The Quality of Life in Latin American Cities

Eduardo Lora

Description

A growing number of cities around the world have established systems for monitoring the quality of urban life. Many of those systems combine objective information with subjective opinions and cover a wide variety of topics. This book assesses a method that takes advantage of both types of information and offers criteria to identify and rank the issues of potential importance for urban dwellers. This method-which combines the so-called 'hedonic price' and 'life satisfaction' approaches to value public goods-was tested in pilot studies in six Latin American cities: Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Lima, Medellín, Montevideo, and San José of Costa Rica. It provides valuable insights to address key questions such as,
▪ Which urban problems have the greatest impact on people's opinions of city management and the most widespread effects on their lives?
▪ Do gaps between perception and reality vary from one area of the city to another, especially between high- and low-income neighborhoods?
▪ Where can homebuilders most feasibly seek solutions to problems such as inadequate road infrastructure, a lack of recreational areas, or poor safety conditions?
▪ Which problems should government authorities address first, in light of their impact on the well-being of various groups of individuals and given private actors' abilities to respond?
▪ Which homeowners benefit the most from public infrastructure or services?
▪ When can or should property taxes be used to finance the provision of certain services-or the solution of certain problems?
'The Quality of Life in Latin American Cities: Markets and Perception' proposes a monitoring system that is easy to operate and that entails reasonable costs but also has a solid conceptual basis. Long the ideal of many scholars and practitioners, such a system may soon become a reality and have the potential to make a significant contribution to the decision-making processes in any city concerned with the well-being of its residents.

Sujets

• Latin America
• Life satisfaction
• Monitoring
• Housing
• Urbanization
• Crime
• Neighbourhood
• Security
• Governance
• Urban planning

Informations

• Publié par: world-bank-publications
• Publié le: 04 mai 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 16
• EAN13: 9780821382134
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

The Quality of Life
in Latin American
Cities
MARKETS AND PERCEPTION
Edited by
Eduardo Lora
Andrew Powell
Bernard M.S. van Praag
Pablo Sanguinetti The Quality of Life in
Latin American Cities The Quality of Life
in Latin American
Cities
MARKETS AND
PERCEPTION
Edited by
Eduardo Lora
Andrew Powell
Bernard M.S. van Praag
Pablo Sanguinetti
a copublication of the inter-american
development bank and the world bank© 2010 The Inter-American Development Bank
1300 New York Avenue NW
Washington DC 20577
Telephone: [phone]
Internet: www.iadb.org
E-mail: [e-mail]
All rights reserved
1 2 3 4 13 12 11 10
A copublication of the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank.
The Inter-American Development Bank The World Bank
1300 New York Avenue NW 1800 H Street NW
Washington DC 20577 Washington DC 20433
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily
reflect the position of the Inter-American Development Bank.
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All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to the Office
of the Publisher, The World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-
2422; e-mail: [e-mail].
ISBN: 978-0-8213-7837-3
eISBN: 978-0-8213-8213-4
DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-7837-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The quality of life in Latin American cities : markets and perception / edited by Eduardo Lora ...
[et al.].
p. cm.—(Latin American development forum series)
“A Copublication of the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank.”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8213-7837-3—ISBN 978-0-8213-8213-4 (electronic)
1. Quality of life—Latin America. 2. Cities and towns—Latin America. 3. Latin America—Social
conditions. 4. Latin America—Economic conditions. I. Lora, Eduardo. II. World Bank.
HN110.5.A8Q33 2010
306.09728'091732—dc22
2010002327
Cover: Ultra Designs.Latin American
Development Forum Series
This series was created in 2003 to promote debate, disseminate information
and analysis, and convey the excitement and complexity of the most topical
issues in economic and social development in Latin America and the Carib-
bean. It is sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank, the United
Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, and
the World Bank. The manuscripts chosen for publication represent the
highest quality in each institution’s research and activity output and have
been selected for their relevance to the academic community, policy makers,
researchers, and interested readers.
Advisory Committee Members
Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for
Latin America and the Caribbean, United Nations
Inés Bustillo, Director, Washington Office, Economic Commission for
José Luis Guasch, Senior Adviser, Latin America and the Caribbean Region,
World Bank; and Professor of Economics, University of California, San
Diego
Santiago Levy, Vice President for Sectors and Knowledge, Inter-American
Development Bank
Eduardo Lora, Chief Economist (a.i.) and General Manager, Research
Department, Inter-American Development Bank
Luis Servén, Research Manager, Development Economics Vice Presidency,
World Bank
Augusto de la Torre, Chief Economist, Latin America and the Caribbean
Region, World Bank
vTitles in the Latin
American Development
Forum Series
The Quality of Life in Latin American Cities: Markets and Perception
(2010) by Eduardo Lora, Andrew Powell, Bernard M.S. van Praag, Pablo
Sanguinetti, editors
Discrimination in Latin America: An Economic Perspective (2010) by
Hugo Ñopo, Alberto Chong, and Andrea Moro, editors
The Promise of Early Childhood Development in Latin America and the
Caribbean (2010) by Emiliana Vegas and Lucrecia Santibáñez
Job Creation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Trends and Policy
Challenges (2009) by Carmen Pagés, Gaëlle Pierre, and Stefano Scarpetta
China’s and India’s Challenge to Latin America: Opportunity or Threat?
(2009) by Daniel Lederman, Marcelo Olarreaga, and Guillermo E. Perry,
editors
Does the Investment Climate Matter? Microeconomic Foundations of
Growth in Latin America (2009) by Pablo Fajnzylber, José Luis Guasch,
and J. Humberto López, editors
Measuring Inequality of Opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean
(2009) by Ricardo de Paes Barros, Francisco H. G. Ferreira, José R. Molinas
Vega, and Jaime Saavedra Chanduvi
The Impact of Private Sector Participation in Infrastructure: Lights,
Shadows, and the Road Ahead (2008) by Luis Andres, José Luis Guasch,
Thomas Haven, and Vivien Foster
Remittances and Development: Lessons from Latin America (2008) by
Pablo Fajnzylber and J. Humberto López, editors
viiviii titles in the series
Fiscal Policy, Stabilization, and Growth: Prudence or Abstinence? (2007)
by Guillermo Perry, Luis Servén, and Rodrigo Suescún, editors
Raising Student Learning in Latin America: Challenges for the 21st
Century (2007) by Emiliana Vegas and Jenny Petrow
Investor Protection and Corporate Governance: Firm-Level Evidence
Across Latin America (2007) by Alberto Chong and Florencio López-de-
Silanes, editors
Natural Resources: Neither Curse nor Destiny (2007) by Daniel Lederman
and William F. Maloney, editors
The State of State Reform in Latin America (2006) by Eduardo Lora,
editor
Emerging Capital Markets and Globalization: The Latin American Expe-
rience (2006) by Augusto de la Torre and Sergio L. Schmukler
Beyond Survival: Protecting Households from Health Shocks in Latin
America (2006) by Cristian C. Baeza and Truman G. Packard
Beyond Reforms: Structural Dynamics and Macroeconomic Vulnerability
(2005) by José Antonio Ocampo, editor
Privatization in Latin America: Myths and Reality (2005) by Alberto
Chong and Florencio López-de-Silanes, editors
Keeping the Promise of Social Security in Latin America (2004) by
Indermit S. Gill, Truman G. Packard, and Juan Yermo
Lessons from NAFTA: For Latin America and the Caribbean (2004) by
Daniel Lederman, William F. Maloney, and Luis Servén
The Limits of Stabilization: Infrastructure, Public Deficits, and Growth in
Latin America (2003) by William Easterly and Luis Servén, editors
Globalization and Development: A Latin American and Caribbean Per-
spective (2003) by José Antonio Ocampo and Juan Martin, editors
Is Geography Destiny? Lessons from Latin America (2003) by John Luke
Gallup, Alejandro Gaviria, and Eduardo Lora