rafmacalaba/datause-encoder-data huggingface dataset:
Why privatize : the case of
            Argentina's public provincial banks
Argentina has been a leader among
            developing countries in restructuring its banking sector.
            The authors analyze the performance of those banks before
            and after privatization and estimate fiscal savings
            associated with privatizing Argentina's banks rather
            than keeping them public and later recapitalizing them. The
            authors describe the process of privatization, including the
            creation of residual entities for the assets and liabilities
            of public provincial banks that private buyers found
            unattractive and the creation of a special fund (the Fondo
            Fiduciario) to convert the short-term liabilities of the
            residual entities into longer-term obligations. They argue
            that the Fondo, created through cooperation between the
            Argentine federal government and the World Bank, was key in
            making privatization of the banks politically feasible.
            Argentina privatized roughly half of its public provincial
            banks. The Argentine experience suggests that bank
            privatization may succeed only when accompanied by a sound,
            incentive-compatible system of prudential regulation. The
            regulatory environment affects a bank s solvency. Improved
            regulation and supervision alone does not deliver the same
            benefits as improved regulation and supervision with
            privatization. The provincial banks that remained in the
            public sector did not demonstrate the same performance gains
            as privatized provincial banks. The decision to maintain a
            public provincial bank is a costly one. Policymakers should
            expect privatization to pass through some or all of the
            following steps: 1) With respect to pre-privatization
            audits, expect losses hidden in these banks to be larger
            than those indicated in prior audits. 2) If residual
            entities are created, expect them to hold a large share of
            the old public provincial bank, if the quality of its loan
            portfolio was low. 3) Do not expect the price paid for the
            privatized entity (the so-called good bank) to be great, at
            least compared with assets and liabilities in the residual
            entity. 4) If the residual entity is large, the province
            will be confronted with substantial short-term liabilities.
            But with assistance and an aggressive asset recovery
            strategy, governments should be able to navigate their way
            through short-term difficulty. 5) The costs of privatization
            are less than the costs of future recapitalization, even if
            the near-term management of the residual entity does not go well.
Is there a credit crunch in East Asia
The issue of the credit crunch in the
            aftermath of the Asian crisis has stimulated much debate.
            Indeed, some features of the East Asian economies, such as
            bank-based financial systems and high leverage, make them
            particularly vulnerable to monetary and financial shocks.
            Under such circumstances, the credit channel of transmission
            of these shocks is likely to lead to a credit crunch,
            affecting the flow of bank loans to those agents--households
            and small and medium-sized enterprises--for whom close
            substitutes for bank credit are unavailable. In turn, the
            disruption to the availability of finance for bank-dependent
            borrowers may stymie economic activity. In practice,
            however, it is difficult to detect the credit channel
            effects that lead to a credit crunch. Reliance on trends of
            credit aggregates alone is inadequate to prove that there
            has been an adverse shift in the supply of loans: even a
            decline or slowdown of credit could stem from a decrease or
            deceleration in demand.  A frequently used methodology to
            overcome this problem focuses on both credit aggregates and
            the yield spread between bank loans and risk-free assets,
            such as government bonds. If this spread rises while credit
            aggregates slow down, one can conjecture that the supply of
            loans has either decreased more or increased less than
            demand. But further qualification is needed. The increase of
            the spread might simply reflect a rising risk premium
            triggered by the fact that the negative shock reduces the
            net worth of economic agents because of larger financial
            outlays. Accordingly, the relevant spread to capture the
            worsening credit conditions that affect bank-dependent
            borrowers is the spread between bank lending rates and
            corporate bonds. The yield spread corporate and government
            bonds measures the general risk premium.  The study applies
            this methodology to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
            the Republic of Korea, and Thailand, and shows that the
            credit crunch is widespread, while its negative impact
            particularly affects small banks and enterprises. On the
            basis of the findings, the authors claim that 1) a
            protracted and heavy reliance on tight monetary policy,
            entailing high real interest rates, appears inappropriate
            for restoring market confidence; 2) it is desirable to
            consider alternative policy instruments that do not place
            further stress on the banking sector and on its lending to
            the corporate sector; and 3) policy actions are warranted to
            alleviate the strain that the crisis has put on small banks
            and enterprises.
Are the poor protected from budget
            cuts theory and evidence for Argentina
Adjustment programs often emphasize
            protecting social spending - especially pro-poor spending -
            from cuts. Yet the incidence of fiscal contraction - and
            hence the case for action to protect public spending on the
            poor at a time of overall fiscal austerity - is an empirical
            question, which the author addresses using data from
            Argentina. Aggregate budget cuts in Argentina in the 1980s
            and 1990s, typically brought proportionately greater cuts in
            social spending. "Non-social" spending was
            protected. But proportionate cuts for types of social
            spending that matter more to the poor, were about the same
            as the cuts for those that tend to favor the non-poor.
            Absolute cuts were in fact greater for "social
            insurance" that matters more to the non-poor. But
            spending on targeted social assistance, and employment
            programs, was more vulnerable to aggregate spending cuts,
            than were more universal social services. Social spending
            was clearly exposed to fiscal contraction, but this was
            somewhat less true of pro-poor spending on things that also
            benefited the non-poor. So fine targeting may be a mixed
            blessing for the poor, bringing greater vulnerability to
            cuts, possibly when help is most needed. There is a strong
            case for action to protect pro-poor social spending at such
            times. An externally financed work-fare scheme in Argentina
            was far better targeted than other social spending, but
            still had to ensure that a small, but relatively
            well-protected share of the benefits went to the non-poor.
            The program was clearly subject to the same political
            economy constraints that influenced the incidence of past
            fiscal contractions in Argentina. The program expanded into
            poor areas when the budget increased, but retreated from
            poor areas when the program was cut. It was the
            program's disbursements to non-poor areas that were
            protected. Still, given the low wage rate offered, the
            direct benefits from the program were still likely to have
            favored the poor, even after the cuts.
Managers, investors, and crises :
            mutual fund strategies in emerging markets
The authors address the trading
            strategies of mutual funds in emerging markets. The data set
            they develop permits analyses of these strategies at the
            level of individual portfolios. A methodologically novel
            feature of their analysis: they disentangle the behavior of
            fund managers from that of investors. For both managers and
            investors, they strongly reject the 0 hypothesis of no
            momentum trading. Funds' momentum trading is positive:
            they systematically buy winners and sell losers.
            Contemporaneous momentum trading (buying current winners and
            selling current losers) is stronger during crises, and
            stronger for fund investors than for fund managers. Lagged
            momentum trading (buying past winners and selling past
            losers) is stronger during noncrises, and stronger for fund
            managers. Investors also engage in contagion trading-selling
            assets from one country when asset prices fall in another.
            These findings are based on data about mutual funds that
            represent only 10 percent of the market capitalization in
            the countries considered. Were it a larger share of the
            market, finding counterparties for their trades (the
            investors who buy when they sell and sell when they buy)
            would be difficult-and the premise that funds respond to
            contemporaneous returns rather than causing them would
            become tenuous.
Vietnam - on the road to
            labor-intensive growth
Since Vietnam's adoption of the doi
            moi or renovation policy in 1986, the country has been
            undergoing the transition from central planning to a
            socialist market-oriented economy. This has translated into
            strong economic growth, led by the industrial sector, which
            expanded more than 13 percent a year from 1993 to 1997.
            Vietnamese policymakers are concerned, however, that
            employment growth has lagged. To address this concern, the
            author compares new employment data from the Vietnam Living
            Standards Survey (VLSS 2), completed in 1997-98, with data
            from the first household survey undertaken in 1992-93. He
            shows that in 1993-97, industrial employment grew an average
            of about 4 percent a year, which is low compared with
            industrial GDP growth. This slower growth was attributable
            to the capital-intensive, import-substituting nature of the
            state sector and foreign investment, which dominate
            industry. The more labor-intensive, export-oriented domestic
            private sector is still small, although growing quickly. In
            the future, growth promises to become more labor-intensive.
            Before the Asian crisis there were signs of an emerging
            export-oriented sector. Using previous statistical analysis
            (Wood and Mayer 1998) as well as factor content
            calculations, the author estimates that given Vietnam's
            endowment of natural and human resources, Vietnam could
            triple its manufacturing exports and create about 1.6
            million manufacturing jobs in export sectors in the near
            future. After examining Vietnam's labor regulations,
            the author concludes that there is no need for basic reform
            of the labor market. At current levels, minimum wages and
            nonwage regulations (even if better enforced) are unlikely
            to inhibit development of the private sector or hurt export
            competitiveness. But a restrictive interpretation of the
            Labor Code's provisions on terminating employment could
            hurt foreign investment, reduce the speed of reform in the
            state sector, and slow the reallocation of resources to the
            domestic private sector.
Marginal willingness to pay for
            education and the determinants of enrollment in Mexico
Standard benefit-incidence analysis
            assumes that the subsidy, and quality of education services
            are the same for all income deciles. This strong assumption
            tends to minimize the distributional inequity at various
            education levels. Using a new approach, emphasizing marginal
            willingness to pay for education, the authors analyze the
            impact of public spending on the education spending behavior
            of the average household. They address several questions:
            What would an average household, with a given set of
            characteristics be willing to spend on an individual child,
            with given traits if subsidized public education facilities
            were unavailable? What would the household have saved by
            sending the child to public school rather than private
            school? How great are these savings for various income
            groups? What are the determinants of enrollment by income
            group, and by location? How do individuals' education
            expenditures affect enrollment patterns? Among their
            findings: 1) The non-poor households in urban areas get much
            of the subsidy, or "savings" from government
            provision of education services. 2) The wealthy value
            private education more than the poor do. 3) Differences in
            school quality are greater at the primary level. In other
            words, wealthy households get the lion's share of
            benefits from public spending on education. Household school
            enrollment, and transition to the next level of schooling,
            depend heavily on the cost of schooling, how far the head of
            the household went in school, the per capita household
            income, and the housing facilities, or services. But the
            government's effort also affects the probability of
            enrollment, and transition. The probability of enrollment is
            much higher for the 40 percent of higher-income households
            in urban areas, than it is for the 40 percent of
            lower-income households in rural areas. The best way to
            increase school enrollment is to successfully target public
            spending on education to poor households.
Foreign entry in Turkey's
            banking sector, 1980-97
Despite high and volatile inflation, a
            record number of foreign and local banks entered
            Turkey's banking sector after the country relaxed rules
            about bank entry, and generally eliminated controls on
            interest rates, and financial intermediation in 1980. The
            country's financial integration with the rest of the
            world took a big step forward with the opening up of the
            capital account in 1989. Capital inflows rose significantly,
            and the financial system became increasingly linked with
            external markets. The author examines one dimension of
            liberalization: the impact of foreign banks entering the
            financial sector. Between 1980 and the end of 1997, 17
            foreign banks, and a number of new local banks entered the
            sector. The author investigates how these banks' entry
            into the sector affected performance, based on three
            measures: net interest margin, overhead expenses, and return
            on assets (all expressed as a percentage of total assets).
            He finds that: 1) Foreign bank ownership is related to all
            three performance measures. 2) Foreign bank entry reduced
            the overhead expenses of domestic commercial banks,
            strengthening profits. 3) Despite their small scale
            operations, foreign banks entering the sector had a strong
            effect on competition. But the market could use more
            competition. 4) There are strong indications that foreign
            banks had a positive impact on financial, and operational
            planning, credit analysis and marketing, and human capital.
Subsidies in Chilean public utilities
The author analyzes subsidies in
            Chile's public utilities. Over the last decade,
            especially, significant efforts have been made to extend
            public services to rural populations. An explicit
            consumption subsidy for potable water (targeted to the
            poorest twenty percent of the population) currently benefits
            seventeen percent of the population. Cross-subsidies have
            been virtually eliminated in Chile, and existing subsidies
            are funded from the national budget. The elimination of
            cross-subsidies has facilitated competition in some
            services. Prices have fallen substantially in services that
            new operators have entered, showing that regulation is a
            poor substitute for competition. The Chilean experience
            shows that it is possible to design direct subsidies (such
            as the one for drinking water) at relatively low cost to the
            state. Moreover, putting rural infrastructure projects out
            to public tender whenever possible, has allowed substantial
            reductions in government spending. Chile's experience
            also shows that it is possible to use subsidies that do not
            distort people's behavior - by making sure that they
            perceive the marginal cost of providing the service. In
            rural zones where there is no infrastructure, investment
            needs to be subsidized. Users do not pay the long-run
            marginal cost, but it is important that the rate charged, at
            least cover the short-term marginal cost. In other words,
            rural utility charges are required to cover the
            system's operating costs. For those who argue that the
            poor would be better off with cash transfers (choosing their
            own consumption baskets), the author outlines the arguments
            for subsidizing utilities, beyond the moral value of giving
            the poor access to public services, considered basic for existence.
Does financial liberalization relax
            financing constraints on firms
The author uses panel data on 394 firms
            in 13 developing countries for the years 1988-98 to learn
            whether financial liberalization relaxes financing
            constraints on firms. He finds that liberalization affects
            small and large firms differently. Small firms are
            financially constrained before liberalization begins but
            become less so after liberalization. The financing
            constraints on large firms, however, are low both before and
            after liberalization. The initial difference between small
            and large firms disappears over time. The author
            hypothesizes that financial liberalization has little effect
            on the financing constraints of large firms because they
            have better access to preferential directed credit in the
            period before liberalization. Financial liberalization also
            reduces imperfections in financial markets, especially the
            asymmetric information costs of firms' financial
            leverage. Countries that liberalize their financial sectors
            tend to see dramatic improvements in political climate as
            well. Successful financial liberalization seems to require
            both the political will and the ability to stop the
            preferential treatment of well-connected, usually large, firms.
Pricing irrigation water : a
            literature survey
As water scarcity and population
            pressures increase, more countries are adopting water
            pricing mechanisms, as their primary means of regulating the
            consumption of irrigation water. The way to allocate water
            efficiently is to "get the prices right", but how
            to accomplish this is open to debate. Water pricing methods
            are sensitive to the social, physical, institutional, and
            political setting. To assess the costs and benefits of a
            particular irrigation project, the pricing method must be
            tailored to local circumstances. The author's survey of
            the resource economics literature on irrigation services and
            pricing, will be useful for developing comprehensive
            guidelines for water policy practitioners. He synthesizes
            accumulated knowledge about the implementation, and
            performance of various water pricing methods used over the
            past two decades: volumetric pricing (marginal cost
            pricing), output and input pricing, per area pricing, tiered
            pricing, two part tariffs, and water markets. As water
            scarcity and population pressures increase, more countries
            are adopting water pricing mechanisms as their primary means
            of regulating the consumption of irrigation water. The way
            to allocate water efficiently is to "get the prices
            right", but how to accomplish this is open to debate.
            Water pricing methods are sensitive to the social, physical,
            institutional, and political setting. To assess the costs
            and benefits of a particular irrigation project, the pricing
            method must be tailored to local circumstances. The
            author's survey of the resource economics literature on
            irrigation services and pricing, will be useful for
            developing comprehensive guidelines for water policy
            practitioners. He synthesizes accumulated knowledge about
            the implementation, and performance of various water pricing
            methods used over the past two decades: volumetric pricing
            (marginal cost pricing), output and input pricing, per area
            pricing, tiered pricing, two part tariffs, and water markets.