The Changing Role of the Central Planning Offices in Latin America

The central planning agencies in Latin America have undergone multiple transformations in their structural design. These agencies came to life during the late 1950s in response to a development strategy that required the state to provide long-run direction to development by means of economic planning. Five decades later, the same agencies were redeployed to perform an open-market development strategy. What explains the fact that the same agency, created with the purpose of planning economic development, has functioned across time and governments with sharp economic, and political differences? Following Mahoney and Thelen (2010), this paper highlights the idea that the basic properties of institutions provide some forceful elements that permit change. In this sense, the document shows how veto possibilities and compliance are key variables in understanding the changing role of the central planning offices in Latin America.