rafmacalaba/datause-encoder-data huggingface dataset:
In search of price rigidities :
            recent sector evidence from Argentina
The hypothesis that the price adjustment
            to nominal shocks is instantaneous has been part of the
            monetarist approach explaining the inflationary process in
            Argentina. But the authors argue that monetary and exchange
            rate policies have had different effects on relative prices
            and thus have a significant influence on the real side of
            the economy. The existence of rigidities has prevented full
            and instantaneous price adjustments. Recent work on
            inflation in imperfectly competitive markets explain
            rigidities as a consequence of firms' strategic
            responses to nominal shocks, which in turn depend on the
            market structure and demand elasticities faced by firms.
            Price rigidities emerge when firms facing changes in
            aggregate demand behave collusively, and there are costs for
            customers to switch between suppliers. In contrast, when the
            costs for customers to switch between suppliers are low,
            firms are obliged to adjust their prices to new demand
            conditions, otherwise they will lose their customers.
            Changes in foreign prices affect domestic prices depending
            on the degree of foreign competition and the price formation
            mechanism in each sector. As expected, price rigidities are
            minimal in tradable sectors where firms react to these
            changes by changing their prices almost instantaneously. The
            response in nontradable activities depends on indirect
            effects and whether prices are indexed to a foreign
            currency. Because understanding this is essential for
            effective policymaking, the authors analyze price behavior
            of four economic sectors - agriculture, industry, (retail)
            commerce, and services - in Argentina from 1981-94. The
            econometric analysis show large differences in the price
            behavior across sectors. Firms do not respond uniformly to
            changes in production costs, foreign prices, and demand
            conditions. The response of individual prices reflects the
            distribution of adjustment costs across sectors in the case
            of nominal shocks. To maintain social and political
            stability, the government's challenge is to minimize
            divergence across sectors. Increasing competition appears to
            be a crucial element of this strategy since monopolistic
            power is frequently associated with the existence of price rigidities.
The evolution of central banking
Institutions known as central banks
            emerged or were established as commercial banks or
            government banks.  Their evolution into central banks came
            with their monopoly issuing notes and their role as lender
            of last resort, among other functions.  Carrying out
            commercial business on a large scale created a conflict of
            interest, so this practice was abandoned.  Establishing the
            right degree of dependence was difficult, and changed in
            times of crisis.  Independence is important: it helps to
            establish reputation, which is everything in banking.  The
            Great Depression, widely attributed to inept Central Bank
            behavior, interrupted central bank independence, but poor
            price behavior brought about its return.  In the 19th
            century, laissez faire and the gold standard encouraged and
            sometimes allowed for considerable independence.  Greater
            changes came in the new dirigiste environment following the
            Great Depression and the rise of the managed economy.
            Economies in transition confront high inflation and the
            problem of maintaining monetary stability just as newly
            independent developing countries did in the 1960s.  How can
            inflation be controlled?  Under fiat regimes, the money
            supply is controlled by the domestic monetary authority.
            But can they control monetary growth?  Prior and current
            records are not encouraging.  Will authorities have the
            credibility they need?  Options include maintaining a fixed
            exchange rate or reviving currency boards.  Currency boards
            function like an independent central bank, holding reserves
            and tying domestic currency to strong foreign currency.
            There are drawbacks to currency boards, especially for
            countries in transition.  They require a considerable
            sacrifice of sovereignty, and are unlikely to appeal to
            countries that are only beginning to recover lost sovereignty.
The impact of minimum wages in
            Mexico and Colombia
There are diverging views about how
            minimum wages affect labor markets in developing countries.
            Advocates of minimum wages hold that they redistribute
            resources in a welfare-enhancing way, and can thus reduce
            poverty, improve productivity, and foster growth.
            Opponents, on the other hand, contend that minimum wage
            interventions result in a misallocation of labor and lead to
            depressed wages in the very sectors - the rural and informal
            urban sectors - where most of the poor are found, with the
            effect of wasting resources and reducing the growth rate.
            Data from Colombia and Mexico for the 1980s provide an
            opportunity to evaluate the impact of minimum wages.  In
            Mexico in the 1980s, the minimum wage fell in real terms
            roughly 45 percent.  By 1990, Mexico's minimum wage was
            about 13 percent of the average unskilled manufacturing
            wage.  During the same period, the minimum wage in Colombia
            increased at nearly the same rate, reaching roughly 53
            percent of the average unskilled wage.  The author charts
            how the mandated minimum wage affected the demand for
            skilled and unskilled labor in both countries during that
            decade.  Findings are as follows.  In Mexico, minimum wages
            have had virtually no effect on wages or employment in the
            formal sector.   The main reason: the minimum wage is not an
            effective wage for most firms or workers.  In the informal
            sector, in turn, there is considerable noncompliance with
            the mandated minimum wage, especially among part-time and
            female workers. As a result, significant numbers of workers
            are paid at or below minimum wages.  In Colombia, minimum
            wages have a much stronger impact on wages, judging from
            their proximity to the average wage and both cross-section
            and time series estimates.  The estimates imply that the
            elasticity of low-paid unskilled employment with respect to
            minimum wages is in the range of 2 to 12 percent.
Restructuring regulation of the rail
            industry for the public interest
Throughout the world, the rail industry
            historically has been one of the most extensively regulated
            of all sectors. Price, entry, exit, financial structure,
            accounting methods, vertical relations, and operating rules
            have all been subject to some form of government control.
            The public utility paradigm of government regulation has
            been applied on the assumption that the economic
            characteristics of the rail industry preclude competitive
            organization or the need for market responsiveness.  In the
            past three decades, however, policymakers and economists
            have become increasingly critical of traditional regulation
            of the rail industry. It is generally accepted that in
            markets where rail carriers seek to meet demand, there is
            often effective competition, and that government
            restrictions on the structure and conduct of firms in this
            industry impose considerable costs on society. Misguided
            regulatory policies have been blamed for the misallocation
            of freight traffic among competing modes of transport,
            excess capacity, excessive operating costs, and poor
            investment decisions. Regulatory controls have also
            shouldered much of the blame for the poor financial
            condition of railroads, the deterioration of rail plant, the
            suppression and delay of cost-reducing innovations, and the
            mediocre quality of rail service. The authors suggest
            principles for restructuring railroad regulation - indeed,
            for restructuring the orientation of railroad entries - for
            the sake of public interest. Much can be learned, they
            contend, from applying the principles of industrial
            organization to analysis of the rail industry. To assess the
            implications of policies aimed at rate regulation or
            infrastructure, it is essential to understand the nature of
            technology, costs, and demand in the rail industry.
            Government's role in relation to market behavior should
            be based explicitly on the economic and technological
            realities of the railroad marketplace. The authors say that
            restructuring along the lines they suggest - putting more
            emphasis on marketing effectiveness - will result in a more
            profitable railway with a better chance of covering its
            costs for commercial services. Changing the basis for
            noncommercial services as they suggest will make those
            services more effective at fulfilling public policy
            objectives, will eliminate an insuperable drain on revenues
            that condemns rails to inadequate investment, and will
            eliminate cross-subsidies that make it difficult for rails
            to compete against other modes of transport.
The emerging legal framework for
            private sector development in Viet Nam's transitional economy
A major objective of Viet Nam's
            transition to a market economy has been to reactivate the
            private sector in a mixed economy. Several new laws have
            been introduced in the past five years to implement this
            policy and to create an enabling environment for the private
            sector. The author reviews some of the more important laws
            and regulations that affect Viet Nam's private sector
            activities, including laws on real property, intellectual
            property, companies, domestic investment, foreign
            investment, bankruptcy, contracts, and dispute resolution.
            Anti-monopoly law has not yet been introduced in Viet Nam.
            The issue of competition is addressed in the context of
            trade law, the relative roles of the state and private
            sector, and restrictions in company law. These areas all
            establish the foundation of a legal framework for a market
            economy. The author concludes that Viet Nam's legal
            framework, like China's, is still influenced by
            ideology, which causes problems in such areas as private
            ownership of real property and with such fundamental legal
            concepts as "due process of law." It is noted that
            the private sector is constrained by the lack of an
            independent judiciary, the absence of private land
            ownership, other uncertainties in property law that limit
            the develpoment of financial markets, and the inherent bias
            of the system in favor of the state sector (and collective
            ownership). Also noted is a law-abiding attitude, equally
            important to development has been slow to develop. The
            author goes on to point out that the foreign investment
            process is too complicated, and its company law too
            restrictive. A first priority should be to strreamline
            regulations, as well as liberalize trade policy and increase
            efforts in privatization of state enterprises. In this
            respect the author notes that export processing zones may be
            a useful interim instrument to attract foreign investment
            but should be phased out over time. More important in the
            long term is a good investment climate resting on a strong
            legal foundation.
Is there a commercial case for
            tropical timber certification
The authors estimate the potential
            commercial benefits that tropical timber producing countries
            could enjoy by adopting timber certification schemes.  Such
            benefits are crucial for encouraging the supply of certified
            timber.  Timber certification is a reality: various
            countries and organizations have launched initiatives for
            it.  The initial response among producing countries was less
            than positive, but some have come to realize its potential
            benefits and have begun to adopt timber certification
            schemes.  Tropical timber trade accounts for only a small
            fraction of tropical timber production, and most of that
            trade is concentrated among developing countries in Asia and
            Japan - markets where demand for certified timber is
            currently weak.  Only a small part of the trade reaches the
            eco-sensitive markets of Europe and the United States, where
            there is demand for certified timber.  Developing countries
            can benefit commercially from timber certification in two
            ways: through the "green premium" (consumers'
            willingness to pay a premium for certified timber" and
            by averting losses of market share in the tropical timber
            market from not having timber certified.  Based on surveys,
            on discussions with nongovernmental organizations, on market
            participants and analysts, and on estimates of price
            elasticity, the authors develop a scenario for estimating
            the potential commercial benefits from adopting timber
            certification.  Under this scenario, benefits would not
            exceed US$500 million a year (roughly 4 percent of all
            tropical-timber-related revenues earned by developing
            countries).  Timber certification is not expected to provide
            significant commercial benefits to developing countries in
            the near future.  But timber certification could provide
            significant rents to individual firms that develop market
            niche strategies.  And producing countries that pursue
            certification may enjoy longer-term social, economic, and
            environmental benefits by adopting the better forest
            management practices required for timber certification.
The 1985-94 global real estate cycle
            : its casues and consequences
The peak of the first global real estate
            boom was reached around 1990 in most Organization for
            Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.
            Asset inflation was massive: in office markets across
            Europe, capital values rose 400 percent between 1980 and
            1990, accelerating after 1986 - while average consumer price
            inflation went up only 150 percent.  Property values have
            declined sharply since 1990, with most property markets
            losing at least 20 percent in nominal terms the first year
            of the crash's onset.  Cumulative drops in capital
            value often reached 50 percent by the end of 1993.  This
            pattern of a sustained buildup, usually peaking in 1990,
            followed by a sharp fall in nominal values, has been
            encountered in most OECD markets and in several NIE
            countries. Real estate booms and busts are recurring events,
            says the author, but real estate volatility on the scale and
            with the intensity just experience is costly and
            destructive.  Real resources are misallocated, and the
            impact on the banking system, on households, and on the
            economy can be lasting.  The author surveys the global real
            estate cycle of 1985-94, trying to identify domestic and
            international factors that triggered this new phenomenon of
            global real estate volatility.  The authors intent: Assuming
            that the globalization of financial markets is irreversible,
            can we separate unique factors from recurring ones in this
            first global cycle? Can we map generic policy lessons and
            identify policy priorities and research agendas?  Can we
            identify factors that accentuate real estate price and
            investment volatility?  Four domestic factors lay behind the
            unusual volatility of this first global cycle, says the
            author: the liberalization and deregulation of capital
            markets, a distorted incentive structure that often
            stimulated the use of debt, new macroeconomic tools and
            occasional policy errors, and the structure of the real
            estate sector itself.   The wide-ranging survey includes a
            proposal for research in certain areas, and offers some
            diagnosis.  For example: If the global real estate crash has
            publicized one thing, it is the poor quality of information
            on real estate markets.
Post trade liberalization policy and
            institutional challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean
Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Jamaica,
            Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay undertook extensive trade
            reform at a time of crisis, at which time institutional
            reform was difficult to undertake. Many of the countries had
            become members of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
            (GATT) in the late 1980s and anticipated institutional
            reform. Only later did they reform trade policymaking
            institutions to bring them somewhat in line with trade
            policy regimes and GATT rules. These countries have all used
            reference prices and antidumping provisions of GATT, rather
            than safeguards, to provide relief from import surges. They
            have all tried to centralize trade policy by moving it from
            different agencies into a single agency. Despite
            liberalization, some sectors -- including automobiles,
            textiles and agriculture -- remain protected. Lessons the
            author draws from experience in these coutries: 1) the
            deteriorating macroeconomic situations are the main
            challenge to maintaining open trade policy; 2) trade
            policymaking must be constantly reviewed to prevent
            reversals, and the costs of protection must be communicated
            to the public at large; 3) There must be short-run measures
            to help domestic activities adjust to short-run price
            movements and alleviate pressure for protection. The danger
            -- such measures (unrelated to long-run price trends) can
            become permanent. 4) external commitments (through WTO or
            customs unions) can be used to discourage a return to
            protection; 5) extending reform (to labor and capital
            markets and the regulatory framework) will help maintain and
            extend trade liberalization. Allowing factors of production
            to move smoothly from one activity to another could help
            prevent the buildup of pressures that lead to protection; 6)
            an institution to consider exceptional protection should be
            advisory (independent of day-to-day trade policymaking), so
            that it works steadily, free from administrative pressures
            and exigencies. Requests for protection must be handled
            openly and transparently, with the findings subject to
            public scrutiny. Procedures for granting relief through
            safeguards and similar mechanisms must reflect all
            interests, including those of consumers, exporters, and
            users of the product; and 7) the analysis to establish
            injury must conform to high technical standards. The
            criteria to consider trade policies must reflect national
            interests, not those of any particular sector.
Review of integrated approaches to
            river basin, planning, development and management
Piecemeal approaches to river basin
            development and management may not fully recognize the
            interactions and interdependence among components of a river
            basin system.  River basin management that focuses on a
            single water use, on a single sector, or on the supply to
            particular segment of the basin population may inadvertently
            disrupt other sectors of the economy (in time or space).
            Hence, advocating for a systems approach to river basin
            development - for models that could help account for a river
            basin's key components and help address various
            objectives.  The authors review the literature on such
            economic models, including models that deal with issues of
            water quality and quantity or with environmental
            considerations, recreational demand, countrywide planning,
            and multiple objective planning.  Their review may serve as
            a source of references for those who need to consider
            whether they can use a model.  Readers can evaluate the
            suitability, advantages, and disadvantages of particular
            modeling approaches for specific objectives.