Remesas personales desde y hacia Chile

By:	Álvaro del Real Alfredo Fuentes
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chb:bcchee:85&r=lam
Globalization, which involves progressive integration of countries’ economies, has resulted in an increasing number of people moving from one country to another, without losing their ties to their original home economies. Increasingly, immigrants are sending money to their home countries (remittances). These remittances have raised great interest in developing countries, not only because of their signifi cant volume and impact on local economies, but also because of their potential effects on the fi nancial system and on economic development and growth. Chile has not escaped this phenomenon. Although it has not reached levels comparable to those of other Latin American economies, growing immigration from neighboring countries and the emigration process that occurred in past decades have made it necessary to investigate the issue and to measure Chile’s remittance fl ows to and from other countries. This document presents the concept of remittances and classifi cations according to international defi nitions by institutions focused on the subject, such as the World Bank, the CEMLA, the International Monetary Fund and the Group of Luxembourg. It then analyzes the mechanisms of remittance transfers currently used in the world and international experiences regarding sources and estimation methods. The main characteristics of this market in Chile are also shown. Finally, it shows the main results of the surveys carried out yearly between 2007 and 2010. These surveys were applied to money transfer companies working in Chile, which provided information about the transactions made in the period 2005-2009.

Why Do Environmental Taxes Work Better in Developed Countries?

By:	Coria, Jessica (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University) Villegas-Palacio, Clara (Facultad de Minas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Sede Medellin) Cárdenas, J.C. (Dept of Economics, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia)
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0521&r=lam
We compare of the performance of emission taxes between Colombia and Sweden in an experimental setting where subjects are regulated through environmental taxes and had to decide on emission levels, compliance behavior, and adoption of an environmentally friendly technology. Our design allows us to analyze the role of variations in the stringency of the policy enforcement by regulatory agencies in two different cultural contexts. In line with previous literature that emphasizes the role of social norms and intrinsic motivations explaining compliance behavior, we find that actual emissions and tax underreporting are lower than predicted by traditional models that are solely based on self-interested preferences. However, we find that for an equivalent monitoring stringency, there are no statistically significant differences in emission levels and compliance behavior between Colombian and Swedish subjects. This is to say that despite the positive effect of social norms enhancing compliance, a more stringent enforcement remains as an important mechanism to induce firms to comply with the regulation.
Keywords:	laboratory experiments; emission taxes; imperfect monitoring; technology adoption; developing countries; cross-country comparison; Colombia; Sweden.
JEL:	C91

La informalidad laboral y los costos laborales en Colombia 1984-2009. Diagnóstico y propuestas de política.

By:	Fabio Sánchez Torres Oriana Alvarez Vos
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000089:009238&r=lam
Este documento tiene como objetivo contribuir al análisis de la problemática de la informalidad laboral en Colombia enfocándose principalmente en los costos mínimos de contratación formal como uno de los factores que más incide en su persistencia. Así mismo, se realizan recomendaciones de política y se examina la llamada ley del primer empleo a la luz de los indicadores de la informalidad laboral presentados. Para determinar los efectos de los costos mínimos de contratación sobre los indicadores del mercado laboral en Colombia se realizaron diversas simulaciones utilizando como año base 1992. Los resultados muestran que la informalidad hubiese sido menor sobre todo para aquellos trabajadores con menor escolaridad. En cuanto al tamaño de la firma, las simulaciones indican que el aumento de los costos mínimos de contratación formal ha contribuido a la exclusión de los trabajadores menos calificados de las firmas grandes. Debido a las altas tasas de informalidad laboral en Colombia, en el año 2010 se sancionó la ley del primer empleo que busca incentivar la formalización laboral en el país. Sin embargo, dadas las características de la informalidad la ley la ataca solo tímidamente.

Left, Right, Left: Income and Political Dynamics in Transition Economies

By:	Michael Carter John Morrow
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1111&r=lam
The political left turn in Latin America, which lagged its transition to liberalized market economies by a decade or more, challenges conventional economic explanations of voting behavior. While the implications of upward mobility for the political preferences of forward-looking voters have been studied, neither the upward mobility model nor conventional myopic median voter models are well equipped to explain Latin America's political transformation. This paper generalizes the forward-looking voter model to consider a broad range of dynamic processes. When voters have full information on the nature of income dynamics in a transition economy, we show that strong support for redistributive policies will materialize rapidly if income dynamics offer few prospects of upward mobility for key sections of the electorate. In contrast, when voters have imperfect information, our model predicts a slow and politically polarizing shift toward redistributive voter preferences under these same non-concave income dynamics. Simulation using fitted income dynamics for two Latin American economies suggests that the imperfect information model better accounts for the observed shift back to the left in Latin America, and that this generalized, forward-looking voter approach may offer additional insights about political dynamics in other transition economies.
Keywords:	income dynamics, redistributive politics, polarization, Bayesian learning, Latin America
JEL:	D31

Top Incomes in Chile 1957-2007:Evolution and Mobility

By: Claudia Sanhueza (Facultad de Economía y Empresa, Universidad Diego Portales)
Ricardo Mayer (Facultad de Economía y Empresa, Universidad Diego Portales)
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ptl:wpaper:6&r=ltv

Brechas étnicas y de sexo en el acceso a la educación básica y superior en el Perú

By:	Juan F. Castro (Departamento de Economía, Universidad del Pacífico) Gustavo Yamada (Departamento de Economía, Universidad del Pacífico)
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pai:wpaper:11-04&r=lam
En este estudio analizamos la información sobre etnicidad contenida en las encuestas de hogares, evaluamos el progreso educativo de diferentes cohortes, etnias y sexos en los últimos 50 años, y construimos un modelo de duración para evaluar el efecto de estas características sobre la probabilidad de abandonar los estudios. Encontramos evidencia de endogeneidad en la variable auto-reportada de etnia respecto al nivel educativo, y proponemos una estrategia de identificación para el grupo étnico que tome en cuenta este resultado. Nuestra comparación entre etnias muestra una disminución importante en las brechas de acceso a la educación primaria en los últimos 50 años. La conclusión de la educación secundaria y la matrícula en educación superior, sin embargo, aún muestran un sesgo a favor de los grupos descendientes de blancos y mestizos en comparación con las etnias amazónicas, quechua/aymaras, y afrodescendientes, en ese orden de intensidad. Estas brechas subsisten luego de controlar por aspectos relacionados con la exclusión (demanda y oferta del servicio educativo), lo que sugiere que hay en operación mecanismos de discriminación al interior del proceso educativo. Una comparación por sexos revela que las brechas que había 50 años atrás prácticamente se han cerrado, al punto que ya no hay diferencia entre los porcentajes de hombres y mujeres que logran culminar con éxito todo el proceso educativo.
Keywords:	Educación, brechas de acceso, discriminación, Perú

Raza, corrupción y acceso a servicios públicos en el Perú: ¿Exclusión o discriminación?

By:	Ricardo Montero (Departamento de Economía, Universidad del Pacífico) Gustavo Yamada (Departamento de Economía, Universidad del Pacífico)
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pai:wpaper:11-03&r=lam
Este estudio evalúa desde el punto de vista cuantitativo la posible existencia de discriminación contra los ciudadanos de origen indígena en el uso de los servicios públicos, con información de la Encuesta Nacional de Hogares de Perú entre los años 2004 y 2006. Dichas versiones de la ENAHO recogen información sobre la realización de trámites en un grupo de instituciones del Estado, así como sobre los episodios de coima en dichos trámites. Se encuentra que los hogares con características indígenas alcanzan niveles más bajos de acceso a servicios públicos así como menores tasas de conclusión exitosa de trámites. El análisis econométrico sugiere que mientras que la menor tasa de acceso puede explicarse por las más elevadas incidencias de pobreza y menores niveles de educación de los hogares indígenas (lo que lo convierte en un problema de exclusión más que de discriminación), la menor tasa de conclusión sí parece representar un problema adicional de discriminación al interior de las entidades del Estado. No se hallan efectos de un trato diferenciado a la población indígena en los casos de coima. El análisis desagregado por tipo de institución proveedora de servicios muestra que la situación es particularmente grave en el caso de servicios básicos, tales como agua potable y saneamiento, donde sí se encuentra evidencia de discriminación en los tres niveles analizados. Por último, no se halla evidencia de discriminación racial específica en la policía, el sistema judicial ni en los servicios de aduanas y migraciones.
Keywords:	Burocracia, corrupción, discriminación, servicios públicos.

EDUCATION AND LABOUR MARKET OUTCOMES: EVIDENCE FROM BRAZIL

By:	Geraint Johnes R Freguglia G Spricigo A Aggarwal
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lan:wpaper:4280&r=lam
The effect of education on labour market outcomes is analysed using both survey and administrative data from The Brazilian PNAD and RAIS-MIGRA series, respectively. Occupational destination is examined using both multinomial logit analyses and structural dynamic discrete choice modelling. The latter approach is particularly useful as a means of evaluating policy impacts over time. We find that policy to expand educational provision leads initially to an increased take-up of education, and in the longer term leads to an increased propensity for workers to enter non-manual employment.

Do Cash Transfers Improve Birth Outcomes? Evidence from Matched Vital Statistics, Social Security and Program Data

By: Amarante, Veronica (Universidad de la República, Uruguay)
Manacorda, Marco (Queen Mary, University of London)
Miguel, Edward (University of California, Berkeley)
Vigorito, Andrea (Universidad de la República, Uruguay)

URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6231&r=ltv

There is limited empirical evidence on whether unrestricted cash social assistance to poor pregnant women improves children's birth outcomes. Using program administrative micro-data matched to longitudinal vital statistics on the universe of births in Uruguay, we estimate that participation in a generous cash transfer program led to a sizeable 15% reduction in the incidence of low birthweight. Improvements in mother nutrition and a fall in labor supply, out-of-wedlock births and mother's smoking all appear to contribute to the effect. We conclude that, by improving child health, unrestricted unconditional cash transfers may help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.
Keywords: welfare transfers, birth outcomes
JEL: J88

Educational Upgrading and Returns to Skills in Latin America: Evidence from a Supply-Demand Framework, 1990-2010

By: Gasparini, Leonardo (CEDLAS-UNLP)
Galiani, Sebastián (Washington University, St. Louis)
Cruces, Guillermo (CEDLAS-UNLP)
Acosta, Pablo A. (World Bank)

URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6244&r=ltv

It has been argued that a factor behind the decline in income inequality in Latin America in the 2000s was the educational upgrading of its labor force. Between 1990 and 2010, the proportion of the labor force in the region with at least secondary education increased from 40 to 60 percent. Concurrently, returns to secondary education completion fell throughout the past two decades, while the 2000s saw a reversal in the increase in the returns to tertiary education experienced in the 1990s. This paper studies the evolution of wage differentials and the trends in the supply of workers by educational level for 16 Latin American countries between 1990 and 2000. The analysis estimates the relative contribution of supply and demand factors behind recent trends in skill premia for tertiary and secondary educated workers. Supply-side factors seem to have limited explanatory power relative to demand-side factors, and are only relevant to explain part of the fall in wage premia for high-school graduates. Although there is significant heterogeneity in individual country experiences, on average the trend reversal in labor demand in the 2000s can be partially attributed to the recent boom in commodity prices that could favor the unskilled (non-tertiary educated) workforce, although employment patterns by sector suggest that other within-sector forces are also at play, such as technological diffusion or skill mismatches that may reduce the labor productivity of highly-educated workers.
Keywords: skill premia, supply and demand of labor, income inequality, Latin America
JEL: J2

Distributive impacts of alternative tax structures. The case of Uruguay

por Verónica Amarante, Marisa Bucheli, Cecilia Olivieri e Ivone

Perazzo

http://www.fcs.edu.uy/archivos/0911.pdf

Resumen

El presente artículo analiza el impacto distributivo de ciertas variaciones en el sistema tributario uruguayo, en un marco de micro-simulaciones aritméticas basadas en la combinación de datos provenientes de encuestas de hogares y de gastos. Por el lado de los impuestos indirectos, se consideran dos alternativas que implican la misma reducción en los ingresos fiscales: una reducción general de 2 puntos en la tasa básica del IVA, y una reducción selectiva del IVA aplicada a determinados bienes que forman parte del consumo de la población de bajos ingresos. En relación a los impuestos directos, se considera el efecto de aumentar el mínimo no imponible del componente laboral del impuesto a la renta. En primer lugar se analiza por separado el impacto de cada uno de estos cambios, y luego se simula un escenario común combinando los cambios en los impuestos directos e indirectos. Los resultados indican que en Uruguay la redistribución a través de las modificaciones consideradas en los impuestos directos e indirectos es limitada.

Palabras claves: redistribución fiscal, desigualdad en los ingresos, impuestos

Abstract

This article considers the distributional impact of different changes in Uruguayan tax system, using a static micro-simulation framework based on the combination of data from household and expenditure surveys. On the indirect taxes side, we consider two alternatives that imply the same reduction in tax revenue: a general reduction of 2 points in the VAT basic rate, and a selective reduction in the VAT rate applied to specific goods that make up a large share of consumption of low income population. In relation to direct taxes, we consider the effects of increasing the upper limit of the tax free zone of the labor component of the dual income tax. We analyze separately the impact of each of these changes, and we also simulate a joint scenario including changes in direct and indirect taxes. Our results indicate that redistribution through the analyzed modifications in direct and indirect taxes in Uruguay is limited.

JEL classification codes: D31, H23, H20

Keywords: fiscal redistribution, income inequality, taxes

First-Round Impacts of the 2008 Chilean Pension System Reform

By Jere R. Behrman (University of Pennsylvania)

Maria Cecilia Calderon (Population Council)
Olivia S. Mitchell (Wharton School, University of
Pennsylvania)
Javiera Vasquez (Universidad de Chile)
David Bravo (Universidad de Chile)


URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrr:papers:wp245&r=ltv

Chile’s innovative privatized pension system has been lauded as
possible model for Social Security system overhauls in other
countries, yet it has also been critiqued for not including a
strong safety net for the uncovered sector. In response, the
Bachelet government in 2008 implemented reforms to rectify this
shortcoming. Here we offer the first systematic effort to
directly evaluate the reform’s impacts, focusing on the new Basic
Solidarity Pension for poor households with at least one person
age 65+. Using the Social Protection Survey, we show that
targeted poor households received about 2.4 percent more
household annual income, with little evidence of crowding-out of
private transfers. We also suggest that recipient household
welfare probably increased due to slightly higher expenditures on
basic consumption including healthcare, more leisure hours, and
improved self-reported health. While measured short-run effects
are small, follow-ups will be essential to gauge longer-run
outcomes.

Desarrollo de la infraestructura y reducción de la pobreza: el caso peruano

By:	Carlos Aparicio (Departamento de Economía, Universidad del Pacífico y Consorcio de Investigación Económica y Social) Miguel A. Jaramillo (Departamento de Economía, Universidad del Pacífico y Consorcio de Investigación Económica y Social) Cristina San Román (Departamento de Economía, Universidad del Pacífico y Consorcio de Investigación Económica y Social)
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pai:wpaper:11-00&r=lam
In recent years, economic growth and the development of social programs have contributed significantly to poverty reduction in Peru. In this process, the development of infrastructure has been very important in reducing the long term vulnerability of households.This paper examines the role of infrastructure in reducing poverty in households in Peru within a dynamic perspective of poverty and under an asset-based approach. To do this, we estimate Logit models to reflect the impact of different types of infrastructure on the likelihood of being poor in Peru. We also estimate static panel data models (fixed and random effects) to reflect the impact of the different types of infrastructure on the spending ofPeruvian households. Both groups of models are based on information at the household level for the years 2007-2010 from the Peruvian official household survey provided by INEI. These impacts are estimated considering the sex of the household head and the area of residence(urban or rural). For static panel data models, we estimate the impact of the different types of infrastructure on household spending distinguishing whether they are transient poor or chronically poor. Given the data constraints at the household level in Peru, we only analyze the following infrastructures throughout the document: water, sewage, electricity and telecommunications. From the results, we verify a significant and different impact of the various types of infrastructure on poverty according to the area of residence and the gender of the household head. Similarly, we verify a significant and different impact of infrastructure on the types of poverty (transient and chronic poverty).
Keywords:	Infraestructura, pobreza, ingresos, enfoque de activos, dinámica de la pobreza.

School Attendance, Child Labor and Cash Transfers. An Impact Evaluation of PANES

By:	Veronica Amarante Mery Ferrando Andrea Vigorito
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:piercr:2011-22&r=lam
In this paper we analyze the impact an emergency social assistance program, PANES, on school attendance and child labour. The program was carried out in Uruguay from April 2005 to December 2007. Specifically, we analyze the effects of the cash transfer component of the plan (Ingreso Ciudadano), and explore potential explanatory channels such as labour market outcomes, income and awareness of conditionalities. This research is based on a panel of successful and unsuccessful applicants to PANES. The first wave uses the administrative records of the program and the second wave is a follow-up survey that was gathered two months after the program ended and was specifically designed to carry out the impact evaluation of the program. In order to check the robustness of our results, we provide evidence based on two different identification strategies: a regression discontinuity approach using data from the second wave of the panel, and a difference-in-difference approach that exploits the longitudinal nature of the collected data. Our results indicate that the program did not affect school attendance or child labour, whether children are considered as one group or are disaggregated by age or sex. We also do not find any impact on household income, which suggests that income substitution does not explain the lack of results in terms of schooling. It therefore appears that either the size of the transfer was not generous enough to promote school attendance or that the determinants of child school attendance are more complex and require complementary interventions. Our results are particularly relevant for understanding of the role of cash transfers in middle-income countries where attendance rates at primary school are already high, and where the main challenge is to keep students in school at the secondary level. The data also allows us to explore the role of conditionalities. Only a small share of households was aware of the school enrolment condition (20%). Conditionalities were announced and are present in other social security programs in Uruguay, but were ultimately not monitored in this case. We did not find the conditionality to have any robust impact (as perceived by the household) on children’s school enrolment.
Keywords:	Cash transfer program; Impact evaluation; School attendance, Child labour, Uruguay

Do Cash Transfers Improve Birth Outcomes? Evidence from Matched Vital Statistics, Social Security and Program Data

By:	Verónica Amarante Marco Manacorda Edward Miguel Andrea Vigorito
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1106&r=lam
There is limited empirical evidence on whether unrestricted cash social assistance to poor pregnant women improves children's birth outcomes. Using program administrative micro-data matched to longitudinal vital statistics on the universe of births in Uruguay, we estimate that participation in a generous cash transfer program led to a sizeable 15% reduction in the incidence of low birthweight. Improvements in mother nutrition and a fall in labor supply, out-of-wedlock births and mother's smoking all appear to contribute to the effect. We conclude that, by improving child health, unrestricted unconditional cash transfers may help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.
Keywords:	Poverty relief program, maternal health, cash transfers, social assistance, Uruguay, birth outcomes,Low birthweight, Cash transfer program, Nutrition

Educational upgrading and returns to skills in Latin America : evidence from a supply-demand framework, 1990-2010

By:	Gasparini, Leonardo; Galiani, Sebastian; Cruces, Guillermo; Acosta, Pablo

URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5921&r=lam

It has been argued that a factor behind the decline in income inequality in Latin America in the 2000s was the educational upgrading of its labor force. Between 1990 and 2010, the proportion of the labor force in the region with at least secondary education increased from 40 to 60 percent. Concurrently, returns to secondary education completion fell throughout the past two decades, while the 2000s saw a reversal in the increase in the returns to tertiary education experienced in the 1990s. This paper studies the evolution of wage differentials and the trends in the supply of workers by educational level for 16 Latin American countries between 1990 and 2000. The analysis estimates the relative contribution of supply and demand factors behind recent trends in skill premia for tertiary and secondary educated workers. Supply-side factors seem to have limited explanatory power relative to demand-side factors, and are only relevant to explain part of the fall in wage premia for high-school graduates. Although there is significant heterogeneity in individual country experiences, on average the trend reversal in labor demand in the 2000s can be partially attributed to the recent boom in commodity prices that could favor the unskilled (non-tertiary educated) workforce, although employment patterns by sector suggest that other within-sector forces are also at play, such as technological diffusion or skill mismatches that may reduce the labor productivity of highly-educated workers.

Keywords:

Labor Markets,Labor Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Inequality,Tertiary Education