Ongoing Experimentation with Business-Government Councils in Latin America

Abstract

A fundamental distinction, elaborated in Chapter 2, revolves around the difference between councils designed to change the activities of government (passive policy) and councils intended to alter the behavior of business (active industrial policy). The former are often characterized as competitiveness councils or public—private dialogue (PPD) and generally aim to reduce the cost of doing business by reforming what governments do. These passive policies are easier to negotiate and do not require monitoring or sanctioning of business. The second kind of policy and council aims to change the private sector, the realm of active industrial policy. This conceptual distinction is crucial because the expectations of private—public interaction differ so much. However, in practice some of the specific instruments and measures may look similar (e.g., port reform). This chapter examines councils engaged in both kinds of policy.