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This paper introduces an unpublished 1970 work written by the distinguished development economist Lauchlin Currie (1902-93) on Paul Rosenstein Rodan's famous 1944 essay on the "Big Push" which led to the debate on balanced and unbalanced growth in which Albert Hirschman (1915-2012) was an important contributor. Both Currie and Hirschman had been key economic advisers to the Colombian government and here their respective views on development planning are contrasted. In particular, it is shown how Currie's 1970 paper clarifies the theory that serves as the basis for Colombia's 1971-74 National Plan, which he designed and helped execute, and whose institutional innovations have had a lasting impact on Colombia's recent economic history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses orthodox and heterodox development streams, by bringing about and comparing their core conceptual building blocks. The paper builds mainly on an economic disciplinary approach, but briefly discusses other views. Therefore, the paper will be divided into three parts. First of all, a brief introduction about the notion of development; Secondly, a theoretical view of the characteristics of the interpretation orthodoxy; Thirdly, the theory of heterodoxy development. Finally, an analysis beyond economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we use second order stochastic dominance (hereafter, ssd) and the Omega ratio to measure us equity ETFs performance. Based on Balder and Schweizer's (2017) paper, consistency of the Omega ratio with ssd is illustrated through ETFs performance evaluation. The results presented in this paper show that ETFs ranked as superior for all non-satiated risk-averse investors (ssd) are also ranked as superior using the Omega ratio. In cases where the threshold parameter K with which the strategies are evaluated generates inconsistencies in the ranking between ssd and Omega, it is observed that ssd captures in a more complete way the effect in all the moments of the distribution as compared to Omega. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesoamerica emerged in regional relations thanks to different cooperation strategies between Mexico, Central America, Colombia and the Dominican Republic that have resulted in what is known today as the Mesoamerica Integration and Development Project. However, ten years after its creation, most of the studies in this regard are descriptive and use an institutional approach that does not distinguish other relevant aspects such as the inclusion of nongovernmental actors and their participation in this regional program. In order to make a first approach to these aspects within the Mesoamerica Project, this paper proposes the use of the International Political Economy theoretical approach of British origin, in the interest of identifying those analytical elements that will go beyond the traditional approach and deepen our knowledge of this program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze the determinants of attendance and the frequency of attendance of performing arts events in Medellin, specifically theater, dance, and music. Using data from the Quality of Life Survey of Medellin 2014, we estimate regularized discrete choice models that allow us to efficiently select the relevant variables that explain the cultural consumption decisions, while at the same time, solving the statistical problems that appear when the number of explanatory variables is high. Results show that the level of education and time restrictions are the principal determinants of performing arts attendance in the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the size of the State in an international context and analyzes the behavior of public spending in Colombia during the last two decades. It takes a theoretical and empirical review of optimal public spending, and presents international comparisons of the size of the State which support the Wagner Law: the size of the State grows at the same rate or at a higher rate than income. It also describes the evolution of central national government spending based on the traditional economic classification, and reviews the evolution of government spending according to purpose, emphasizing social spending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the heir of political philosophy, the English post-commercialist economy and the French physiocracy, since its origin, political economy has integrated production, circulation and the theory of value into the theories of the modern state and capitalist society. In this paper it is argued that, in political economy, the conceptions of the State and of society are related to the theory of surplus. It criticizes the marginilist notion of society, emphasizes the centrality of the theory of surplus, explained in the conflict between State and society, and identifies the limits of the principle of effective demand of Keynes and Kalecki. The main conclusion is that economic policy recommendations based on inflation, wage deflation and containment of public spending goals seek to increase the surplus in the crisis and recession phases of the economic cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a discussion of the creation of agent-based models from the exclusive perspective of monetary phenomena. These correspond to Schumpeter's monetary analysis in its ideal version. A set of general principles formalizes a population of agents interacting in a decentralized way on the sole basis of monetary phenomena. We make use of these principles, and the subsequent agent-based model is a dynamic, non-deterministic system, whose numerical simulations are able to mimic stylized facts in macroeconomics. Further extensions of the model make possible the expansion its descriptive power, and its use in economic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent history and the institutional evolution of economies leads to criticisms of some aspects of Modern Monetary Theory about the origin of money, as well as the role of the public deficit, and taxes. This paper proposes a precise definition of the financialization process. based on the mobility of business management. It also discusses its impact on income distribution and its consequences for innovation and economic growth, and raises the need for taxes to redistribute income. A concept of private deficit is also proposed based on the creation of means of payment by the banking system, which leads to defend credit orientation policies. It concludes with several macroeconomic policy proposals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abraham Flexner, intellectual promoter of the Institute of Advanced Studies of Princeton and who was its director between 1930 and 1939, published this writing days after the start of World War II, when irrational hatred threatened civilization, as democracy threatens today under the ultra rational impulse of immediate utility. In this paper Flexner points out that the intellectual and spiritual life - appropriate of the centers where knowledge is sought and cultivated - is a useless form of activity that provides greater satisfactions than they would otherwise obtain. And it shows that the search for stories satisfactions is an unexpected source of utility. The author argues that in the history of science the great discoverers have not been motivated by the desire to be useful but to satisfy their curiosity. Today, when the search for practical and immediate utility enjoys the widest acceptance, it is still relevant to ask if you can have a full life if you continue to suppress the elements that give it spiritual meaning, and if our conception of what is useful does not It is even narrower than in the Flexner era. Although these questions do not appear on the agenda of those who trace and follow, consciously or unconsciously, current educational and scientific policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robert Proctor and Ian Bolin coined the term agnotology to designate the study of ignorance. This paper proposes to overcome the vision of ignorance as a void that can be filled by knowledge and invites us to think about the ways in which it is produced today, in a premeditated and structural way: through negligence, myopia, secrecy or suppression. The author shows that the deliberate creation of ignorance is a strategy to compromise and sow doubts about the observed facts and about scientific knowledge, taking as examples the role of trade secrets, the activity of tobacco companies to deny the causal relationship between the cigarette smoking and cancer and the role of military secret. Finally, some cases in ignorance is an expression of moral values, such as the prohibition, in some universities, of research whose sole purpose is the profit motive and, in some scientific journals, of publishing works financed by certain sources, as well as the rejection of certain technologies for well-founded intellectual and moral reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increasing institutionalization of public policy as a field of study, there has been little reflection on the teaching in this field. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the characterization of public policy teaching in Colombia based on the case of a handbook-type text on public policy. A citation analysis was carried out and surveys applied to students and graduates of a master program in public policy. A rationalistic oriented use of the book was identified, with a focus on the implementation phase at different territorial levels. The popularization of the field and the operational definition of public policy are some of the main contributions of the book. The profile of the public policy apprentice was identified and some opportunities and challenges are outlined in the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has as its objective to analyze how the relationship between public administration and public policy research is rethought when conceiving the latter as governmentality technologies. As a central argument, it claims that public policies are inscription by technical mediations, and their effects, in the order of governmentality are, at the same time, technologies affecting the comprehension of public policy field, State, public administration and society. The following section: methodology and results, was mapped based on "Corruption and fight against corruption in Colombia. Case analysis" study. Finally, we conclude that research in public policies, studied as governmentality technologies, must start by questioning the epistemic and ontological postulates of what has been conceived, from classical interpretations, such as public administration and the State/society relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After several decades with scarce information about the relationship between corruption and electoral participation, recently some literature has emerged on this subject. There are several hypotheses that try to explain this phenomenon; one of them considers corruption as a mobilizing agent and another one as a paralyzing agent in electoral activities. In this paper, we study the role played by corruption over electoral participation in the municipality of Culiacán, with information obtained through a survey on political culture and electoral behavior. The statistical results suggest that the probability of voting is negatively related to higher levels of perceived corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the effects of crime victimization and the perception of safety on life satisfaction. We estimated an ordered probit model, and results suggest that crime victimization decreased by 1,1% life satisfaction. In addition, an increase in the perception of security for the city and neighborhoods, increase life satisfaction at 7,3% and 1,7% respectively. Further, other groups of variables are included; government satisfaction and the infrastructure of the neighborhood. All of them have a positive relationship with life satisfaction. Finally, results exhibit that the gender does not play an important role in satisfaction, and subjective poverty decreased by 3,8% life satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the gap between the expected and real effects of Colombian trade liberalization policy. First, we stress the influence of international integration on Colombia's growth and development, and explains why moving toward more free trade has not contributed to the consolidation of high value-added industries in that country. Ultimately, we apply the theory of political cycles and suggest that political power in Colombia has contributed to get the country trapped into an international dependency on primary commodities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pacific Alliance was established as a model of deep integration between Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. The question raised in this paper is which of the Latin American regionalism approaches is more proper for the theoretical characterization of the Pacific Alliance initiative. In this sense, the concepts of open regionalism and strategic regionalism are explained for the characterization of this initiative and their limits are highlighted from empirical evidence. The paper concludes that regionalism concepts which give greater emphasis to commercial dynamics are not enough to understand the current operation and performance of the Pacific Alliance. As such, a complementary analytical approach is introduced which responds to the long term global dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One remarkable aspect of modern heterodox theory is the detachment between demand-led growth models and endogenous money theories. This paper suggests a possible integration of the Keynesian theory of the multiplier (and the supermultiplier) with Keynes's endogenous money and finance theories. Focussing upon Graziani's version of the Monetary Circuit Theory (TCM), the paper is a contribution towards reconciling the preoccupation of this theory with initial production financing, and the concern of demand-side oriented heterodox growth theories with final financing of autonomous demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depending on the regulation, the border of a Nation-state can be classified as a barrier or a contact point. The notion of security stems from territorial defense and sovereignty. Globalization has made an impact in border regions with a major influx of people, goods, services, money and crime. Border, security and development concepts have merged to guarantee border policy practices in those spaces, strengthening surveillance and control. This paper examines the current situation of the boundary between Venezuela and Colombia from a postmodernist political geography approach, by using documental and newspaper records. Notable aspects of this border are: that both States leave border areas unattended; the clash of two States with an internal crisis and different political, jurisdictional and economical systems; a lack of integral border policies and an ever growing surge of violence and crime that affects areas closest to the borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The binomial model presents a set of properties that make it a suitable approach in order to value the real options, throughout an easy and practical application. This is possible by the adaptation of the valuation principle for non-arbitrage, own of the options pricing theory. However, their adoption may be limited for those options that have multiple sources of uncertainty, given that their interaction should be incorporated into the valuation process. In response, financial theory has proposed valuation approaches that allow different sources of uncertainty to be represented by a consolidated estimate of volatility, such as the Marketed Asset Disclaimer (mad) approach developed by Copeland and Antikarov (2001). As an alternative, a treatment that incorporates the dynamics of each uncertainty can be given. In this context, there are different proposals that extend the Binomial model to k-dimensional or multi-dimensional context. To achieve the application, it is necessary an approximation of the k-dimensional stochastic process, as well as its correlations. This paper presents a concise review of the different methods proposed in this context, as well as their benefits, limitations and, some alternative approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present a historical series of Colombian GDP from 1888 to 2013. For that purpose we have employed an expenditure approach to reconstruct the GDP for the period 1888-1929. We linked it to the official statistics data of the DANE. The result is expressed in 2011 purchasing parity dollars for international comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the convergence hypothesis and the impact of social policy on the economic growth of the six largest countries in Latin America between 1980 and 2010. Results suggest that social public policies have positively influenced growth in these economies. Particularly, there are non-observed variables (fixed effects) that positively affect the economic growth in Venezuela and Chile; however, there are other non-observed variables that may be negatively affecting growth in Brazil and Mexico. Regarding the convergence hypothesis, results reveal that the speed of convergence diminishes as real income rises, implying that these countries might be converging to their stable states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macroeconomic modelling has been under intense scrutiny since the Great Financial Crisis, when serious shortcomings were exposed in the methodology used to understand the economy as a whole. Criticism has been levelled at the assumptions employed in the dominant models, particularly that economic agents are homogeneous and optimising and that the economy is equilibrating. This paper seeks to explore an interdisciplinary approach to macroeconomic modelling, with techniques drawn from other (natural and social) sciences. Specifically, it discusses agent-based modelling, which is used across a wide range of disciplines, as an example of such a technique. Agent-based models are complementary to existing approaches and are suited to answering macroeconomic questions where complexity, heterogeneity, networks, and heuristics play an important role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present work consists, from a review of the current reality of the migration situation between Colombia and Venezuela, to carry out an analysis of the various administrative advances of border management. Despite the great importance that Venezuelan migrations have aroused in Colombia over the past five years, understanding the various political, economic and social elements of the internal affairs of both countries can provide the basic elements for understanding the correct logic for the proper administrative management of the border. It is expected that the reader achieves with this paper, in addition to having a vision about the state of bilateral migrations between Colombia and Venezuela, develop a deeper perspective on the challenges to governance of the Colombian-Venezuelan border. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of trading strategies through computational tools and artificial intelligence, such as artificial neural networks (ann) and genetic algorithms (ag), have presented important advances in the last years, In this paper it is implemented a ag for the optimization of a trading strategy with two moving averages in the inter-day market of crude oil futures. The objective function is the global return of the investment. The document presents the methodology and the design of this investment strategy with consistent results even with out-of-sample data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2008 the People's Republic of China disseminated the White Paper to Latin American countries with a two-dimensional strategy: the promotion of particularity logic and the promotion of omnidirectionality. In addition, China-Celac Forum (ccf), created in 2014, is the most important platform for China to promote cooperation towards Latin American countries. Thus, the present study demonstrates comparatively that the ccf applies the two dimensions of the Chinese strategy under three institutional principles: flexibility, nonconditionality and multiplicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the most recent development of the international relations field in Latin America. It relies mainly on a biblio-metric analysis of the main Latin American journals that publish related studies, and on a qualitative analysis of leading publications from some of the region's Political Science and International Relations departments. Without claiming to be an exhaustive study of the state of the field in the region, the paper includes new and useful information to build a reflection on the field's weaknesses, strengths and pending tasks. The work concludes with a series of reflections and suggestions that seek to highlight the importance of further theoretical and -particularly- methodological discussions to strengthen the study of international politics in -and from- Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a model that assumes politicians' rationality when fixing tax rates applied on revenue and consumption of each taxpayer. The paper also suggests some factors to consider are political mobility of voters and economic expectations, which can explain regressive tax reforms adopted in Latin America since the economic crises of the 80s. Additionally, it contrasts the model with an unbalanced data panel (18 countries from 1980 to 2010). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic thought evolved over the past two centuries to focus on individual behavior as the basis for all economic activity. Some heterodox economists have pointed to the importance of group behavior and the influence of organizations on economic activity, but the neoclassical paradigm, with the rational isolated individual as its main actor, prevails in mainstream economics. This paper presents a "sociology of economics" to explain why the prevailing paradigm of economics does not allow seeing and studying group behavior. Drawing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu, the paper details the habitus, the system of beliefs and the symbolic violence against those who question them. Also, it highlights the support of commercial and financial interests to the dominant culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trends in housing prices in Bogotá in the period 1995-2013 generated a debate among experts about the existence of a real estate bubble. This paper analyzes the determinants of the supply and demand of the construction sector, the associated markets, and the rate of growth of interest rates and land prices. The results show that there was no bubble in the market in 2012 and that the economic conditions of the 2010 decade caused the increase in housing prices. The increase of these prices throughout the country requires the evaluation of the territorial effects of the national housing policy, the role of local administrations, the use of land management instruments and the effect of these price pressures on quality and habitability of housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the discussion on the most appropriate method for measuring productivity. It takes into account the TFP, the productivity of capital, and labor productivity, as well as its interpretations, scope, and relations. Additionally, it analyzes the impacts of this discussion on the evolution of the Colombian minimum wage over the period 2001-2016. Finally, it discusses the relationship between the growth of productivity and the distribution of income between capital and labor, proposing a critique of the neoclassical perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the latest years, one of the major concerns with political systems around the world is what some authors have called the "democratic recession". Some recent discussions on these issues focus on the capacity of the state to respond to the demands of its citizens. This paper studies the relationship between state capacity -understood as state performance on areas such as providing security, justice administration, tax collection and guaranteeing rights-, and support for democratic principles and Colombia's regime. The empirical results show that lower levels of assessment of state's capacity are associated to lower levels of support for democratic principles and performance. These results are discussed in the context of the peace agreements between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas, as well as the implications posed by this relationship in regards to the challenges and opportunities for post conflict Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) constitutes a contribution to respecting International Law and peace among peoples. We start from the idea that given that Public International Law is an "imperfect" law due to its lack of a centralized executive power, its enforcement depends in large measure on the responsibility of member states of the international community. Then, this study considers both the legal status of the Western Sahara -a conflict where the right to self-determination and independence is clearly defined- and the circumstances surrounding the foundation of the SADR andthe responsibility of the member states of the international community to fulfil this task. That is the particular case of Colombia and the American states, which have ratified the Montevideo Convention where this responsibility is clearly shown. The actions of every State to fulfil International Law are a contribution to its legitimacy. Because of the inaction of the central bodies of the international community that do not want, or cannot, enforce this right, it is necessary to highlight fulfil International Law are a contribution to its respect and to the pacific resolution of controversies, so that the recognition of the SADR is a contribution to law and peace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the most significant features of the contemporary Middle East. For many years, these two countries have fought for regional power and influence. This article analyzes this relationship of competition by first, describing the historical background of the relationship between the two countries. Secondly, the paper analyzes the geopolitical factors that shape the rivalry between Saudis and Iranians, and later, the main geographic confrontation scenarios, the rival religious narratives, as well as the economic and military capacities and vulnerabilities of both countries. Finally, the article raises a hypothetical consideration of a military conflict between the two countries. The article demonstrates that -so far- the dispute over power and regional influence favors Iran's interests; however, given the nature of regional and extra-regional alliances, an escalation of the conflict to the military level would not favor the interests of Tehran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims at detecting the presence of what is known as a global democratic device, which consists of a set of heterogeneous (normative, theoretical, ethical, political) elements that working together produce a global subject whose highest social aspiration is life in democracy. This democratic subject is conceived as condition of possibility and effect of what is defined as global liberal government. These theoretical assumptions are put in play in the analysis of the United Nations (UN) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) discourses that accompanied the 2011 intervention in Libya. Through them the text seeks to analyze how normative elements like the Responsibility to Protect, theoretical ones like the Democratic Peace Thesis and moral ones like the particular and persistent use of the signifier "freedom" and their relation with democracy, were put together in the construction of the democratic subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the welfare effects of improvements in investment in education and infrastructure with public-private participation, in a fiscal framework of a small and open economy for the Colombian economy. A DSGE model is built where families make decisions on human capital and the government finances megaprojects by placing infrastructure bonds. The results suggest greater effects in the long-term adjustment and improvements in social welfare when public spending is focused on sectors with higher levels of employment and technological and innovation improvements are introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to examine the link between Marx's monetary theory and its explanation of value, production and circulation. For this, it presents the basic theoretical elements that allow a critique of the quantitative theory, the Chartalist conception of the genesis of money and the post-Keynesian theory of endogenous money. Then, from a Marxist perspective, it analyzes the controversial relationship between the monetization of public debt and the increase in the general level of prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the initial Colombian decentralization path marked by the empowerment at local level through the notion of autonomy, and provides a prospective reflection related to the new and emerging post-conflict phase, which focuses on inclusive territorial multi-level governance for the good management of regional development using the new public policy tool - Contrato Plan (Planning Contract). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies the main contributions of Stephen Ross to the definition of the basic principles of the fundamental theorem of asset pricing (ftap), as well as its applications and extensions. By establishing the equivalence between the absence of arbitrage and the existence of a linear asset pricing rule, Ross formulates the principles of a valuation approach that preserves the essential characteristics of the Black-Scholes model, but from a more simple and intuitive framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Republic of Korea has managed to position itself globally as a fast-developing country with a strong economy, characterized as a diligent actor actively involved in global dynamics. In the last decades it has served as a "model" country under the slogan of having achieved a rapid transformation out of the ashes in order to become a donor country in a short period. Although this transformation is mainly due to the democratization process and the order imposed by the liberalization of world markets, this paper analyzes how the Asian country has faced the process of globalization, focusing mainly on the social structure. The article explores the impact that the integration of the country into the globalization process has had on the Korean society and culture, as well as the social manifestations that currently reveal scenarios of confrontation and conflict between different groups inside the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colombia has increasingly been specializing in the extraction of mineral and energy resources such as gold, coal, oil and ferronickel. These activities, in the context of state weakness, have engendered conflžicts of different dimensions. This paper proposes an indicator of conflžict related to mineral exploitation that classifies five dimensions of conžflict: social, economic, cultural, political and environmental. The aggregate indicator shows that murders, displacement of Afrodescendent populations, žflooding, pollution, fires, infant mortality, coca crops and sexual offenses are highly and positively correlated with the number of conflžicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing literature on intangible capital shows a relative consensus on the role of ¡rms in terms of investing resources to acquire (purchase or produce) this type of capital because it allows them to obtain a competitive advantage. This paper explores the incentives of In increasing their level of intangible capital using a simple model in which the firms compete a la Cournot. The model shows that the firm can get higher price-cost margins and market share than its rivals even in perfect competition given that the ¡rm is productive enough in the production of intangible capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following article will address the strategic importance of the brics' agreement for China, as well as the role China plays within the group. Firstly, it analyzes the development of the brics as a coalition of countries that, in the beginning, were united around a shared economic objective and then, over time, evolved to a point at which each member state was responding to their own strategic interest. Secondly, China is often an object of international criticism for its own development process, and this paper will address the benefit that China gains from the brics agreement. The agreement diffuses international tension, promotes cooperation among member states, and defends its development plans. Lastly, the paper argues that China should refrain from exerting a leadership role within the brics group, but rather should focus on serving as an agent for consolidation and cohesion among the group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the pretrading transparency of the trm futures market in Colombia and its relation to information asymmetry in out-of-stock trading operations between informed and uninformed agents. It is concluded that the transaction records are used by the market intermediaries to generate transactions outside of the available prices via the engine of the bvc and thus, take advantage of its dominant position as an informed agent. Additionally, it is argued that in order to eliminate this advantage, operations between agents classified own position (informed) and customers (not informed), should not be carried out via registration but only using the stock engine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the weather derivatives pricing model developed by Alaton et al. (2002) and it proposes an application by use this model with Monte Carlo simulation technique (mc), with the goal of assessing a barrier option (such as weather option) for the rice sector on Yopal (Colombia) by involving critical temperature thresholds for cultivation. Thus, the temperature behavior (underlying) is modeled by the technique of mc assuming a stochastic process with a mean reversion of type Ornstein-Uhlenbeck. The results show that this type of hedging mechanisms becomes a feasible alternative with great potential for implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After twenty-five years of the end of the Cold War, the impact of the rise of China in the international system can be analyzed from material and ideational elements of power. This article seeks to identify whether China's importance is internationally overrated, or if this country can really challenge U.S. hegemony. Most of the literature on Chinese potential has overlooked its internal policy, which is a determining factor in the international system, according to the realist perspective. Using the inductive method, this paper will attempt to establish the causal relation between domestic and international politics. This will highlight China's need to solve border disputes with its neighbors, make a commitment to respect human rights, and solve the needs of a population that is highly dissatisfied with the present government due to inequality and corruption. These factors challenge China in its quest to achieve a new distribution of power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work is to contribute to the understanding of humanitarian aid from the European Union (EU), from the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, starting from an analysis of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96l, the European Consensus on humanitarian aid from the European Union (effective 2008) and article 214 TFEU of the Treaty of Lisbon. This paper addresses the EU's challenges in providing independent humanitarian aid when responding to international emergencies, while seeking to coordinate and enhance its foreign policy coherence; it also examines how the Union reconciles these conflicting objectives. In particular, it examines how EU development cooperation policy and EU aid policy, common foreign and security policy, and foreign policy interact. Finally, it is argued in the concluding remarks that although humanitarian aid has been incorporated into the Lisbon Treaty as a further policy of its external action, it must be independent, as it is based on international solidarity, and not on the principles applicable to other policies of external action, making it difficult to establish positive synergies with the other policies of the EU's external action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzed some of the reasons why Britain participated only half-way in the European Union and ended up voting for Bremen on 23 June 2016. It also examines the options open to the European Union and Great Britain. Europe must show that it can work by showing results. In Britain it is necessary to break the established molds of thought and reshape the structure of political parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews a recent strand of research emphasizing how the present institutions of the knowledge economy may be jeopardizing the very promise of growth and prosperity that the increased use of knowledge is generally reported to bring about. The excessive privatization of knowledge generates self-reinforcing vicious and virtuous circles of accumulation of intellectual property and investment in human capital, which increase global inequality. The present institutions of the global economy entail also a reduction of global investment opportunities that is one of the causes of the present global depression. Absent spontaneous antidotes to these phenomena, economic and science policies should aim at redressing the balance between public and private knowledge. Because of the distortion of incentives, stemming from uncompensated knowledge externalities at the international level, these policies should necessarily be coordinated at global level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most explanations of stock market booms and busts are based on contrasting the underlying ‘fundamental’ logic of the economy with the exogenous, non-economic factors that presumably distort it. Our paper offers a radically different model, examining the stock market not from the mechanical viewpoint of a distorted economy, but from the dialectical perspective of capitalized power. The model demonstrates that (1) the valuation of equities represents capitalized power; (2) capitalized power is dialectically intertwined with systemic fear; and (3) systemic fear and capitalized power are mediated through strategic sabotage. This triangular model, we posit, can offer a basis for examining the asymptotes, or limits, of capitalized power and the ways in which these asymptotes relate to the historical and ongoing transformation of the capitalist mode of power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]