Cooperation and Provision of Regional Public Goods: The IIRSA Case

This presentation discusses the IIRSA Initiative, institutional mechanism for the coordination of intergovernmental actions performed by the twelve South American countries. It covers some descriptive issues and an analysis section. The description features the components of the mechanism: territorial planning, development impact, environmental sustainability, project analysis and implementation, and regulatory issues. The analysis revolves around the hypothesis that the IIRSA cooperation mechanism has been able to keep running and make progress despite the lack of a process of deep integration in South America because benefits derived from participation are higher than costs and because of the ability to maintain a well focused agenda, together with the fact that decision making process is based upon consensus. This presentation was prepared for the Latin America/Caribbean and Asia/Pacific Economics and Business Association (LAEBA)'s 4th Annual Meeting, held in Lima, Peru, on June 17th, 2008.