TY  - JOUR
AU  - Edwards,Sebastian
TI  - On the Sequencing of Structural Reforms
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 3138
PY  - 1989
Y2  - October 1989
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w3138
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w3138.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Sebastian Edwards
UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Business
110 Westwood Plaza, Suite C508
Box 951481
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1481
Tel: 310/206-6797
Fax: 310/206-5825
E-Mail: sebastian.edwards@anderson.ucla.edu
AB  - Both OECD and developing economies have embarked on structural reforms aimed at dismantling regulations and reducing the extent of distortions affecting different sectors of their economies. Regardless of the marked difference, both groups have to deal with the problems of the appropriate sequencing and speed of reforms. This paper first critically reviews the LDCs' related literature on sequencing and speed of structural reforms drawing out features which are of relevance for OECD economies. The paper then develops a formal framework based on a welfare criterion for evaluating efficiency effects of structural policies paying particular attention to the way in which distortions interact both intra and inter-temporally. The framework is then used to discuss some of the important issues such as the sequencing of micro and macro reforms ("competition of instruments"), broad front versus sequential reforms, and the role of policy credibility.
ER  -