Opacity in Latin America: Argentina and Chile: A Case Study Comparison

Abstract

Governance and opacity issues have increased since the early 1990s and several governance indicators are introduced by international organizations and NGOs. The governance indicators have been used in various sectors, directly affecting a nation's political reputation. This study analyzes the context of governance and opacity in Argentina and Chile and assesses the relationship between the cultural pattern and the functioning of institutions. A first approximation to the analysis of Argentina and Chile seems to lead to the conclusion of the existence of homogeneity between them as a result of a similar background. However, differences in geography and history generate different societal norms, and functioning of institutions within them. Chile's geographical isolation and limited natural resources leads the country toward economic growth and political stability. By contrast, in Argentina, populist regimes undermine the foundations of its economy while its middle class struggles and loses public trust. The various factors interactively affect quality of public policies and governance and, consequently, are conducive to differences in the perceived and real levels of opacity between both countries. Is corruption a culture-specific issue? If yes, then, is governance a consequence of culture too? Therefore, it is important to interpret a context behind governance in order to establish appropriate anticorruption reform in practice. This chapter seeks to address some of these issues by means of a case study comparison between Argentina and Chile and contribute to the understanding of the context in which negotiations may occur when FDI and M&A deals take place.

Citation

Arbeláez, H. and Tanaka, R. (2012), "Opacity in Latin America: Argentina and Chile: A Case Study Comparison", Choi, J.J. and Sami, H. (Ed.) Transparency and Governance in a Global World (International Finance Review, Vol. 13), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 337-377. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1569-3767(2012)0000013015