If market reform is to prove sustainable, its benefits must be broadly based. The public as a whole must have a clear stake in reform. Newly developed stock exchanges and capital markets give the wealthy a big stake early in the process. But such macroeconomic reforms offer few immediate benefits to the majority, for whom the salient issues are more difficult ones involving equity, social welfare, social security, and basic public service delivery. Unfortunately, the consensus that reigns among policy makers concerning the principles of economic reform breaks down completely when it comes to the role of social welfare institutions and how to reform them.
Institutional reforms are also much harder to implement.
Macroeconomic reforms require swift and decisive measures that can be carried out by a small group of policy makers, usually concentrated in the executive branch and relatively isolated politically. Popular acquiescence is necessary, but active cooperation on a widespread scale is not. In contrast, changing institutions and the way they deliver services is time-consuming and involves many actors. It also usually requires challenging powerful groups that deliver essential services, such as health care and education. Despite these difficulties, an increasing number of countries are undertaking institutional reforms.