Abstract

WIESNER, Eduardo. The political economy of Colombia's distributive justice. Desarro. soc. [online]. 2008, n.62, pp.117-163. ISSN 0120-3584.

Following a typically "Hirschmanian" approach this article critically examines several policy premises to establish their real validity and relevance for actual policy design and implementation. These include "beliefs" and "expectations" on fiscal and redistributive matters as well as on the developmental role of "elites". The article argues that in the case of Colombia social public expenditures largely fail to be redistributive because a substantial portion has been "captured" by supply monopolies and by "perverse" incentives which drive some of their governance structures. This "redistributive failure" takes place where it matters the most, namely, in assuring equality of initial conditions and opportunities, particularly for the poor. The main policy message is that the way to reconcile distributive justice objectives with the need to maintain economic incentives is through social expenditures that effectively deliver that equality of initial opportunities. This initial equality is what provides political legitimacy to final outcomes. Hence, there is no dichotomy between development and distributive justice. What needs to be reconciled are individual incentives and interests, on the one hand, with incentives in the political and collective markets, on the other. More than a resource restriction condition Colombia faces an incentive compatibility political economy challenge.

Keywords : equity; incentives; public expenditures; elites; expectations; social justice.

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