Factors that influence the design and implementation of public policies

CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, supported by the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Panama, presented the 2015 Economy and Development Report (RED, for its acronym in Spanish), entitled "A More Effective State: Capacities for the design, implementation, and learning of public policies", with the objective of contributing to the study and understanding of the capacities of the State to improve the effectiveness of public interventions that promote development in the region. 

The study, presented in Panama, included the participation of Iván Zarak, Vice Minister of Economy and Finance, Nicolás Ardito Barletta, former President of the Republic of Panama, and CAF's Director Representative in Panama, Susana Pinilla.

Pablo Brassiolo, Chief Economist at CAF, in charge of presenting the report, pointed out that an effective State requires capacities to design public policies, implement them effectively and efficiently, and generate learning throughout these processes. These capacities include a quality bureaucracy, a system for public purchases that facilitates obtaining key inputs for the effective execution of the programs, an active citizenship that strengthens the accountability process, and the institutionalization of monitoring and evaluation schemes that transform experiences in the management of public resources into knowledge and learning that is able to increase the effectiveness of the whole process. 

At the same time, the Vice Minister of Economy and Finance, Iván Zarak, highlighted that work between CAF and the Government of Panama to strengthen national development intensified since 2010, when Panama became a full member of the financial institution. "CAF offered a very important support by granting loans and technical cooperation to finance projects". 

For Susana Pinilla, CAF's Director Representative in Panama, sustainable development demands growth with both public and private investments and with greater institutional capacity. "In many of our countries, the private sector runs at one speed, and the State goes slower, when the latter should be ahead encouraging the economic forces to travel down the path of development". 

Thus, CAF seeks to contribute to the improvement of the quality of public administration, promote greater citizen participation as a control mechanism, and incorporate new technologies and communications that strengthen the capacities of the State in its shareholder countries. 

Click here to download the complete 2015 RED Report