Building Road Safety Institutions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries : The Case of Argentina

Traffic injuries remain a leading health concern in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, most LMICs have not established institutions that have the legislative mandate and financial resources necessary to coordinate large-scale interventions. Argentina provides a counterexample. A...

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Main Authors:	Bhalla, Kavi, Shotten, Marc
Format:	Journal Article
Published:	Taylor and Francis 2019
Subjects:	HEALTH SYSTEM REFORM INSTITUTIONAL REFORM ROAD TRAFFIC INJURIES ROAD SAFETY SAFETY SYSTEMS FEDERALISM NATIONAL GOVERNANCE
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32085

id	okr-10986-32085
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-320852021-05-25T10:54:41Z Building Road Safety Institutions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries : The Case of Argentina Bhalla, Kavi Shotten, Marc HEALTH SYSTEM REFORM INSTITUTIONAL REFORM ROAD TRAFFIC INJURIES ROAD SAFETY SAFETY SYSTEMS FEDERALISM NATIONAL GOVERNANCE Traffic injuries remain a leading health concern in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, most LMICs have not established institutions that have the legislative mandate and financial resources necessary to coordinate large-scale interventions. Argentina provides a counterexample. Argentina is a federal country where the decentralization of authority to provincial governments was a key barrier to effective national interventions. In 2008, Argentina passed a law establishing a national road safety agency and subsequently received a World Bank loan to build the agency’s capacity to coordinate actions. Although traffic injuries in Argentina have not yet begun to decline, these developments raise important questions:Why did Argentina come to view road safety as a problem?Why was institutional reform the chosen solution? What was the political process for achieving reform? What are the broader implications for institutional reform in LMICs?We explore these questions using a descriptive case study (single-case, holistic design) of Argentina. The case illustrates that focusing events, like the Santa Fe tragedy that killed nine children, and advocacy groups are important for raising political attention and creating an opportunity for legislative reform. It highlights the importance of policy entrepreneurs who used the opportunity to push through new legislation. Though the political dynamic was predominantly local, international actors worked with local advocates to build demand for safety and develop solutions that could be deployed when the opportunity arose. Most important, the case emphasizes the importance of developing institutions with the resources and authority necessary for managing national road safety programs. 2019-07-12T20:25:52Z 2019-07-12T20:25:52Z 2019-03-08 Journal Article Health Systems and Reform 2328-8604 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32085 CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Taylor and Francis Publications & Research :: Journal Article Publications & Research Latin America & Caribbean Argentina
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
topic	HEALTH SYSTEM REFORM INSTITUTIONAL REFORM ROAD TRAFFIC INJURIES ROAD SAFETY SAFETY SYSTEMS FEDERALISM NATIONAL GOVERNANCE
spellingShingle	HEALTH SYSTEM REFORM INSTITUTIONAL REFORM ROAD TRAFFIC INJURIES ROAD SAFETY SAFETY SYSTEMS FEDERALISM NATIONAL GOVERNANCE Bhalla, Kavi Shotten, Marc Building Road Safety Institutions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries : The Case of Argentina
geographic_facet	Latin America & Caribbean Argentina
description	Traffic injuries remain a leading health concern in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, most LMICs have not established institutions that have the legislative mandate and financial resources necessary to coordinate large-scale interventions. Argentina provides a counterexample. Argentina is a federal country where the decentralization of authority to provincial governments was a key barrier to effective national interventions. In 2008, Argentina passed a law establishing a national road safety agency and subsequently received a World Bank loan to build the agency’s capacity to coordinate actions. Although traffic injuries in Argentina have not yet begun to decline, these developments raise important questions:Why did Argentina come to view road safety as a problem?Why was institutional reform the chosen solution? What was the political process for achieving reform? What are the broader implications for institutional reform in LMICs?We explore these questions using a descriptive case study (single-case, holistic design) of Argentina. The case illustrates that focusing events, like the Santa Fe tragedy that killed nine children, and advocacy groups are important for raising political attention and creating an opportunity for legislative reform. It highlights the importance of policy entrepreneurs who used the opportunity to push through new legislation. Though the political dynamic was predominantly local, international actors worked with local advocates to build demand for safety and develop solutions that could be deployed when the opportunity arose. Most important, the case emphasizes the importance of developing institutions with the resources and authority necessary for managing national road safety programs.
format	Journal Article
author	Bhalla, Kavi Shotten, Marc
author_facet	Bhalla, Kavi Shotten, Marc
author_sort	Bhalla, Kavi
title	Building Road Safety Institutions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries : The Case of Argentina
title_short	Building Road Safety Institutions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries : The Case of Argentina
title_full	Building Road Safety Institutions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries : The Case of Argentina
title_fullStr	Building Road Safety Institutions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries : The Case of Argentina
title_full_unstemmed	Building Road Safety Institutions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries : The Case of Argentina
title_sort	building road safety institutions in low- and middle-income countries : the case of argentina
publisher	Taylor and Francis
publishDate	2019
url	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32085
_version_	1764475747391504384

Building Road Safety Institutions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries : The Case of Argentina

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