This document, which is a revision of the original work, describes and measures the progress of structural reforms, using a structural policy index which summarizes the state of progress of policies in the commercial, financial, tax, privatization and labor areas. A parallel article uses this index to evaluate the effect of structural reforms on growth, productivity, and investment in Latin America. The index is directly based on policy variables such as those mentioned. The index compares the state of the various policy areas in a particular country or of each policy between countries. On a scale from 0 to 1, the average index for all the countries and areas of structural policy was at a level of 0. 34 in 1985. By the end of the 1990s, the index had reached 0. 58. This change reveals appreciable progress, but also reflects the fact that there is still an important potential to be exploited.
