Efficiency of university education: A partial frontier analysis
This article investigates the efficiency of the university education using two linked databases (Saber Pro and Saber 11) from the Colombian Institute for Evaluation of Education (ICFES) corresponding to 2014. We use a non-parametric frontier approach that combines the “order m” technique with the concept of a meta-frontier to disaggregate students’ total efficiency in generic
- Published in Revistas CIDE
Social Conflict in Rural Regions and Firm Ownership: Evidence from the Mining Sector in Latin America
Using firm-level data for five countries in Latin America we find a negative and statistically significant link between social conflict in rural areas and ownership of mines. This result suggests that the social conflict around mining projects can affect strategic firm behavior intended to diversify risk in the face of social, political and financial pressures.
- Published in Revistas CIDE
Understanding the Drivers of Household Energy Spending Micro Evidence for Latin America
The paper investigates the determinants of household energy spending and energy budget shares, with a focus on understanding their non-linear relationship with income, and the presence of economies of scale. The analysis is based on a unique, harmonized collection of official household surveys from 13 Latin American countries. This dataset allows distinguishing between expenditures on
- Published in Revistas CIDE
Hidden Violence: How COVID-19 School Closures Reduced the Reporting of Child Maltreatment
This study examines how school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic affected the reporting of child maltreatment in Mexico City. We use a rich panel dataset on incident-level crime reports and victim characteristics and exploit the differential effects between school-age children and older individuals. While financial and mental distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic may result
- Published in Revistas CIDE
The impact of pharmaceutical innovation on cancer mortality in Mexico, 2003–2013
Frank R. Lichtenberg assessed the impact that pharmaceutical innovation had on cancer mortality in Mexico during the period 2003–2013, by investigating whether there were larger declines in the age-standardized mortality rate of cancer sites (breast, lung, colon, etc.) that were subject to more pharmaceutical innovation, controlling for changes in the age-standardized cancer incidence rate. The
- Published in Revistas CIDE
Skills versus Luck: Bolivia and its recent Bonanza | Latin American Economic Review
This paper uses different approaches to determine the contribution of internal policies and external factors on the good performance of the Bolivian economy in the recent past. It is demonstrated that the extremely favorable external conditions are mainly responsible for its bonanza, and that the domestic policies have, probably, caused more harm, than good. The
- Published in Revistas CIDE
An analysis of economic incentives to encourage organ donation: evidence from Chile | Latin American Economic Review
Marcela Parada-Contzen & Felipe Vásquez-Lavín perform a cost–benefit analysis on the introduction of monetary incentives for living kidney donations by estimating the compensation that would make an individual indifferent between donating and not donating a kidney while alive using Chilean data. We find that monetary incentives of US$12,000 save US$38,000 to health care system per donor and
- Published in Revistas CIDE
The impact of competition with China in the US market on innovation in Mexican manufacturing firms | Latin American Economic Review
Using data from 6378 Mexican firms for the 2012–2013 period, this paper estimates the effect of competition with China for the US market on the innovation efforts of the Mexican manufacturing sector. After controlling for the influence of several variables, we find a U-curve shaped relationship between foreign competition (measured by the China effect) and
- Published in Revistas CIDE
Delineating functional territories from outer space | Latin American Economic Review
The delimitation of functional spatial units or functional territories is an important topic in regional science and economic geography, since the empirical verification of many causal relationships is affected by the size and shape of these areas. This paper, written by Julio A. Berdegué, Tatiana Hiller, Juan Mauricio Ramírez, Santiago Satizábal, Isidro Soloaga, Juan Soto, Miguel Uribe & Olga Vargas , proposes a two-step
- Published in Revistas CIDE
Pass-through and competition: the impact of soft drink taxes as seen through Mexican supermarkets | Latin American Economic Review
In January 2014, Mexico addressed its epidemic of obesity by implementing an excise tax of 1 peso (1 MXN) per liter on soft drinks. This study evaluates the pass-through of the tax, the influence on the tax of competition among different stores, and the after-tax price dispersion. Using an unbalanced panel of weekly prices for
- Published in Revistas CIDE