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This paper describes some indicators of the Colombian educational system considering the effect of the pandemic and assesses the causal effect of an alternation plan between face-to-face and remote education, conducted in 2020, on the results of an achievement test. Indicators reveal that the pandemic caused a greater demand for education services in public schools, increased dropout, and repetition rates, and widened the gaps in academic performance. The causal empirical exercise indicates that the students who participated in the experiment obtained, on average, better results in the achievement test compared to students who remained in the non-face-to-face scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• One of the most important achievements for Colombian women in the 20th century was the significant increase in their labor force participation. • The demographic transition had a significant impact on female labor participation until the mid-1980s. • Married women played a crucial role in boosting female labor force participation, thanks to legislative and social changes enabling them. • The study analyzes factors influencing women's employment opportunities over time and highlights the importance of the historical context. • Educational advances, economic growth, demographic transition, and changes in social norms have all contributed to women's labor dynamics. This paper examines the evolution of women's participation in the labor market from 1960 to 2018, shedding light on the complex factors that influence their labor opportunities. The study emphasizes the significance of the historical context in understanding these factors. This research uncovers nuanced insights using a two-step methodology involving principal component analysis and Time-Varying Effect Modeling (TVEM). The results indicate that the transition from high to low fertility rates significantly influenced female labor participation until the mid-1980s. Educational advancements, economic growth, and changing marital dynamics also played a role in shaping evolving patterns. From 1980 to 1995, factors such as diminishing fertility, declining infant mortality, and varying economic conditions influenced women's labor involvement. From 1995 to 2010, higher education emerged as a key driver, accompanied by shifting societal norms, and from 2010 to 2018, there were positive contributions from fertility rates, minimum wage, and male labor participation. This study underscores the intricate relationship between education, demographics, social norms, and economics in shaping women's labor force participation, providing valuable insights for gender-inclusive policies and promoting women's economic empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores in detail the transfer and investment components of the General Budget of the Nation, whose composition is complex to evaluate due to the nature and variety of its items. For the study of these items, the literature on the political economy of the budget and the budget process in Colombia is considered. The transfer and investment items represent about 60 % of the General Budget and have great inflexibility of public spending, due to the diversity of appropriations with legal backing, especially in the transfer's item. The investment is made up of a wide range of social programs, subsidies, and infrastructure projects, which in some cases correspond to commitments acquired in previous terms, through the so-called future terms. The rigidity of the budget deepens with the frequent approval of laws that generate additional spending on a temporary or permanent basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to estimate the impact of price and oil production shocks on macroeconomic variables such as public debt, real exchange rate, and Colombian economic activity. This country depends to a large extent on oil exports, which could lead to different obstacles in macroeconomic management when prices and oil production record fluctuations. The paper first describes the importance of oil in Colombia, which went from being a completely-importing country in 1976 to an oil-exporting economy in 1986. The empirical analysis uses a time-varying vector autoregressive methodology, which assumes that the relation between prices and oil production with macroeconomic variables changes dynamically. The results confirm that there are different stochastic volatility patterns of the variables included in the model. According to the impulse response functions, positive oil price shocks did not cause significant effects on the real exchange rate or on government debt. However, the negative price shock in 2015 led to a real depreciation and an increase in public debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to estimate the impact of price and oil production shocks on macroeconomic variables such as public debt, real exchange rate, and Colombian economic activity. This country depends to a large extent on oil exports, which could lead to different obstacles in macroeconomic management when prices and oil production record fluctuations. The paper first describes the importance of oil in Colombia, which went from being a completely-importing country in 1976 to an oil-exporting economy in 1986. The empirical analysis uses a time-varying vector autoregressive methodology, which assumes that the relation between prices and oil production with macroeconomic variables changes dynamically. The results confirm that there are different stochastic volatility patterns of the variables included in the model. According to the impulse response functions, positive oil price shocks did not cause significant effects on the real exchange rate or on government debt. However, the negative price shock in 2015 led to a real depreciation and an increase in public debt. [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]

The aim of this paper is to examine the state of higher education in Colombia and estimate the efficiency of different academic programs from institutions of higher education in the country. To estimate efficiency measures, we use stochastic frontier techniques and the results of the Saber Pro test. Estimations evaluate the effect of variables associated with the teaching staff and infrastructure of institutions, and environmental factors that are not directly under the control institutions, such as the family income and parental education. Results highlight the importance of environmental factors, suggesting that while many institutions have margin to improve their efficiency, many of them are restricted by the influence of students' socioeconomic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis of the results in the provision of public education under different institutional contexts is carried out for Colombia where, during the decentralization process, different degrees of autonomy to manage education public expenditures have coexisted. The analysis is undertaken by using frontier analysis techniques, which allow us to estimate cost and production functions, in order to determine differences in costs and technical efficiency in the provision of education across regions. The results show that the strength of decentralization had a more positive impact on increasing enrollment than on the improvement of the quality of education. It was also found, that high levels of cost and production inefficiency are present in different regions of the country, implying that savings in public expenditure and better educational results could be achieved if all local authorities could operate at the most efficient level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Estimate the efficiency of local public provision of education in a context of multiple outputs of quality and enrollment. • Three output distant models are estimated. • Some municipalities could obtain better educational results in quality and enrolment without increasing their inputs. • Regional patterns of efficiency measures are observed, differing for quality and enrolment models. • Results suggest that educational policies should have different priorities according to the region of the country. This paper estimates the local efficiency of the public provision of education in Colombia between 2008 and 2013. Since the decentralization process in 1991, local authorities have spent an increasing amount of resources in the provision of education services. The empirical analysis relies on a multiproduct function that assesses public performance considering two types of education products: quality and enrolment. Results for Colombian municipalities show efficiencies that vary between 26% and 98%, suggesting that better results in quality and enrolment in public education could be accomplished using the same resources. Possible sources of inefficiency are explored, such as institutional environment and fiscal autonomy. Differing regional patterns are observed for the cases of education quality and enrolment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is shown up an investigation directed to identify psychosocial components to be taken into account for designing an educational intervention aimed to the prevention of pregnancy, in high school adolescents. Results are shown on: sexual behavior; knowledge on pregnancy and their preventive measures; and necessities perceived as regards sexual education. A sample of 250 students was taken of two educative institutes of Táriba city, in Venezuela. Questionnaires with Líkert type items were applied and the data were processed and analyzed by means of descriptive statistic and t tests to compare groups. Results indicate that adolescents have sexual little experience, they only manage basic knowledge and they maintain erroneous beliefs around the use of protection measures. Adolescents manifest the necessity to receive sexual education that not only includes specific knowledge about sexuality and reproductive health, but also training in social abilities, related with the assertive behavior, interpersonal communication and self-esteem, aspects that would allow them to better manage their partners relationships. It is concluded that it is important to consider the characteristics, necessities and the adolescents' concerns as regards sexuality and personal development, in order to be able to design effective educational interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]