Latin America's macroeconomic crises of the 1980s and '90s forced a severe fiscal adjustment across the region. More often than not, fiscal stability was achieved at the cost of a drastic compression of public infrastructure spending, accompanied by the hope that the private sector would take the leading role in infrastructure provision. This book documents the major trends in infrastructure provision in Latin America over the past two decades n order to assess the consequences of this changed public-private partnership from the perspective of economic growth, public finances, and the quantity and quality of infrastructure services. It will be of particular interest to those in the fields of infrastructure, fiscal policy, and economic growth, and anyone concerned with Latin America's development. For orders originating outside of North America, please visit the World Bank website for a list of distributors and geographic discounts at http://publications.worldbank.org/howtoorder or e-mail [email protected].

"This fascinating book highlights a neglected cost of two decades of fiscal austerity in Latin America. The authors' careful analysis reveals that the decline in public investment in infrastructure may have been expensive not only for growth but for long-term fiscal solvency as well. Deserves to be read by every IMF economist (and many others besides)." -Dani Rodrik,John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University "The lessons from this research are likely to be valuable not only for developing countries but also for the European countries that are part of the Euro zone." -Sergio Rebelo,Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

William Easterly is Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development and the Institute for International Economics in Washington, DC. Luis Serven is Lead Specialist in the Office of the Chief Economist of the Latin America and Caribbean Region of the World Bank.