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The article introduces the concept of green tax reforms ("reforma fiscal ambiental") and examines its pertinence for the region, based on the analysis of the opportunities and difficulties for implementing those reforms in two essential public services: the provision of electric power and urban public transportation. Those services are analyzed in their specificities but are considered illustrative of more general situations. After a conventional analysis of objectives and instruments, it is shown that the markets are interdependent and that environmental goals are cross-cutting. From those methodological principles, the shortcomings of the public policies conceived like parallel and autonomous channels become more obvious. Although there seem to be spaces for fiscal innovations with environmental objectives, the paper analyzes the distribution and the competitiveness challenges, and the political economy and institutionalist issues; the results make possible to situate the energy and public transportation agendas in a more general and productive context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to assess the determinants for adoption of active environmental policies by countries in the region. It considers, as a reference, two indicators of international environmental policy: The number of ratified international treaties related to this matter and implementation of programs suggested by Agenda 21. The only important factors for evaluating whether the governments of the region are going to have more active policies in favor of environmental conservation seem to be the degree of human development (which measures growth in three dimensions: Education, life expectancy, and income levels) and demographic pressure. Political systems and the environmental status of countries do not seem to influence more active ecological policies. The results are robust for differing specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]