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This paper provides pioneering estimates of the impact of loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, also known as leverage, on Bolivia's GDP. The empirical evidence reveals the pro-cyclicality between the economic and financial cycles, which affects the intertemporal resource allocation processes between the financial and real sectors. The findings from the RBC model demonstrate that shocks in the loan-to-value (LTV) ratios trigger a rise in housing prices and greater consumption by entrepreneurs, leading to an increase in investment, employment, and output. Additionally, the study confirms that LTV ratios can be a double-edged instrument, as excessive use can potentially destabilize the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to determine the effect of extreme wealth on economic development (human development index and sub-indices) in 64 countries during 2005-2018, with special emphasis on Mexico and China. A dynamic estimation (sys-GMM) is followed. Estimations show that extreme national wealth acts as a constraint on human development for the entire sample of countries, including Mexico and China. Income is found to be most sensitive to this type of wealth, followed by the education index. The analysis confirms that democracy, economic freedom, investment and social spending are underlying factors of HDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study wage convergence and flexibility in the labour market of Argentinean provinces. We first review historical determinants and propose a theoretical interpretation: the higher the level of convergence in wages, the lower the convergence in employment and eventually in the product level, because of the low competitiveness of the Interior Area, which conspires, via a restriction of the balance of payments, against their growth. Then, we empirically analyze wage convergence and the degree of wage flexibility in provincial labour markets for the period 1997-2013. We find evidence of real wage convergence and low wage flexibility. This indicates that wages do not depend on provincial factors such as labour productivity or local unemployment but on national determinants such as centralized wage agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent global trends show high levels of households' indebtedness in developed and emerging economies. This paper proposes a method applicable in those economies where a household financial survey and interest rate caps exist. The method applies to the country with the most indebted households in Latin America, Chile. The results state that: (i) the same debt threshold does not apply to all households as variables such as income affect it; (ii) the debt threshold increases with households' income level; (iii) the presence of mortgage debt increases the debt thresholds; (iv) Chilean households overindebted are more than a quarter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been shown that the variability of the marginal capital product ratio is what determines the growth rate of economies according to Harrod's model; therefore, it is important to predict its behavior. This paper develops a methodology based on probabilistic random walk to predict the annual marginal capital product ratio of Colombia for the year 2017 based on information from the Penn World Table database from 1993 to 2016. It was found that this variable has underlying mathematical orders, which allows its prediction with an accuracy of 97.69%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Household equivalence scales serve a key role in measuring income poverty. This paper analyzes poverty trends and levels under a set of alternative equivalence scales for Argentina and explores how the use of different scales modifies the demographic composition of the poor population. Results suggest that poverty levels are indeed affected by the choice of the scale, although trends are robust. There is evidence of changes in the demographic profile of the poor in favor of certain household types according to the scale employed. Results depend on how the poverty line is set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of the exchange rate in Peru using a stochastic model for a small open economy that is identified through a structural model with autoregressive vectors (SVAR) with long term restrictions to the Blanchard and Quah. The decomposition of variance indicates that the This paper examines the role of the exchange rate in Peru using a stochastic model for a small open economy that is identified through a structural model with autoregressive vectors (SVAR) with long term restrictions to the Blanchard and Quah. The decomposition of variance indicates that the real supply and demand shocks are the main source of fluctuations in the economic cycles in Peru and that, as the quarters pass, they are gaining relevance in explaining the movements of the exchange rate. These results suggest that the exchange rate plays a role in absorbing the real shocks that affect the Peruvian economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Bolivia, women working in similar positions as men face lower remunerations, besides being concentrated in low-paid jobs. This paper sheds lights over the gender labor income gap evolution in Bolivia over a 25-year period (1993 to 2018). Using household surveys and applying two different methods, the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition and the Ñopo decomposition, we find sound evidence of an important reduction in the gender labor income gap during the analyzed period. This reduction is due to, firstly, the reduction of the number of observable characteristics affecting the labor market such as education and the impact of family characteristics on access to employment. Secondly, it shows the reduction in the unexplained component, which is usually assumed to be discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the role of the exchange rate in Mexico during the inflation targeting regime. The framework is based on the New Keynesian Macroeconomics, and the empirical evidence in the estimation of a Vector Error Correction model and the statistical analysis of the inflation targeting in Mexico and Latin America. The results describe to the Mexico's monetary policy as a hybrid system, where the nominal interest rate (policy instrument) and appreciations of the real exchange rate (intermediate instrument), have as their primary objective, the inflation stabilization within a numerical goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food inflation in Peru has a significant influence on total inflation, so the presence of second-round effects on core inflation may be high. This paper estimates the size of these second-round effects using a general equilibrium model for the Peruvian economy. The results indicate the absence of a significant second round effect on Peruvian inflation, given that food inflation does not play any role in the formation of inflation expectations and in the determination of wages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the correlation between the presence and the number of elderly people in households and the labor supply of men and women between 18 and 54 years old, using data from the Argentina Permanent Household Survey for an extended period. Does the presence of elderly people alter the labor participation of men and women at central ages? It is proposed that this is so and that the correlation direction correlation will depend on the contribution they make to the home, or the demand for care they generate. Through the application of traditional multivariate models, it was found that the presence and the number of elderly people in the household is negatively related to the labor participation of men and women at central ages, and, in some cases, it relates positively with the participation of women. The effects on working hours are more elusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes relevant empirical evidence which indicates the existence of difference in default rate of loans between male and female. It concludes that independent of types of loans, the default rate of female is less than male. Moreover this paper analyzes the effect of other variables as Married Status and Size/Income over default rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the inflow into non-performing loans (INPL) ratio, defined as the change in the stock of non-performing loans adjusted by write-offs and standardized by loans, as the main measure to be used for modelling the credit risk of the Chilean banking system. In particular, the paper identifies certain statistical and conceptual advantages of this measure with respect to loan loss provisions (LLP), which support this idea. First, the INPL ratio by type of credit has a greater time span than LLP. Second, the forward-looking nature of LLP --one of its main advantages over the INPL ratio-- is applicable only from 2004 onward due to various changes in Chilean reporting standards. Third, LLP is discretionary because provisioning is made on the basis of relative risk aversion of banks. Fourth, the INPL ratio produces smoother series than LLP for consumer and mortgage loans. In addition, the dynamic structure observed in both time series does not differ significantly. The econometric model estimated for the period January 1997 to June 2010 shows that the INPL ratio has statistically significant relations with macroeconomic aggregates such as the annual output growth, the short and long term interest rates, the annual inflation rate, the peso-dollar exchange rate, and non expected credit growth. Finally, the out-of-sample forecasts indicate differences between the actual and projected INPL ratios that are economically significant only in the case of mortgage credit. For the remaining portfolios, the evolution of this ratio during the period of July 2008 to June 2010 does not differ significantly from that predicted by the econometric model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the effects of new technologies oriented to automation in the Chilean labor market. A general equilibrium model is used, in which the investment in robotic capital and the investment in traditional capital are considered separately, allowing the study of the effects of complementarity and substitution that are verified in relation to the labor factor. In particular, the model treats robotic capital as a direct substitute for labor, while incorporating traditional capital as complementary to it. By subjecting the economy to shocks in robotic capital prices, the effects on consumption, employment, wages and GDP can be studied. The results indicate that a fall in the international purchase price of robotic capital has a negative impact on employment as well as on the product. The exercises carried out in this study indicate that a decrease in the international price of robotic capital by 1 %, under conditions of high replacement rates between employment and robots, produces a drop in employment and wages of 0.05% if the change is transitory and of 0.25% if it is permanent due to an increase in imports of robotic capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper investigates the dynamics in the Chilean labor market during 1996 and 2016. It estimates the unemployment flows following Shimer (2012) in order to characterize labor market variables in the bussisnes cycle. According to our results recessionary increases in unemployment are driven by the outflow from unemployment rather than the inflow. Using structural vector autorregresive analysis (SVAR), we estimate a model to identify several shocks that affect the economy and labor market. An aggregate supply shock generates greater variance in the inflow also shows grater persistence to the variety of shocks examined; meanwhile an aggregate demand shock generates greater variance in the outflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper poses a new methodology to estimate the required economic capital for a retail credit portfolio. The methodology is based on both the general copula concept and some core results from the extreme value theory (EVT). The main results support the fact that the proposed methodology is more flexible than other traditional techniques, in particular when it makes use of generalized elliptical and/or grouped t Student copulas to model the dependence structure of risk-parameters or when it includes elements of the EVT to analyze the extreme loss behavior of a retail credit portfolio. In applying algorithms, the paper includes data from a Mexican bank. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comparative view of the training of economists in Latin America, analyzing curricula, commonly utilized textbooks, professors' time-commitments, teaching methods, and the use of technologies and computational tools. Also, following the approach of Colander (2005), the paper presents the results of a survey of Economics students, creating a socioeconomic profile of them and examining their attitudes and opinions. Among the regularities found for the five countries, particularly notable is the lack of connection between students' expectations regarding job market demand for economists and the actual demand by employment sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper detects structural similarities among several regions in Chile, in particular those that can be compared to the Magellanic and the Chilean Antarctica region: the regions Tarapacá, Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme, Bío- Bío and Los Lagos. This exercise is particularly relevant given the economic characteristics and geographic location of all of them. This comparison would allow less advantaged regions to learn from the most successful ones. Policy makers would be able to evaluate ex-ante different policies, helping in this way the decision making process. To this end, in this paper we follow two approaches: first, we find similarities among regions using Le Masne's (1988) indicator; second, we use one in which the similarities are identified through the productive links, following the methodologies of Rasmussen (1956), Dietzenbacher and van der Linden (1997) and Soza (2007b). Once we determine which technique is better for our problem, a hierarchical cluster is applied to obtain groups of regions based on the relationship they form. It is of particular interest to identify those sectors that have the largest impact on development and analyze its productive linkages. The analysis is done using the 1996 input-output charts developed by National Institute of Statistics (INE) and the Ministry of Planning and Development (MIDEPLAN). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 20 years, demand for air passenger transport has grown dramatically. At the same time, the two largest domestic airlines merged and several smaller entrants exited without being able to make significant inroads. As a result, the industry is highly concentrated, with a dominant firm and a few fringe firms. This condition has generated considerable public debate about the degree of competition in the airline industry in Chile. With the purpose of contributing to the public discussion, this paper analyzes the industry from an industrial organization point of view. Specifically, the paper describes the domestic airline industry in Chile, defines the relevant market and then analyzes both the degree of concentration and entry conditions. In particular, I focus on the roles played by vertical integration, the computer reservation systems and the revenue management practice. I then evaluate self-regulation of airfares by the dominant firm and propose several public policies to increase competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tries to identify the impact of the different types of innovation on export behavior in the Colombian food and beverage industry. The application of the propensity score matching method reveals that only technological innovation has a significant effect on the sector's export behavior. In particular, product innovation impacts positively the internationalization of large companies, while process innovation does so in SMEs. The differences in strategic and innovative strategy explain the heterogeneity in the impacts obtained by the size of business and the type of innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to conceptually present measures of performance, cost and efficiency of the public sector and quantify them fo r various services in the Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia. As in all applied research, the work has limitations that originate, fundamentally, in the lack of information. But using the available information some results are obtained that can be challenged in future research. The quantifications show important improvements between 1992 and 2012. In this period, the vertical structure of the general government of Bolivia underwent a profound transformation originated in the process of fiscal decentralization. Expenditure from subnational government levels (departments and municipalities) doubled its share in total spending between 1990 and 2012 and municipal participation went from approximately one third of subnational spending to approximately two thirds. The preliminary conclusion of this work is the existence of a positive relationship between performance in the health, education, and housing and urban services sectors and decentralization. With the improvement in performance also increased the political participation of citizens so that it can be concluded, preliminarily, that the country moved in one of the positive intervals of the federalism frontier of Inman and Rubinstein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of minimum wages on employment quality and the likelihood of transition between jobs of varying quality in both medium and large enterprises and the public sector in Argentina. So far there are no studies with a similar objective in our country. The analysis was developed from data from the Permanent Household Survey using the method of differences in differences. The results indicate that increased minimum wages decreases transitions to quality jobs mainly among informal workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of structural balance fiscal rule on economic aggregates through a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model, which characterizes an emerging small and open economy as the Peruvian. The results show how this fiscal rule reduces the volatility of different aggregates and the cyclicality of consumption, government spending, investment, imports, exports, net external debt of the economy and the production of non-tradable, except of the production of exportable goods. However, other shocks has a null or opposite effect, namely structural balance fiscal rule is a necessary condition, but not sufficient to smooth the transition of government spending and other economic aggregates to the steady state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we estimate the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) fo r the Chilean Construction Sector, considering an annual period between 1986 and 2015. The contribution of the productivity to the sectorial growth is estimated residually, based on a Cobb-Douglas production function for the sectorial GDP and independent measures for capital and labor, corrected by quality and intensity of use. As a result, the sectorial TFP has exhibited a downward trend in the last five years, after remaining virtually flat since 1986 to 2011. The economic growth of the sector shows to be dominated by the accumulation of factors rather than by the efficiency with which they are used in the productive process. This could explain, partially, the vulnerability of sectorial activity to the economic cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to identify the key determinants of Chilean spot power price and assess their relative importance in recent price decline. To do so, we use a VAR model with weekly data between the years 2015-2016 and variance decomposition analysis to attribute variations of marginal cost to different shocks. The results show that while the availability of water for hydropower and lower fuel prices are important for explaining power spot prices, they only account for 50%-75% of the marginal cost's variance, leaving 25%-50% to other factors, such as more renewable generation and lower generation from oil sources, among other factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the economic determinants of fecundity. In the analytical part, authors have analyzed the vast economic literature devoted to the study of fecundity, from which several testable hypotheses that relates it to household income, education level of the mother and her occupation have been derived. The article provides empirical evidence from 46,716 Ecuadorian women between 12 and 49 in 2006 and 2014. In particular, it was found, through count data models, that years of mother education and household income have a negative effect on fecundity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over more than two decades, both experts and the public have considered that profits earned by Chilean Pension Fund Administrators (AFP for its acronym in Spanish) are excessively high. However, there is little known about how much the industry should earn in equilibrium. In this paper, I show that the 25.4% return on equity (ROE) earned by the AFP industry over 2006-2015 was 4.8 times as high as the 5.3% that can be explained by its exposure to market risk. In monetary terms, out of the US$ 4.4 billion earned by the AFP industry over the last decade, nearly $ 3.5 billion can be considered as “excessive”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we characterize the bank mortgage borrowers in Chile and propose models to assess their credit risk. In particular, we study the mortgagors’ payment profile based on an empirical analysis that includes information of more than 150,000 new debtors during the period 2012-2014. Both the specify features of mortgage debt as initial loan amount and maturities, as well as debtor´s characteristics as credit history, illiquidity and coverage ratio are related to the probability of mortgage default. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the conditional dependence of stock market in Mexico and the United States is studied. Symmetric Joe-Clayton copula is used and conditional probabilities of increases (decreases) in Mexico stock index when there are increases (decreases) in the U.S. stock index are estimated. For the marginal distributions, AR-TGARCH and AR-EGARCH models with a standardized Student's t distribution for innovations are proposed. Empirical results suggest that there is a high degree of conditional dependence in the tails, presenting higher volatility on the upper (right) tail throughout the period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides, via Monte Carlo simulations, estimates of the classical probability of overfitting under an autoregressive environment (AR), using the information criteria (IC) of Akaike, Schwarz and Hannan-Quinn (AIC, BIC and HQ), calibrated with Chilean data of total inflation, core inflation, IMACEC, and monthly return of the nominal exchange rate Chilean peso- American dollar. This probability corresponds to the number of times when a candidate model has a strictly greater number of coefficients than the true model, divided by the total number of searches. The results indicate that the increased risk of overfitting is obtained with the AIC, followed by HQ and finally the BIC. The highest probability of overfitting is achieved with the AIC, reaching 32 and 30% with the exchange rate and IMACEC, respectively, followed by 25 and 22% for total and core inflation. Considering the three IC, it is more likely to obtain an overfitted model by just one coefficient. Also, it is more likely that the overfitting does not exceed 10 coefficients. These results are important as quantifying the extent to which these variables are subject to overfitting risk when represented by AR models. The potential problems carried by overfitting includes: (i) the spurious regression, (ii) distort the estimation of impulse response function, and (iii) affect the predictive accuracy of the variable of interest. The latter problem is analyzed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we model the incentives and coordination problems related to the entry into advanced integration agreements (i.e. Economic and Monetary Union) by applying dynamic coordination games. We assume a set of candidate countries to join the agreement and analyze the coordination failures that prevent the realization of the Pareto-optimal equilibrium, which implies that all countries enter in the first period of the game given that no gains from delay exist. We conclude that one way to achieve the secondbest equilibrium, which minimizes delay, requires that a subset of countries cooperate to join the agreement in the first period of the dynamic game, becoming therefore a dominant strategy for the rest to enter a period later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to empirically test the deleveraging of the Venezuelan financial system at the event of two contractive shocks, a monetary and an oil shock, and to characterize the types of risks that arise in each case. Although these shocks have similar effects on interest rates and deposits, the adverse consequences and implicit risks for the oil shock are greater, due to its shrivelling effect on real activity and public finances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides empirical evidence about the relationship between wages and their determinants in the Spanish economy from a macroeconomic perspective, as well as about the adjustment speed back to long run equilibrium, estimating an error correction mechanism by non-linear methods. The results reveal that the unemployment rate and the bargaining variables have no effect on the evolution of wages. The variable that explains the evolution of wages in the long term is prices, with wages showing slightly inflationary behavior . In the short term, wages are explained by their past values, reflecting a nominal inertia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research gives the magnitude, evolution and characteristics of academic and socioeconomic polarization in the Chilean school system. After examining the importance of the education system as a means of social cohesion, we analyze the implications of distribution processes of students in their education and the main background on the Chilean education system. Furthermore, the paper conceptualizes the notion of polarization, which is related to two aspects: the alienation or distance that students have with students different from them, and the identification or identity that individuals develop with others of similar characteristics. Using SIMCE databases from the last decade, we create and formalized three different indicators of polarization to assess the school system. The results show that the degree of academic and socio-economic polarization of the Chilean school system over the last decade has been constant, and in some cases increasing. Additionally, the measurement that determines the degree of polarization shows high levels socioeconomic and academic polarization, which is related to processes of fragmentation and clustering. These results show the necessity of analyzing the impact of educational policies on the processes of social cohesion and integration in the school system. This has to consider the importance of the school as a privileged place for these goals, as well as on the development of skills, values and cognitive thinking and noncognitive skills for all children. These results have been questioned from recent conflicts that have occurred in the education sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many authors stress the importance of relationships between sectors for the economic growth. Therefore the concept of linkage appears in the definition of two of the most traditional concepts in the input-output analysis: the "key sector" and cluster . In this paper , key products and activities are identified for the Chilean regions, the clusters that form and the structural similarity that exists between them. For this, we use a combination of so-called Important Coefficients and Fields of Influence. The results indicate that the regions that are most similar are: Tarapacá and Antofagasta, Biobío and Los Lagos. Besides the "developed" regions concept that is associated with a high division of labor and coordination between sectors, they have similar production structures and are very different from those that have "less development". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trade data shows that real exchange rate fluctuates more than other variables such as consumption and GDP, and also presents significant deviations from the Law of One Price. In light of these facts, this paper develops and estimates a non-monetary DSGE model under financial autarky for the international trade of goods and services between Chile and the U.S. In this context, the higher volatility of the real exchange rate is explained by the existence of transaction costs and varying degrees of imperfect substitution in consumption between home and foreign goods which endogenously induce a home bias effect. The results reveal that the estimated transaction costs and the asymmetric home bias effect content in the data would be responsible for the low correlation between consumption in both countries and the higher real exchange rate fluctuations. Finally, the model is able to replicate much of the stylized facts observed in the data, but fails to address the Backus-Smith puzzle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes copper price behavior during 2002-2009 while incorporating the role of fundamentals in its determination. The main conclusion is that fluctuations in the dollar, global demand and revisions to expectations about future prices are the main factors behind copper prices during that period. Purely financial factors seem to have a statistically significant impact only in the short term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We elaborate an Environmentally Extended Social Accounting Matrix for the Bío Bío Region. Initially, we apply the Cross Entropy method for updating a Social Accounting Matrix of this region from 1996 to 2006. This matrix provides the basis for a discussion of multipliers, which aims to identify the productive sectors of the region that would generate the most beneficial impacts on production, equity, poverty, and environmental pollution. The paper results are used to assess the priority sectors selected by the Bio-Bio's Productive Development Agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the trends and magnitude of earnings differentials among urban and rural workers, and young (18-24 years) and old (25-65 years) workers from 2002 to 2009 in Colombia. Using household surveys data and constructing cells for comparing only workers with the same characteristics, the results from time series and matching decomposition methodologies show that earnings in the groups of interest have not diverged over time. However , the earnings differentials are high at around -50 percent for rural and -40 percent for young workers, of which 14 and 19 percentage points, respectively, remain unexplained after controlling for demographic and job-related characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper Bayesian Vector Autoregression (BVAR) models are estimated for the Chilean economy. Under this approach, the transmission mechanisms of monetary policy and forecast exercises are studied and evaluated for the main macroeconomic variables. Then, the results are contrasted with the standard VAR models presented in the previous literature for the case of Chile and the implications for the monetary policy design are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we show that a homogeneous-product market with multiple Bertrand equilibria becomes a market with a single Bertrand equilibrium when we introduce a small degree of product differentiation. When differentiation tends to zero, that Bertrand equilibrium converges to the unique competitive equilibrium of the homogeneous-product market, which is in turn one of the multiple Bertrand equilibria for that market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the structure of tariffs in civil aviation in Chile and the potential cross-subsidies that it generates. We estimate the cross-subsidies that currently exist in this transport networks and find that the current tariff structure generates a number of cross subsidies between airports. In particular, the airports of La Serena, Punta Arenas and Easter Island receive a cross subsidy from the rest of the network. We suggest that it may be beneficial to impose that airports in Chile must fund all their incremental costs. The intuition for this result, which follows from an old idea presented by Adam Smith, Coase and Vickrey, among others, is that the self-financing of airports, or at least their incremental costs, can be an effective mechanism to prevent over investment in infrastructure. In the light of this discussion and the results found in this study it would be advisable to review the structure of Aeronautical Tariffs in Chile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies microeconometric decomposition techniques with the purpose of assessing the determinants of the significant increase in the female labor force participation rate experienced during the period 1990-2003. In particular, we are interested in evaluating how much of the increase in the female participation rate can be explained by changes in the family structure or changes in the educational level achieved, and how much of this change is completely neutral to these factors. The increase in the education level of the female population is, without a doubt, one of the main determinants of the increase in the labor force participation rate. Surprisingly, changes in fertility do not seem to have a significant impact on the female participation rate. We didn't even find a parameter effect indicating that the patterns of the participation (elasticity) of women with small children would have changed substantially. Most of the parameter effect is due to a constant effect, which is particularly high during the period 1996-2003. That is, independently of the characteristics of the women, there is a generalized increase in the female labor force participation rate. This result is robust when controls for business cycles are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite success in reducing poverty over the last twenty years, inequality in Chile has remained virtually unchanged, making Chile one of the least equal countries in the world. High levels of inequality have been shown to hamper further reductions in poverty as well as economic growth and local inequality has been shown to affect such outcomes as violence and health. The study of inequality at the local level is thus crucial for understanding the economic well-being of a country. Local measures of inequality have been difficult to obtain, but recent theoretical advances have enabled the combination of survey and census data to obtain estimators of inequality that are robust at disaggregated geographic levels. In this paper, we employ this methodology to produce consistent estimators of inequality for every county in Chile. We find a great deal of variation in inequality, with county-level Gini coefficients ranging from 0.41 to 0.63. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the evidence of non-linearities in the reaction function of the Central Bank of Chile as it relates to its final objective, inflation, and/or to its intermediate objectives defined by the monetary policy transmission channels. The study uses the flexible approach to non-linear inference proposed by Hamilton (2001), which allows the estimation of non-linear functions by using the data to determine the specific form of the non-linearity to be adopted instead of making any prior assumption of a particular functional form. It is observed that even though the Central Bank's response is linear in relation to the deviations of the inflation rate from its target, there is evidence of non-linearities with respect to the business cycle. Contrary to previous studies, in particular Corbo (2002), the current account gap does not have any predictive role in the reaction function for the period being analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the residential outage cost in Chile's Central Interconnected System (SIC), using consumer's willingness to pay for energy. We first estimate the cost of reducing energy consumption efficiently, that is only the less valuable kWh (as indicated by the market demand curve) are rationed. Then we estimate the per-kWh cost of rationing by cutting off service. We find that the outage cost varies considerably depending on the length of the rationing period; and on how energy is rationed. Longer restrictions allow users to adjust more, and hence are cheaper. Similarly, we estimate that rationing efficiently is between two and six times cheaper than rationing by cutting off service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By influencing her specific labor occupation choice major choices greatly condition the allocation of an individual's time. Previous economic analysis on the subject has emphasized monetary considerations affecting such a decision, but has been relatively less incisive regarding non pecuniary variables, which are precisely those that psychologists consider as relatively relevant. This paper shows that giving a greater role to non pecuniary variables may vary and even contradict some previous considerations. In fact, when the non-pecuniary variable enters in the utility function it is shown that if abilities are absolute (being proficient in major i implies being proficient in all others), then average ability will not be affected; whereas, in the relative case, the rise in average ability may be indistinguishable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]