamental con la regulación corporativa. La participación en el proceso de decisión corporativa está generalmente determinada no por los derechos de los ciudadanos individuales, sino por el peso funcional de los actores colectivos, lo cual institucionaliza un sesgo discriminatorio contra actores sin importancia estratégica. Las instituciones corporativas escapan de la legitimación democrática, disminuyen antes que aumentan el potencial para cambios socio-económicos, y violan nociones individualistas de autonomía.

(20 pages)

The Democratic Theory of the Polish Opposition: Normative Inventions and Strategic Ambiguitie

Andrew Arato

Working Paper #15 - April 1984

Andrew Arato is Professor of Sociology of the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research. He is currently working on a project provisionally entitled "New Democratic Theory as Critical Social Theory: The Program of the Polish Opposition, 1976-1982." This paper was presented at the Conference on "Issues on Democracy and Democratization: North and South," sponsored by the Kellogg Institute, November 1983.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the political vision and social theory of Jacek Kuron and Adam Michnik, two of the outstanding spokesmen of the opposition to the Polish regime between 1976 and 1982. The paper argues that the work of Michnik and Kuron anticipated important aspects of the Solidarity movement of 1980-81 and, more generally, made significant contributions to reflecting about democracy in the context of post-totalitarian socialism. The author argues that Kuron in particular worked out a normative project that was to express the developing political philosophy of the Solidarity movement. He then sustains that the strategic dimensions of Kuron's work remained ambiguous before, during, and after the aegis of Solidarity. Finally, he argues that the impasse of Solidarity was due in part to the theoretical failures of the movement's major intellectuals, including Kuron and Michnik, particularly the tendency to overstate the totalitarian elements of the Polish regime and to understate the potential for effecting more conciliatory, albeit limited, change within that regime.

Resumen

Este texto analiza el pensamiento social y político de dos sobresalientes exponentes de la oposición al régimen polaco, entre 1976 y 1982. El autor argumenta que la obra de Jacek Kuron y Adam Michnik ha anticipado aspectos importantes del movimiento Solidaridad de 1980-81 y, en general, ha contribuído notablemente a una reflexión sobre la democracia dentro del contexto socialista post-totalitario. Kuron, en especial, produjo un proyecto normativo que podemos considerar expresión del desarrollo político filosófico de Solidaridad. A este respecto, el autor sostiene que las dimensiones estratégicas de los escritos de Kuron permanecieron ambiguas antes, durante, y despues de la égida del movimiento. A guisa de conclusión, el trabajo argumenta que el impasse de Solidaridad se debió parcialmente a las fallas teóricas de sus principales intelectuales, incluyendo Michnik y Kuron. En particular, por causa de su tendencia a sobreestimar el régimen polaco en relación a sus elementos totalitarios, y a subestimarlo en relación a su potencialidad para efectuar un cambio limitado de carácter reconciliatorio.

(27 pages)

Democracy and Public Policy Analysis

Douglas C. Bennett

Working Paper #16 - April 1984

Douglas C. Bennett is Director of the Institute for Public Policy Studies. He publishes on Latin American politics, democratic theory, and public policy analysis. A draft of this paper was presented at the Fifth Annual Research Conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Philadelphia, PA, October 20-22, 1983. The paper was then presented at the Kellogg Institute conference on "Issues on Democracy and Democratization: North and South," November 1983.

Abstract

This paper discusses the failure of rational decision approaches to public policy analysis to adequately address the question of democracy. Even though public policies encourage or hinder the development of democracies, most rational choice approaches fail to discuss this issue. The author criticizes some key assumptions of the utilitarian foundations of the rational decision approach. In assigning values only to policy outcomes, the rational decision approach displaces the question of the policy process, hence of democracy. The paper argues that democracy is a different kind of value than the self-interested, individualistic-preferences, the rational choice model is geared to accommodate.

Resumen

Este trabajo discute el fracaso de enfoque racionalista en considerar la cuestión de la democracia en el análisis de las políticas públicas. A pesar de que las políticas públicas fomentan o impiden el desarrollo de las democracias, la mayoría de los enfoques racionalistas no consiguen discutir este asunto. El autor critica algunas suposiciones claves de los fundamentos utilitaristas del enfoque racionalista. El enfoque racionalista desplaza la cuestión procesual de las políticas fuera de la democracia dado que solo considera a las políticas resultantes. El trabajo argumenta que el modelo racionalista, acostumbrado a tratar con preferencias autocentradas e individualistas, no consigue ligar con la democracia.

(25 pages)

Paradigmas de Desarrollo y Democratizacion: Temas de Investigacion

Alejandro Foxley

Working Paper #17 - April 1984

Alejandro Foxley holds the Helen Kellogg Institute Chair of International Development and is a professor of economics. He is also associate editor of the Journal of Development Economics and of El Trimestre Económico, Mexico, and is a member of the Executive Committee, Latin American Council of the Social Sciences (CLACSO). His most recent book, Latin American Experiments in Neoconservative Economics, was published in June 1983 by the University of California Press. He is a member of the Executive Committee International Economics Association (IEA) for the 1983-86 period. These ideas were sketched out to help define one of the Kellogg Institute's thematic priorities. The Hirschman Conference on Economic Development and Democracy, sponsored by the Kellogg Institute in April 1984, responded to the themes and questions posed in this paper.

Abstract

This paper poses some questions about paradigms for development in Latin American in the 1980s. The paper is divided into three main parts. The first analyzes the "life cycles" of various development paradigms: import substitution industrialization (1930s to early 1960s), the socialist and reformist capitalist models (1960s), and the neoliberal model linked to an authoritarian state (1970s). The author argues that this neoliberal model is declining because of its economic failures and reliance on repressive political regimes. The second part argues that democracy will probably become the paradigm for the 1980s. The final section considers some of the difficulties which confront attempts to create more democratic regimes in the 1980s, including the role and conceptualization of rights, the relationship between state and civil society, the approach to economic policy, and the role of different social actors.

Resumen

Este trabajo presenta algunas cuestiones relacionadas con los paradigmas para el desarrollo de América Latina en los años 80. El mismo está dividido en tres partes principales. La primera analiza los "ciclos de vida" de varios paradigmas de desarrollo: industrialización por substitución de importaciones (desde el 30 hasta los primeros años de la década del 60); los modelos socialista y capitalista reformista (década del 60); y el modelo neo-liberal vinculado a un estado autoritario (década del 70). El autor sostiene que este último modelo está declinando por causa de sus fracasos económicos y su soporte en regímenes políticos represivos. La segunda parte del trabajo presenta la idea de que la democracia será, probablemente, el paradigma de la presente década. En la última parte, el autor considera algunas de las dificultades que aparecen con el intento de instauración de regímenes más democráticos a partir del 80, incluyendo el rol y la conceptualización de los derechos, la relación entre el estado y la sociedad civil, el abordaje a la política económica y el papel de los diferentes actores sociales.

(14 pages)

Sobre Cultura Politica y Democracia en Argentina: Testimonio de un Todavia Exilado

Hector Leis

Working Paper #18 - April 1984

Héctor Leis is a graduate student in political science at Notre Dame and the research assistant for the Kellogg Institute. He left his native Argentina in 1977 and got his B.A. in social sciences and M.A. in philosophy at the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. He is currently beginning a project on the left, authoritarianism, and democracy in Argentina.

Abstract

This paper is a reflection about democracy in Argentina during the contemporary transition phase. It analyzes some aspects of the political culture of different political actors in relationship to the principal themes of debate in the country, including terrorism, the Armed Forces, human rights, and the Malvinas-Falklands war. These themes and acts are analyzed from the perspective of a democratic coexistence. The essay combines testimonial examples, value judgments, and broader political reflections. The author concludes that the extant politica culture must be transformed through new practices and identities in a pluralistic vein, while remembering the past so as to be able to learn from previous mistakes.

Resumen

El esfuerzo de este trabajo está dirigido a pensar la democracia en Argentina en la actual etapa de transición. El mismo focaliza algunos aspectos de la cultura política de los diversos actores, en relación a varios de los principales temas de debate en el país-tales como el terrorismo, las Fuerzas Armadas, los derechos humanos, la guerra de las Malvinas-Falkland, etc. Dichos temas y actores son analizados desde la perspectiva de una convivencia democrática, dentro de un estilo multi-dimensional que combina el ejemplo testimonial, juicios de valor, y reflexiones políticas generales. La conclusión del autor es que la cultura política existente debe ser transformada a partir de nuevas prácticas e identidades que vengan a insertarse en el presente con un afán pluralista, pero que, a su vez, no olviden el pasado para así aprender de sus errores.

(15 pages)

American Latina, Estados Unidos y Democracia-variaciones sobre un viejísmo tema-

Guillermo O'Donnell

Working Paper #19 - May 1984

The English version of this paper will be published in Kevin J. Middlebrook and Carlos Rico, eds., United States-Latin American Relations in the 1980s: Contending Perspectives on a Decade of Crisis.

Guillermo O'Donnell, the Academic Director of the Kellogg Institute, holds the Helen Kellogg Chair in International Studies and is a professor in the department of Government and Sociology. He is also a Fellow of IUPERJ, Rio de Janeiro. His most recent book, El Estado Burocrático Autoritario, 1966-1973; Triunfos, Derrotas y Crisis was published by Editorial de Belgrano, Buenos Aires, in 1982 and will be published in English by the University of California Press, Berkeley.

Abstract

This paper argues that despite the severe economic crisis confronting Latin America and despite the adverse consequences of the current United States government vis-á-vis Latin America, today there is an important opportunity for the installation or consolidation of democratic regimes in that region. The principal reason for this possibility lies in the painful learning process from the last wave of hardline authoritarianism which struck much of Latin America and continues to affect some countries. While recognizing that primary responsibility for the construction or consolidation of democracy must lie with domestic political forces of each country and that there are marked differences between South American and Central American or the Caribbean, the paper outlines some measures which the government and society of the United States could pursue. These measures would support both democratization in Latin America, and the medium and long term interests of all countries in the hemisphere.

Resumen

El presente ensayo argumenta que, a pesar de la severa crisis económica que sufre América Latina y de las poco positivas consecuencias de las actuales políticas del gobierno de Estados Unidos hacia aquella, hoy existe una importante oportunidad para la installación y/o consolidación de regímenes democráticos en aquella región. La principal razón de esa posibilidad radica en el duro aprendizaje hecho con la última ola de duro autoritarismo que asoló, y en algunos países aun asola, buena parte de América Latina. Sin perjuicio de que ese logro es responsabilidad primordial de las fuerzas políticas internas a cada país, y de distinguir las situaciones imperantes en América del Sur, por un lado, y en buena parte de América Central y el Caribe, por el otro, el ensayo propone algunos criterios y medidas que el gobierno y la sociedad de Estados Unidos, por si yen combinación con otros actores externos a ese país, podrían adoptar. Esas eventuales decisiones redundarían en beneficio tanto de la democratización en América Latina como de los intereses de mediano y largo plazo de cada uno de los países del hemisferio.

(37 pages)

Life-World and Communicative Action

Fred R. Dallmayr

Working Paper #20 - June 1984

Fred Dallmayr is Packey J. Dee Professor of Government and a member of the Kellogg Institute at the University of Notre Dame. He has published extensively on twentieth century political theory and philosophy, with emphasis on such perspectives as phenomenology, existentialism, hermeneutics, and critical theory. Among his books are: Language and Politics: Why does Language Matter to Political Philosophy? (1983); Twilight of Subjectivity: Contributions to a Post-Individualist Theory of Politics (1981); Beyond Dogma and Despair: Toward a Critical Phenomenology of Politics (1981). This paper was prepared for presentation at the International Roundtable on Political Philosophy, held at the University of Baroda, India, March 19-22, 1984.

Abstract

The paper offers a critical review of Habermas's two-volume study entitled Theory of Communicative Action (whose first volume was recently translated into English), with a focus on the two key concepts or themes of "communicative action" and "life-world." After recapitulating in detail Habermas's own presentation of the two themes, the paper turns to a discussion of various quandaries of unresolved issues besetting these concepts both singly and in their mutual relation. Foremost among these quandaries are the following: the ambivalent status of communication and language in Habermas's approach; the relations between "communicative" and "teleological" action; the tension between communication (or communicative consensus) and purposive action and its aggravation in the process of modernization and rationalization; the opaque character of the "life-world" (between phenomenology and ontology); the possibility of sociological "objectification" of the life-world; and the unclear connection between life-world and formal-rational "world concepts." A concluding section explores the implications of these quandaries for Habermas's larger theoretical framework, concentrating particularly on the role of rationality and rationalization, the progressive "colonization" of the life-world, the issue of inter-subjectivity, and the eclipse of political praxis.

Resumen

Este trabajo ofrece una revisión critica del estudio de Habermas Teoría de la Acción Comunicativa (dos volúmenes en el original alemán, el primero recientemente traducido al inglés), enfocando en los dos conceptos claves de "acción comunicativa" y "mundo de la vida". Después de recapitular en detalle la propia presentación de Habermas de los dos temas, el trabajo discute las varias cuestiones no resueltas tratando aquellos conceptos aisladamente y en su relación mutua. Entre los puntos inciertos más relevantes están los siguientes: el estatuto ambivalente de comunicación y lenguaje en el enfoque habermasiano; la relación entre acción comunicativa y teleológica; la tensión entre comunicación (o consenso comunicativo) y acción intencional y su agravamiento en el proceso de modernización y racionalización; el carácter opaco del "mundo de la vida"; y la oscura conexión entre el "mundo de la vida" y los racional-formales "conceptos sobre el mundo". Una sección conclusiva explora las implicaciones de aquellos puntos inciertos para el marco teórico mayor de Habermas, concentrándose particularmente en el rol de la racionalidad y la racionalización, la progresiva "colonización" del "mundo de la vida," la cuestión de la intersubjetividad y el eclipse de la praxis politica.

(48 pages)