bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Streamlining and Privatization Prices in the Telecommunications Industry
Authors: Chong Alberto E. , Galdo Virgilio
Published: March 2024

This paper fills a void in the issue of determinants of privatization prices by concentrating in one industry across many countries. This has not been done before, as the literature has only focused on (i) many industries in one country, (ii) a single industry in one country, and (iii) many industries in many countries. We complement a recently released database with newly collected data, and we are able to cover 84 telecommunications privatizations, which account for nearly 80 percent of the sector in terms of value. Our findings are consistent with the little existing work on privatization prices, as our best policy prescription is primarily to concentrate on the transparency and cleanliness of the privatization process, as sale methods do matter. We show that government administration of labor downsizing may result in adverse selection, as the best workers are the first to leave when given the opportunity.
Bundling of Services and Household Welfare in Developing Countries Using Panel Data: The Case of Peru
Authors: Chong Alberto E. , Hentschel Jesko , Saavedra-Chanduví Jaime
Published: March 2024

Using panel data for Peru for the period 1994-2000, we find that when households receive two or more services jointly, the welfare increases of the household, as measured by changes in consumption, are larger than when services are provided separately. Such an increase appears to be more than proportional, as F-tests on the coefficients of the corresponding regressors confirm. Thus, we find that bundling of services may help realize welfare effects.
The Discovery of New Export Products in Ecuador
Authors: Muñoz Ernesto , Hernández Iván , González Francisco , Cely Nathalie , Prieto Iván
Published: March 2024

This paper examines export diversification in Ecuador in the cases of fresh cut flowers, canned tuna, palm heart, broccoli and mangoes, using the theoretical framework on pioneers and discoveries developed by Hausmann and Rodrik (2003), as well as work by Sánchez and Butler (2006) on export costs and related uncertainties. It is found that the discoveries were mainly of traditional competitive advantage, with various degrees of technology adoption. The following policy implications are derived: i) innovative mechanisms to share the costs of new discoveries must be found and intellectual property rights strengthened; ii) cooperation among industry experts needs to improve; iii) deeper collective action to promote public-private partnerships should be undertaken; iv) relevant information and knowledge should be made available to all interested parties; and v) a national-level agenda should be undertaken to increase private investment in promising sectors while promoting the creation of public goods and minimizing rent-seeking behavior.
Innovation and Technology Adoption in Central America
Authors: Rodríguez-Clare Andrés
Published: March 2024

In spite of deep structural reforms, Central American countries have failed to experience rapid and stable growth in recent years. This paper explores whether and to what extent we can consider lack of innovation and technology adoption as a main reason for this disappointing experience. The paper starts by documenting that technology adoption and innovation are indeed very low, and then turns to a more qualitative and eclectic analysis drawing on interviews and case studies to try to understand the reasons for this. Four hypotheses are explored: weak intellectual property rights, low competition, lack of finance and low levels of education. The conclusion that emerges is that the last two of these four hypotheses may be especially relevant for the region. The paper concludes with several policy recommendations.
Do Democracies Breed Rent-Seeking Behavior?
Authors: Chong Alberto E. , Calderón César
Published: March 2024

Using objective institutional historical data we test the link between extent, duration, and transparency in democracies and rent-seeking behavior using time-series and panel data approaches. In this paper we focus on the case of Uruguay, an ethnically homogeneous country. We find three main results. First, democratic regimes are negatively linked with rent-seeking actions. Second, the longer the duration of democracy, the less rent-seeking in a society. Third, legislation enacted more transparently is negatively correlated with rent-seeking behavior. Our results are robust to the use of different econometric methods and basic robustness tests and are consistent with prevailing theory.
Is It Possible to Speak English Without Thinking American?: On Globalization and the Determinants of Cultural Assimilation
Authors: Chong Alberto E.
Published: March 2024

Based on research in linguistics and psychology I use language speech as a reflection of acculturation. I use individual and city-level data from the Lake Ontario area in Canada and study the determinants of cultural assimilation. I focus on education, age, income, and in particular, on some variables typically discussed when globalization issues come up, such as immigration, television viewing, borders, and residence history of the individuals. I find that actual contact does matter as a determinant of cultural homogenization. Virtual contact appears to be irrelevant. This finding is robust to changes in specification and to different empirical methods.
An Evaluation of the Contractionary Devaluation Hypothesis
Authors: Bebczuk Ricardo N. , Panizza Ugo , Galindo Arturo
Published: March 2024

Recent empirical and theoretical literature on the impact of real exchange rate devaluations on economic performance questions the traditional expansionary effect generated within standard Mundell-Fleming models. Contractionary devaluations may arise when firms face maturity or currency mismatches that, when faced with real exchange rate depreciations, lead to balance-sheet effects that erode firms' wealth and lead to an output contraction. While some authors show that the standard Mundell-Fleming result may hold even in the presence of currency mismatches, others point out that, if the balance sheet effect is large enough, devaluations can be contractionary. Using a large panel of 57 countries across the world and various newly constructed measures of dollarization, we test whether the balance sheet effect hypothesis has been relevant during the past decades in explaining economic downturns. Additionally, we explore the channels through which devaluations can be contractionary; in particular, we explore whether investment and consumption decisions are negatively affected by exchange rate devaluations under currency mismatches.
Ethnicity and Human Capital Accumulation in Urban Mexico
Authors: Winder Natalia , Ñopo Hugo R.
Published: March 2024

This study analyzes social mobility and human capital accumulation among ethnic minorities in Mexican urban areas, exploring changes in educational attainment and labor market status and using panel data from the Mexican Family Life Survey (MFxLS). The results indicate important ethnic differences in human capital accumulation patterns, especially in education, where non-indigenous individuals seem to accumulate human capital more rapidly than individuals of indigenous descent. Also, key socio-demographic characteristics linked to those patterns of human capital accumulation seem to differ between indigenous and non-indigenous individuals. In particular, for indigenous peoples in urban areas, human capital accumulation and wealth accumulation seem to work as substitutes rather than complements in the short run.
Taxonomy of Causes, Impacts and Policy Responses to the Food Price Crisis in the Andean Region
Authors: Cuesta José A. , Jaramillo Fidel
Published: March 2024

This paper analyzes the causes, effects and policy alternatives associated with the recent international food price crisis in the Andean region. Additionally, the document makes a first approach to the policy options utilized to confront the crisis, discussing the mix of policies and their potential effectiveness, using a qualitative methodology based in part on schemes proposed in Manzano and Stein (2008), and Malarín (2008). A final section underscores various messages common to the countries of the region. Specifically, the report concludes that this crisis offers a great opportunity for transforming its uncertainties and costs into a stimulus for maturing an infrastructure of prevention and reduction of vulnerabilities in the Andean economies.
Gender and Racial Wage Gaps in Brazil 1996-2006: Evidence Using a Matching Comparisons Approach
Authors: Salardi Paola , Ñopo Hugo R.
Published: March 2024

This paper explores the evolution of Brazilian wage gaps by gender and skin color over a decade (1996-2006), using the matching comparison methodology developed by Ñopo (2008). In Brazil, racial wage gaps are more pronounced than those found along the gender divide, although both noticeably decreased over the course of the last decade. The decomposition results show that differences in observable characteristics play a crucial role in explaining wage gaps. While in the case of racial wage gaps, observable human capital characteristics account for most of the observed wage gaps, the observed gender wage gaps have the opposite sign than what the differences in human capital characteristics would predict. In both cases the role of education is prominent.
Targeting Inflation in a Dollarized Economy: The Peruvian Experience
Authors: Grippa Francisco , Armas Adrián
Published: March 2024

This discusses the unique experience of Peru's Central Bank with inflation targeting in an economy characterized by a high degree of financial dollarization. The paper outlines how Peru has taken financial dollarization into consideration in the design of monetary policy, then deals with monetary policy implementation and the Central Bank's strategy for controlling financial dollarization risks. The paper concludes with analysis and lessons drawn from the Peruvian case.
Coordination Failures, Clusters and Microeconomic Interventions
Authors: Rodríguez-Clare Andrés
Published: March 2024

This paper discusses coordination failures, their relevance to developing countries, and the circumstances under which they occur, arguing that that clusters can be seen as agglomerations of firms and organizations in related economic activities among which coordination failures are likely to arise. In other words, clusters provide opportunities for microeconomic interventions that promote coordination and collective action to improve productivity. Subsequently presented is a model of a small economy plagued by sector or cluster-specific coordination failures, which demonstrates that policy should foster cooperation in sectors where the economy already shows comparative advantage. In regard to innovation, general policies that aim to increase innovation across the board are likely to be inferior to policies that take a more selective approach by trying to induce the development of innovation clusters in areas of comparative advantage. The paper concludes with suggestions on how an understanding of coordination failures and clusters can form the basis for a set of effective microeconomic interventions for middle-income countries.
Loyal Lenders or Fickle Financiers: Foreign Banks in Latin America
Authors: Micco Alejandro , Powell Andrew , Galindo Arturo
Published: March 2024

We suggest that foreign banks may represent a trade-off for their developing country hosts. A portfolio model is developed to show that a more diversified international bank may be one of lower, overall risk and less susceptible to funding shocks but may react more to shocks that affect expected returns in a particular host country. Foreign banks have become particularly important in Latin America where we find strong support for these theoretical predictions using a dataset of individual Latin American banks in 11 countries. Moreover, we find no significant difference between the size of the response of foreign banks to a negative liquidity shock and a positive opportunity shock: in both cases the market share of foreign banks in credit increases.
Does Privatization Deliver?: Access to Telephone Services and Household Income in Poor Rural Areas Using a Quasi-Natural Experiment in Peru
Authors: Chong Alberto E. , Galdo Virgilio , Torero Máximo
Published: March 2024

This paper takes advantage of a quasi-natural experiment in Peru by which the privatized telecommunications company was required by government to randomly install and operate public pay phones in small rural towns throughout the national territory. Using a specially designed household survey for a representative sample of rural towns, it is possible to link access to telephone services with household income. It was found that, regardless of the income measurement, most characteristics of public telephone usage are positively linked with income. Remarkably, the benefits occur at both non-farm and farm income levels. Not only do the findings hold when using instrumental variables, but they are also further confirmed when using propensity scores matching methods.
Institutional Enforcement, Labor-Market Rigidities, and Economic Performance
Authors: Chong Alberto E. , León Gianmarco , Calderón César
Published: March 2024

This paper study the issue of institutional enforcement of regulations by focusing on labor-market policies and their potential link to economic performance. It test the different impacts of enforceable and non-enforceable labor regulations by proxying non-enforceable labor rigidity measures using data on conventions from the International Labor Organization (ILO). It has been argued that non-enforceable conventions -that is, those that exist on paper and are simply de jure regulations -appear to be more distortionary and tend to be the least enforced in practice (Squire and Suthiwart-Narueput, 1997). According to Freeman (1993), these conventions reflect the ideal regulatory framework from an institutionalist perspective and cover a variety of labor market issues, from child labor to placement agencies. Whereas in theory, a country's ratification of ILO conventions gives the country legal status and thus supersedes domestic regulations relating to those issues, in practice the degree of labor-market rigidity depends on how the conventions are enforced. It is the outcome of the regulations that matters, rather than their number.
Procyclicality or Reverse Causality?
Authors: Panizza Ugo , Jaimovich Dany
Published: March 2024

There is a large literature showing that fiscal policy is either acyclical or countercyclical in industrial countries and procyclical in developing countries. Most of this literature is based on OLS regressions that focus on the correlation between a fiscal variable (usually the budget balance or expenditure growth) and either GDP growth or some measure of the output gap. This paper argues that such a methodology does not permit the identification of the effect of the business cycle on fiscal policy and hence cannot be used to estimate policy reaction functions. The paper proposes a new instrument for GDP growth and shows that, once GDP growth is properly instrumented, procyclicality tends to disappear.
Privatized Firms, Rule of Law and Labor Outcomes in Emerging Markets
Authors: Chong Alberto E. , León Gianmarco
Published: March 2024

This paper takes advantage of a recent large firm-level dataset to compare labor indicators of privatized, private, and public firms around the world, particularly wages, benefits, labor composition, education and training, unionization, and quality of management. While labor productivity increases after privatization, the ratio of permanent workers to temporary workers also increases. Convergence depends to some degree on the quality of the institutions, namely, the rule of law. Not only is this true for the ratio of permanent workers to temporary workers, but also for education of the workforce, and for the managers years of experience. On the other hand, the rule of law appears to be less important in the case of labor productivity and training.
A Cross-Country Analysis of the Risk Factors for Depression at the Micro and Macro Level
Authors: Melgar Natalia , Rossi Máximo
Published: March 2024

Past research has provided evidence of the role of some personal characteristics as risk factors for depression. However, few studies have examined jointly their specific impact and whether country characteristics change the probability of being depressed. In general, this is due to the use of single-country databases. The aim of this paper is to extend previous findings by employing a much larger dataset and including the country effects mentioned above. The paper estimates probit models with country effects and explores linkages between specific environmental factors and depression using data from the 2007 Gallup Public Opinion Poll. Findings indicate that depression is positively related to being a woman, adulthood, divorce, widowhood, unemployment and low income. Moreover, there is evidence of the significant positive association between inequality and depression, especially for those living in urban areas. Finally, some populations characteristics facilitate depression (age distribution and religious affiliation).
Interaction between the Government and the Spanish Civil Society during the Negotiations for the Accession of Spain into the European Union
Authors: Bassols Jacas Raimundo
Published: March 2024

Western countries have established themselves and developed over the last two centuries in the model of the Nation-State, founded on national sovereignty. Civil societies from these countries have been educated and conditioned to respect and fully accept the principles and symbols of a sovereign Nation. They are sharply nationalistic civil societies. This interactive relationship between the Governments and their respective civil societies are the reason that motivates this paper.
Briefing Note on Intra-European Regional Policy Mechanisms in the Context of the Debate on Development Policies
Authors: Tortora Manuela , Barbry Antoine
Published: March 2024

This note contains a brief overview of the EU's main regional policy mechanisms illustrating the wide scope of measures used and the objectives being targeted to support a balanced intra-EU development.
Environmental Indicators on Selected Issues for Latin America and the Caribbean
Authors: Kool Johnathan , Tunstall Dan , Cassara Amy , Salvatore Jillian , White Robin
Published: March 2024

This report represents a selection and analysis of key indicators that bear upon the particular set of issues that the IDB borrowing member countries are facing at this point. Some of the indicators presented in this report document the main pressures caused by economic development on the environment.
Secondary Education in Brazil: Time to Move Forward
Authors: Rodríguez Alberto , Herrán Carlos Alberto
Published: March 2024

This study represents a collaborative effort between the two Banks, developed in close consultation with brazilian government officials and education authorities, both at the federal and state level. The report is based on new research commissioned to brazilian social scientists focusing on both supply and demand factors affecting student attainment and performance. It explores the main challenges faced by brazilian secondary education in terms of access, equity, quality and financing, and presents a menu of policy options -not prescriptions- to address them.
Globalization, Tax System, and the Architecture of the Global Economic System
Authors: Tanzi Vito
Published: March 2024

This paper discusses the relationship between various global trends and national tax system.
Globalization, Inequality, and Poverty
Authors: Bardhan Pranab
Published: March 2024

As is common in contentious public debates, different people mean different things by globalization.
Teachers' Unions, Governments and Educational Reforms in Latin America and the Caribbean: Conditions for Dialogue
Authors: Legarralde Martín , Palamidessi Mariano
Published: March 2024

This document was commissioned by the Education Network of the Regional Policy Dialogue for the IX Hemispheric Meeting celebrated on November 8th and 9th, 2006.
Convergence in the Americas: Some Lessons from the DR-CAFTA process
Authors: Granados Jaime , Cornejo Rafael
Published: March 2024

Few regions in the world have seen such an aggressive proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) as the Americas. This decentralised and uncoordinated process is beginning to cause concern as it threatens to undermine efforts to build a hemispheric trading system.
Survival of New Exporters in Developing Countries: Does it Matter How They Diversify?
Authors: Volpe Martincus Christian , Carballo Jerónimo
Published: March 2024

Recent studies have shown that developing countries might have significantly better export performance if they were able to increase the duration of their trade relationships. Evidence on duration of these relationships at the firm level is virtually absent. In this paper, we aim at filling this gap in the literature by analyzing what determines export survival using firm-level data for the whole population of Peruvian new exporters over the period 2000-2006. In particular, we address one question: Does it matter how firms diversify? We find that geographical diversification increases the probability of survival in export markets more than product diversification.
Market Access Provisions in Regional Trade Agreement
Authors: Suominen Kati , Shearer Matthew , Estevadeordal Antoni
Published: March 2024

Regional trade agreements (RTAs) have proliferated over the past decade around the world to cover nearly half of global trade. The number of RTAs notified to the WTO is approaching 200, while the total number of RTAs around the world exceeds 300. The global RTA spree has forged a veritable spaghetti bowl of multiple and often overlapping agreements.
Origin and Beyond: Trade Facilitation Disaster or Trade Facility Opportunity?
Authors: Harris Jeremy , Staples Brian Rankin
Published: March 2024

Presents information about several mechanisms by which the barriers imposed by rules of origin may be reduced through effective trade facilitation efforts. Also discussed are the functional similarities of a variety of other requirements on international trade with rules of origin, including environmental, security, and consumer safety certifications.
Microeconomic Flexibility, Creative Destruction and Trade
Authors: Blyde Juan S. , Pineda José
Published: March 2024

We investigate whether greater microeconomic flexibility facilitates the process of creative destruction in the context of new trade models with heterogeneous firms (Bernard et al., 2003 and Melitz, 2003). In these models, freer trade increases aggregate productivity because high-efficiency firms expand through exporting and low-efficiency firms exit the market. However, factor reallocation could be negatively affected by the presence of microeconomic frictions. We use these insights of the theory to analyze whether a reduction in trade costs increases the probability of becoming an exporter relatively more in industries with greater microeconomic flexibility and whether plant exit driven by trade costs declines is more likely in industries with lower frictions. Using plant level data from Venezuela, we report results supporting these predictions.
Understanding the continuing effect of the economic crisis on remittances
Authors: Orozco Manuel
Published: March 2024

Final Report on the research study on the impact of the financial crisis on remittances trends to Latin America and the Caribbean in 2009
Rules of Origin in FTAs in Europe and in the Americas: Issues and Implications for the EU-Mercosur Inter-Regional Association Agreement
Authors: Suominen Kati , Estevadeordal Antoni
Published: March 2024

Rules of origin (RoO) are a central topic both in the Inter-Regional Association Agreement negotiations between the European Union (EU) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), and in the 34-country negotiations of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed mapping of the different rules of origin regimes in FTAs in Europe and the Americas, and to draw lessons from these regimes to the EU-Mercosur RoO negotiations, in particular. The paper offers four recommendations. First, the EU¿s standardized RoO regime will play a central role in the EU-Mercosur RoO negotiations. However, there is plenty of room for mutual tariff concessions. At the minimum, the EU¿s tariff preferences for Mercosur should approximate those provided to Chile in order to foster Mercosur¿s chances to augment its industrial exports to the European market. Second, the EU-Mercosur FTA RoO regime should incorporate general and sector-specific adjustment mechanisms in order to enable Mercosur to better utilize the preferential treatment provided by the EU. Third, Mercosur will need to further consolidate its common market in order to take full advantage of the RoO regime¿s likely provision of diagonal cumulation. Fourth, Mercosur should make the most of its strategy of simultaneous trade negotiations in the Americas and with the EU by ensuring a high degree of compatibility between its two major future agreements.
MERCOSUR's Insertion into a Globalized World
Authors: García Peluffo Juan Ignacio
Published: March 2024

This paper formed part of a Conference "Mercosur: In Search of a New Agenda"; held in the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Rio de Janeiro in June 2003. The purpose of the Conference was to was to examine future directions for Mercosur in light of emerging political dynamics pointing to renewed interest in deepening the initiative after a turbulent 1999-2002. The papers and the conference were supported by the Integration and Regional Programs Department of the Inter-American Development Bank through its Special Initiative on Trade and Integration. The Department is grateful for the collaboration of the Foundation and in particular to Professor Renato Flores. Mr. García Pelufo¿s thesis states that Mercosur will recover under stable conditions simply because its originating reasons and motivations are still current. In view of similar regional and global conditions it is to be expected that the Southern Cone countries will generate the same responses from the previous decade vis à vis similar facts. However, the trauma of recession will leave its consequences. It will probably stimulate the reformulation of an integration model that will contemplate the need to coordinate Mercosur international insertion on a compatible basis, and will take into account the size asymmetry among Mercosur members and the fact that the larger country lacks a currency solid enough to become the reference for the bloc.
Chile's Integration Strategy: Is There Room for Improvement?
Authors: Blyde Juan S. , Mesquita Moreira Mauricio
Published: March 2024

What are the main issues in Chile's trade agenda? This paper argues that the country's agenda does not lend itself to that traditional kind of policy advice usually given throughout Latin America. Protection is low and uniform, institutions that govern trade policy are strong and well protected from capture and the country has put a lot of effort in opening markets in the region and abroad. The important issues that come out of the analysis are to a great extent, "second generational". That is: export diversification, the regional distribution of trade gains, completion of the "multidimensional" trade strategy and transport costs. Whereas Chile has made progress in diversifying its exports away from copper, concentration is still high even when compared to other resource intensive countries. On the regional issue, it seems clear that Chile's export-led growth in the last two decades was not evenly distributed across the regions. On Chile's "multidimensional" trade strategy, Asia is clearly the missing link in the country's wide net of preferential agreements and the evidence available suggest that transport costs are these days a more important obstacle to Chile's trade than traditional trade barriers.
What Determines Investment in the Oil Sector?: A New Era for National and International Oil Companies
Authors: Hvozdyk Lyudmyla , Mercer-Blackman Valerie
Published: March 2024

This paper discusses recent trends in investment in the oil sector, amid new challenges for national and international oil companies in an increasingly supply-constrained environment. After more than a decade of stagnant investment rates, nominal investment has picked up sharply over the three years ending in 2007, but soaring costs (including from higher tax rates and royalties) meant that investment growth was minimal in real terms. The paper performs econometric tests using the Arellano-Bond GMM technique. It finds that `below ground¿ risks are statistically very important in deterring real investment. Companies are taking on increasingly complex geological challenges, which are putting upward pressure on production costs and are leading to greater project delays compared to the past. As many of these factors are expected to persist, supply constraints are likely to remain a dominant factor behind oil price fluctuations during the next several years.
Trade Liberalization and Small Economies
Authors: Gonzales Anthony Peter
Published: March 2024

This report discusses the effect of global integration through trade and investment liberalization on small economies. Findings included the idea that small states are more vulnerable and experience greater income volatility than larger states, and that the sources of this vulnerability are often a result of the external environment. This report offers a range of common relevant policy actions for small states themselves and the international community to deal with their special problems of volatility, vulnerability, transition to the changing global trade regime, capacity building and the challenges and opportunities from globalization. This document is part of a series of papers commissioned by the IDB for the 3rd Meeting of the Trade and Integration Dialogue held on October 16th and 17th, 2001 in Washington, DC.
How to Deepen the Dialogue between the Andean Community and the EU
Authors: Page Sheila
Published: March 2024

This paper discusses the European Union trade policy making process and implications for the Andean community. The European Union (EU) divides its agreements with other countries into three types: neighbourhood, trade and development, and is currently classifying the negotiations with the Andean Community as development. The Andean Community must examine how the EU has approached its agreements in the past and what the Andean countries need from an agreement, and decide whether it wants to negotiate on the trade or development models. In the light of this choice, it must then identify the negotiating approaches, the non-governmental allies, and the economic and social information which will be most effective in convincing the EC and the EU member countries to sign a favourable agreement. This document was presented by the Trade and Integration Network of the Regional Policy Dialogue for the Andean Subregional Meeting held on April 23rd and 24th, 2007 in Lima, Peru.
ENLACE Social Inclusion Trust Fund: Social Inclusion Survey: Staff Perceptions on Social Inclusion
Authors: Thompson Mary S.
Published: March 2024

This paper is intended to contribute to the promotion of social inclusion as a cross-cutting priority in the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a key issue in the Bank's Renewed Strategic Framework, as a key approach to reducing poverty and inequality in Latin America. It is based upon a staff opinion survey, designed and implemented under the framework of the IDB-UK ENLACE Social Inclusion Trust Fund, to assess how staff view social inclusion as an operational approach. The results of the survey highlight some of the operational implications of pursuing social inclusion initiatives, illustrating a number of opportunities and challenges that may be faced in such an approach.
Evaluating the Impact on Child Mortality of a Water Supply and Sewerage Expansion in Quito: Is Water Enough?
Authors: Briceño Bertha , Galdo Virgilio
Published: March 2024

This paper explores the impact that a water supply and sewerage (W&S) expansion had on child mortality in Quito, Ecuador. Studies have typically estimated the effects of this type of interventions comparing outcome indicators - at the aggregate level - of areas with the facilities and areas that lack them, quite often neglecting systematic differences between treated and nontreated areas. Moreover, at aggregate levels, on the one hand, less comprehensive information may imply greater unobserved and uncontrolled heterogeneity; on the other, heterogeneity within areas may jeopardize identification of impacts. To account for these key observations, the authors used a propensity score matching (PSM) analysis at the individual level. Using indirect methods based on census data they constructed a mortality index at the motherhood level, and calculated five different impact estimators based on the propensity scores.
On-Site Costs and Benefits of Soil Conservation Among Hillside Farmers in El Salvador
Authors: Bravo-Ureta Boris E. , Cocchi Horacio
Published: March 2024

This study analyses the relationships between farm income, adoption of conservation technologies and output diversification among PAES participants by comparing their performance at two points in time, 2002 and 2005, and against non-participants (control group) in 2005. The indicators reveal that the soil conservation and agroforestry component of PAES has been highly profitable. The outcome of the study shows crop diversification and soil conservation practices exhibit a strong positive association with the length of farmers' involvement with PAES and their participation in social organizations, and the positive association between conservation practices and income contrasts with the effects of conservation structures, which is negative but non-significant.
Macroeconomic Coordination Policies: Why and How?: From Europe to MERCOSUR
Authors: Moccero Diego , Winograd Carlos
Published: March 2024

This paper was prepared within the framework of "Deeper Integration of MERCOSUR: Dealing with Disparities", a joint initiative between the Integration and Regional Programs Department and the Operations Department 1 of the Inter-American Development Bank. Given the relatively lower political incentives for interdependence in MERCOSUR than in the European experience, economic disturbances and economic lobbies may prevail in times of crisis increasing the risks of derailing the integration process. The authors of this paper draw from the lessons from the European experience of macroeconomic coordination since the early days of the European Economic Community and discuss the main differences between MERCOSUR and the European Union regarding the economic and institutional environment. In the first section of the paper, they combine the lessons obtained from the European experience and the fundamental disparities to be faced in the MERCOSUR to design a specific macroeconomic policy coordination agenda for the region. In the second section they account for the European history of macroeconomic coordination, whereas the third section analyses the main disparities constraining the cooperation policies in MERCOSUR. In light of the previous sections, the fourth part of the study will discuss the appropriate design of macroeconomic coordination in the region, with the fifth section containing the conclusions.
The Role of Tradable Permits in Water Pollution Control
Authors: Kampa Eleftheria , Interwies Eduard , Kraemer R. Andreas
Published: March 2024

This working paper first introduces tradable permits as part of an overall taxonomy of economic instruments in the field of water management. In this context, three fundamentally different fields of application of tradable permits systems relating to water are presented: tradable water abstraction rights, tradable rights to water-based resources and tradable water pollution rights. Next, the authors provide literature-based empirical evidence of the international experience with tradable water pollution rights (case studies from the US and Australia). Subsequently, the authors make recommendations on the strategies for introducing tradable water pollution rights, they point out opportunities and limitations and discuss the instrument's compatibility in instrument 'mixes'. This paper was prepared for the Technical Seminar on the Feasibility of the Application of Tradable Water Permits for Water Management in Chile, organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the National Environment Commission of Chile (CONAMA) held on November 13th and 14th, 2003 in Santiago de Chile.
An Impact Evaluation of Agricultural Subsidies on Human Capital Development and Poverty Reduction: Evidence from Rural Mexico
Authors: Winters Paul , Stampini Marco , Davis Benjamin , Ruiz-Arranz Marta , Handa Sudhanshu
Published: March 2024

This working papers offers an impact evaluation of two innovative programs cash transfer schemes from the Mexican Government: PROGRESA, which is a national anti-poverty scheme directed at chronic rural poverty, and PROCAMPO, a scheme designed to compensate farmers for the negative price effects of NAFTA. The analysis of data collected for an evaluation of PROGRESA suggests that the overall level of food consumption and health check-ups is lower among PROGRESA households that also participate in PROCAMPO. The overall conclusions are that program conditionality does influence longer-term (human capital) and medium term (productive) investment decisions, the receipt of multiple forms of treatment by beneficiaries can affect the overall impact of each individual program, and conditional transfers may have muted effects among agricultural households in the face of market imperfections.
Industrial Policy in Guatemala: A Case of Policy Inertia under Changing Paradigms
Authors: Lée Sigfrido , Cuevas Mario , Pineda Bismarck
Published: March 2024

This paper reviews productive development policies (PDPs) in Guatemala, focusing on the alleged justification of existing programs in terms of the market or government failures they are meant to address. An effort is made to identify how the different instruments complement or contradict each other and how these situations came to be. The main hypothesis throughout the paper is that there are non-trivial contradictions within the set of PDPs and its implementation framework that render policy instruments ineffective or inefficient, with evidence from several case studies. On this basis and in light of international practices, the study develops a broad set of recommendations for improving the design and implementation of Guatemala's PDPs.
Public Agricultural Research in Latin America and the Caribbean: Investment and Capacity Trends
Authors: Beintema Nienke M. , Stads Gert-Jan
Published: March 2024

This report reviews major institutional developments and investment and human resource trends in public agricultural R&D in LAC from 1981 to 2006, drawing from a set of country briefs and a regional report for Central America prepared by the Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) initiative using comprehensive ASTI datasets derived from primary surveys for a 15-country sample conducted during 2007-08. These datasets have been linked with investment and human resources data collected in the region during the late 1990s, as well as with ASTI's global datasets, to provide a wider context for agricultural R&D investment trends over time and across other regions.
Empowering IDPs with SMS: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Bogota
Authors: Blanco Mariana , Vargas Juan F.
Published: March 2024

This paper studied whether the use of short message service (SMS) technology effectively informed Bogota's population of internally displaced persons (IDPs) about its eligibility to receive social benefits. Half of the sample population was randomly informed of their eligibility via SMS and their awareness of available benefits was estimated. On average, treated households are more aware of their rights; however, awareness varies across benefit type. The study recommends expanding the use of SMS as a policy instrument and as a means for empowering IDPs.
The Impact of Economic Migration on Children's Cognitive Development: Evidence from the Mexican Family Life Survey
Authors: Powers Elizabeth T.
Published: March 2024

This paper uses data from the Mexican Family Life Survey to estimate the impact of a household member's migration to the United States on the cognitive development of children remaining in Mexico. While there is no developmental effect of a child's sibling migrating to the United States, there is an adverse effect when another household member-typically the child's parent- migrates. This is particularly true for pre-school to early-school-age children with older siblings, for whom the effect of parental migration is comparable to speaking an indigenous language at home or having a mother with very low educational attainment. Additionally, household-member migration to the United States affects how children spend their time in ways that may influence and/or be influenced by cognitive development.
Effects of a Mortgage Interest Rate Subsidy: Evidence from Colombia
Authors: Hofstetter Marc , Tovar Jorge , Urrutia Miguel
Published: March 2024

Government intervention in the construction sector as a way to boost the economy has been a constant in Colombia for the past 90 years. This paper explicitly tests the impact of the most recent of such interventions: a subsidy to the mortgage interest rate. The results show that the subsidy boosted mortgage loans by around 38 percent. However, it is also found that real interest rates went up by 09 percent, i.e., there has been an incomplete pass-through of the subsidy to the consumer. The pass-through of this instance of intervention is estimated to be in the range of 65 percent to 74 percent.
The Coffee Crisis, Early Childhood Development, and Conditional Cash Transfers
Authors: Barham Brad , Gitter Seth , Manley James
Published: March 2024

This paper examines the efficacy of three conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs in Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua in mitigating the potential negative effects of an income shock caused by falling prices of coffee, an important cash crop to many CCT participants. A theoretical household model is developed that demonstrates both the positive potential of CCTs to mitigate negative shocks effects on early childhood development and the negative potential of CCTs to exacerbate the impacts of a negative shock to early childhood development if the conditionality encourages households to shift resources from younger to older children to sustain their school attendance. The experimental design includes both CCT and non-CCT households and communities with and without coffee production. The paper finds that in Mexico the CCT mitigated the negative shock on child height-for-age z-scores, while in Nicaragua coffee-producing households who participated in CCTs saw greater declines in z-scores. Findings for Honduras are largely inconclusive.
Innovation, R&D and Productivity: Case Studies from Peru
Authors: Kuramoto Juana R.
Published: March 2024

This paper analyzes quantitative findings on the innovative behavior of firms in the production chains of pisco and shoe manufacture in Peru, which are served by the network of Technological Innovation Centers (CITEs), the most important technology policy instrument available in Peru. These two chains, in low and medium-technology industries, are representative of Peru's manufacturing sector. Of particular interest is the role of technical standards as a means of technological diffusion, which is stressed in the work of the CITEs. For the pisco chain, that role involves the definition of the product itself, for which Peru is seeking a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) denomination. In the shoe chain, the technical standard should act as a coordination mechanism that will help increase efficiency throughout the chain, which at present is often fractured.
Information Barriers, Export Promotion Institutions, and the Extensive Margin of Trade
Authors: Volpe Martincus Christian , Estevadeordal Antoni , Gallo Andrés , Luna Jessica
Published: March 2024

This paper assesses role played by export promotion institutions in shaping the extensive margin of Latin American and Caribbean countries' exports over the period 1995-2004. The authors find that the presence of offices of export promotion agencies abroad favors an increase in the number of differentiated goods that are exported, whereas a larger number of diplomatic representations in the importer countries seem to be associated with exports of a larger number of homogeneous goods.
Unions and Employment in Uruguay
Authors: Cassoni Adriana , Allen Steven G. , Labadie Gastón J.
Published: March 2024

This study examines the impact of unions on wages and employment using data from Uruguay in a period when unions were banned (1973-1984), then legalized with tripartite bargaining (1984-1991) followed by industry-wide or firm-specific bargaining (1992-1997). The paper begins with background on the economy, the labor market, and collective bargaining in Uruguay (Section II), followed by a brief theoretical overview on unions and labor demand (Section III) and a description of the data (Section IV). The labor demand results (Section V) indicate a structural shift in the labor demand function occurred at about the same time as the return of collective bargaining.
Unions and the Economic Performance of Brazilian Establishments
Authors: Pazello Elaine , Chahad Jose Paulo , Menezes-Filho Naercio Aquino , Zylberstajn Helio
Published: March 2024

Using a pooled sample, this paper indicates that unions seem to affect the economic performance of Brazilian establishments, especially in terms of profitability, employment and productivity. Unions tend to reduce profitability, whereas the relationship between union density and productivity, employment and average wages seems to be concave. These performance indicators first rise with union density up to a certain density level (usually about 50 percent) and then start to decline. These results indicate that some unionism may be good for the plants' economic performance, although too much unionism may start having negative effects.
The Economic Effects of Unions in Latin America: Their Impact on Wages and the Economic Performance of Firms in Uruguay
Authors: Cassoni Adriana , Fachola Gabriela , Labadie Gastón J.
Published: March 2024

This study examines the impact of unionization and the level of centralization in bargaining, at the level of the industry or the firm, on wages and on the economic performance of firms within the manufacturing sector in Uruguay, using a panel of establishments for the period 1988 to 1995. The main findings suggest that unionization increases wages and employment and promotes investment due to firms substituting labor by capital. Unions tend to organize in those plants with highest rates of profits, but promote increases in productivity and prevent profitability increases. Given the negative effect of unionization at the industry level on the rate of growth of profitability of firms, results also suggest that unions tended to organize and to be stronger in those sectors in which extra rents were higher due to monopoly power.