Budget institutions and fiscal performance in Latin America

In this paper, we collect detailed information on the budget institutions o f Latin American countries. We classify these institutions on a 'hierarchic al'/'colllegial' scale, as a function of the existence of constraints on th e deficit, and voting rules. We show that 'hierarchical' and transparent pr ocedures have been associated with more fiscal discipline in Latin America in the 1980s and early 1990s. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights res erved. JEL classification: H61; D70; E60.