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

Bhalla, Kavi; Shotten, Marc · 2019 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1080/23288604.2019.1565061

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Summary

This paper examines the political and institutional processes that enabled Argentina, a low- and middle-income country (LMIC), to establish a national road safety agency, offering a counterexample to the typical lack of such institutions in LMICs. While traffic injuries remain a leading health concern globally, high-income countries have successfully reduced fatalities by adopting the "Safe System" approach, which relies on strong state institutions to regulate transportation risk. In contrast, LMICs often struggle with fragmented authority and insufficient resources. The authors investigate why Argentina prioritized road safety, why institutional reform was the chosen solution, and how the political process unfolded, aiming to derive lessons for other LMICs. The study employs a descriptive case study design, utilizing document reviews of government reports, academic literature, and World Bank loan documents, alongside interviews with six key informants including researchers, officials, and experts. The analysis draws on Kingdon’s multiple streams theory to understand how focusing events, policy entrepreneurs, and political windows converged to drive reform. The narrative traces Argentina’s history of political and economic decentralization, which hindered coordinated safety efforts, and highlights the pivotal role of the 2006 Santa Fe tragedy, where a drunk driver killed nine students. This focusing event, combined with sustained advocacy by victim groups and the National Ombudsman, created political pressure that led to the unanimous passage of the 2008 Federal Agreement on Traffic and Road Safety. This law established the National Road Safety Agency (ANSV) with a secure funding stream from vehicle insurance fees. Subsequently, the World Bank provided a $30 million loan to strengthen the ANSV’s institutional capacity, focusing on creating national registries and incentivizing provincial cooperation rather than implementing direct safety interventions. The findings reveal that while traffic injuries in Argentina have not yet significantly declined, the institutional reforms successfully stabilized fatalities and created the necessary framework for future reductions. The case demonstrates that focusing events, such as disasters, are critical for raising political attention, but their impact depends on the presence of policy entrepreneurs and advocacy groups who can capitalize on the resulting policy window. The study emphasizes that while international actors like the World Bank played a role in developing technical solutions and building demand for safety, the political dynamics were predominantly local. The success of the reform relied on domestic political leadership, sustained media attention, and the strategic use of international funding to legitimize the national agency’s authority over provincial governments. The significance of this study lies in its demonstration that institutional reform is a viable pathway for improving road safety in LMICs, provided there is a convergence of political opportunity, advocacy, and technical readiness. It challenges the notion that LMICs cannot adopt the Safe System approach, showing that with the right political conditions and institutional support, countries can overcome decentralization barriers. The paper concludes that building institutions with the resources and authority to manage national programs is essential for long-term road safety improvements, offering a model for other countries seeking to address traffic injuries through systemic rather than fragmented interventions.

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Topics

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• comparative international
• traffic safety culture
• regulatory evaluation