Calderón, CesarFajnzylber, Pablo2012-08-132012-08-132009-04https://hdl.handle.net/10986/10988Latin America's government debt has exhibited a clear downward trend since 2003. While this has been partly due to rapidly increasing commodity prices, more sustainable fiscal policies have also been a contributing factor. In effect, in a significant break with the past, cyclically adjusted government balances have raised (fallen) in response to increases (reductions) in debt levels. However, Latin governments have continued to under?save in good times and therefore fiscal policy has remained pro-cyclical, thus weakening the ability to protect the poor and maintain infrastructure investments during bad times. Financing and institutional constraints to more counter?cyclical fiscal policies still remain in most countries. They are lowest in Chile, followed by Brazil and Colombia, and highest in Ecuador and Venezuela. Looking forward, long?term sustainability considerations cannot be ignored as decisions are made regarding the size, composition and targeting of fiscal stimulus packages.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO CREDITACCESS TO FINANCEACCESS TO FUNDSADJUSTMENT PROGRAMSARBITRAGEBANK POLICYBARRIERBASIS POINTSBONDBOND MARKETSBORROWING COSTSBUDGETARY INSTITUTIONSBUSINESS CYCLEBUSINESS CYCLESCAPITAL FLOWSCAPITAL INFLOWSCENTRAL BANKSCOMMODITYCOMMODITY PRICESCREDIT CONSTRAINTSCREDIT LINECREDIT MARKETSCREDITWORTHINESSCURRENCYCURRENT ACCOUNTCURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUSESDEBT BURDENDEBT LEVELSDEBT MANAGEMENTDEBT MARKETSDEBT SUSTAINABILITYDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT BANKDISCRETIONARY MEASURESDISCRETIONARY POLICYDOMESTIC MARKETECONOMIC ACTIVITYECONOMIC FLUCTUATIONSECONOMIC SLOWDOWNEMERGING MARKETEMERGING MARKET ECONOMIESEXISTING DEBTEXPENDITUREEXPENDITURESEXPORTERSEXTERNAL BORROWINGEXTERNAL CAPITALEXTERNAL FINANCINGFINANCIAL BURDENFINANCIAL CRISISFINANCIAL DEPTHFINANCIAL POLICYFINANCING COSTSFISCAL ADJUSTMENTFISCAL ADJUSTMENTSFISCAL BALANCESFISCAL CONSOLIDATIONFISCAL CONTRACTIONFISCAL DISCIPLINEFISCAL EXPANSIONSFISCAL POLICIESFISCAL POLICYFISCAL RULESFISCAL STIMULUSFISCAL SUSTAINABILITYGOVERNMENT DEBTGOVERNMENT EXPENDITURESGOVERNMENT REVENUESGOVERNMENT SOLVENCYINCOMEINCOME TAXESINDUSTRIAL COUNTRIESINFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTSINSTITUTIONAL BARRIERSINSTITUTIONAL CONSTRAINTSINSTRUMENTINTEREST PAYMENTSINTERNATIONAL CAPITALINTERNATIONAL CAPITAL MARKETSINTERNATIONAL ECONOMICSINTERNATIONAL FINANCEINTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MARKETSINTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDINVESTMENT PROJECTSLIMITED ACCESSLIQUIDITYLIQUIDITY CONSTRAINTSLOCAL CURRENCYLONG TERM DEBTMACROECONOMIC POLICIESMACROECONOMIC POLICYMACROECONOMIC STABILITYMATURITYMONETARY POLICYOIL PRICESOUTPUTOUTPUT GAPPOLICY RESPONSESPORTFOLIOPRIMARY BALANCEPRIMARY EXPENDITUREPRIMARY SPENDINGPRIMARY SURPLUSPRIVATE CREDITPUBLIC DEBTPUBLIC DEFICITSPUBLIC INVESTMENTPUBLIC INVESTMENTSPUBLIC SECTORRESERVESSAFETY NETSSOCIAL PROTECTIONSOCIAL SAFETY NETSSOCIAL SECURITYSOLVENCYSWAPTAXTAX COLLECTIONTOTAL DEBTTRACK RECORDVOLATILITYWorld Bank10.1596/10988