Between November 2009 and December 2012, no fewer than 16 presidential elections will be held in the region. The series will begin with Chile in December of this year, and will end with elections in Mexico and Venezuela between August and December 2012. This column explores the changing dynamics...

In this paper we test the impact of elections on fiscal policy in Latin American economies in comparison to OECD countries over the period 1990-2006. We find that in Latin American countries, the average primary balance declines by an amount close to 0.7 per cent of GDP during an election year,...

We explore whether elections have an effect on portfolio flows only when they create political uncertainty. Such findings give policymakers some room of maneuver. Political uncertainty can be quickly resolved and portfolio flows return to previous levels within an average of eight months after...

This paper studies the effect of elections and democracy on bond and equity flows to emerging countries. Our results indicate that elections affect portfolio flows: the period following an election is generally characterised by a fall in equity flows, and this occurs only where the incumbent is...