LATIN-AMERICA THINK TANKS - THE ROOTS OF NONPROFIT PRIVATIZATION

Conventional development models refer to two sectors, public and for-p rofit private. Massive growth of nonprofit private activity undermines that picture. Latin American think tanks exemplify a nonprofit privat ization that has an enormous impact on development and remolds inter-s ectoral relationships overall. Four major dynamics account for the spe ctacular growth of the region's nonprofit think tanks. Three push fact ors are state repression, state weakness, and public university proble ms, and, as epitomized by financial supply, a pull factor is also cruc ial to attract nonprofit growth. To conceptualize its findings, this a rticle considers public failure theory. Unhelpful regarding the pull f actor, the theory otherwise works reasonably well, especially where th ere is visible movement from the public to the nonprofit sector. Beyon d that, the evidence suggests ways to broaden the theory. Even a broad ened formulation cannot fully capture the remarkable diversity and vit ality of the growth in Latin America's think tanks. But we are able to identify and analyze the key growth factors that blend together to pr oduce particular institutional and national configurations.