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Capital flows have increased significantly in recent years and are a key aspect of the global monetary system. They offer potential benefits to countries, but their size and volatility can also pose policy challenges. The Fund needs to be in a position to provide clear and consistent advice with respect to capital flow and policies related to them. In 2011, the International Monetary and Financial Committee called for “further work on a comprehensive, flexible, and balanced approach for the management of capital flows". This paper proposes an institutional view to underpin this approach, drawing on earlier Fund policy papers, analytical work, and Board discussions on capital flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores potential and actual applications of space technology, particularly satellites in the context of sustainable development. The introduction explores the concept of sustainable development from a multilateral perspective and the framework of Rio+20 and the post-2015 development agenda. The paper then introduces space technology and its uses in economic growth, energy, food security, environmental surveillance, including coastal regions, with special emphasis on environmental disasters and the concept of resilience, and the social and welfare uses of humanitarian tele-medicine and tele-education and ways to overcome the digital divide. he conclusion gives recommendations to improve satellite capacity and an analysis of the systemic synergies between space technologies and "green industries" that may lead to tandem growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the European Union's global role as a main international actor on the basis of the components of power, the dimensions of global governance and its prospects as a regional project to manage to have a reading of their participation in the future international system. Within these future prospects, the role of the soft power of the EU will be highlighted as a civilian and normative power in global governance with new actors, interests and divergent values. This work is based on the hypothesis that the relational shift of power in international society is causing geopolitical and geo-economic dynamics conflicting with approaches to an effective multilateralism. Then the paper tries to answer or at least tries to shed some light on questions such as: Can the EU maintain its relevance as an international player in this changing world? Will it maintain relevance in their values and interests as a regional project? Should European international advocacy strategy be based simply on the field of soft power and effective multilateralism? [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 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]

The member States of Mercosur are currently negotiating a Trade Agreement with the EU, as part of the process towards a comprehensive bi-regional Association Agreement. In 2016, the EU and Mercosur members exchanged offers, followed by a negotiation round. The next round will be held in October 2017; while awaiting for political developments, it is worth anticipating some challenges to come, especially from a legal perspective. Both actors have a multilayered system for decision-making, requiring the consensus of a multiplicity of governmental actors and thus enabling them to convey. Furthermore, current dialogues consider a broad range of issues, which were also covered by different EU's agreements with other trading partners. These agreements received critiques from the civil society, which are worth to reflect upon, considering that the trade agreement is due to impact the general negotiation for the bi-regional Association Agreement. The paper develops this reflection from a twofold perspective: that of the institutional nature of EU and Mercosur and that of the democratic deficit in the overall negotiation process. [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]

Behavioral economics has applied psychology concepts related to cognitive analysis, which gives little importance to environmental effects. In contrast, the analysis of behavior gives a central role to the environment, and therefore employs concepts such as reinforcement schedules and stimuli control. In this document presents the cognitive-behavioral discussion about choice behavior. In addition, we compare their methods through two experiments dealing with the base-rate fallacy. In the experiments, the characteristics of the stimuli (verbal and non-verbal) are varied and contrasted. The paper concludes that this fallacy occurs on a smaller scale when there are less irrelevant stimuli. [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]

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]

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]

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 presents the first application to Colombia of culturomics, a novel research method in the social sciences that describes cultural, social and linguistics trends based on the quantitative analysis of millions of digitized texts. The paper uses all news and editorials published during the past two decades in three national periodicals in order to analyze the trajectories of several social and economic phenomena: corruption, economic optimism, the relative power of the judicial branch, etc. Beyond its specific findings, this paper showcases how culturomics can be used to describe the changing reality of a developing country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic theory of rational choice was accepted for decades as a general theory to explain human behaviour which other social sciences lack. This paper reviews some limitations of the former. Through cognitive psychology, the paper describes the cognitive biases of people when assessing data and making choices, which puts into question the idea that the human mind is programmed to follow the assumptions of rational choice. On the other hand, the increased risks in modern civilization (monetary, ecological, geopolitical) and their global character define our society as "the society of global risk". The author discusses the limits of our rationality in regard to making choices as a troubling issue for coping with increasing global risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents evidence that macroeconomic accounting models helped to anticipate the credit crisis and economic recession, whereas equilibrium models, ubiquitous in mainstream policy and research, did not. This study traces the intellectual pedigree of the accounting approach as an alternative to neo-classical economics, and the postwar rise and decline of flow-of-funds models in policy use. The paper includes contemporary case studies of both types of models, and considers why the accounting approach has remained outside mainstream economics. Finally, it provides constructive recommendations for revising financial stability evaluation methods, and advocates an 'accounting of economics'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper seeks to determine whether the use of Private Military and Security Companies strengthens military institutions and the provision of security or, on the contrary, questions the monopoly of the legitimate use of force and generates new challenges to the current role of the military. It analyzes three main realms within the military sphere where the presence of PMSCS may have a direct impact: the exercise of the monopoly of the use of violence, the professionalization of the military, and the process of enrollment of new recruits. The paper highlights that the presence of PMSCS does not affect the continuity of the state's monopoly of the legitimate use of force. It also argues that although PMSCS perform certain activities that enhance the provision of security in a state, the military should always be prepared to overtake those activities delegated to PMSCS and should avoid becoming excessively dependent on private companies to execute them. Likewise, the paper sustains that the privatization of security distorts the conception of professionalism put up front by CMR theorists. Finally, the paper states that the presence of PMSCS obliges today's military to strengthen its recruitment strategies and consolidate a sound enrollment process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constructivist approaches to regionalism underscore the role of identity and institutions in explaining the unfolding of regionalist projects. Constructivism emphasizes relationships of mutual reinforcement between collective identity and regional institutions once these institutions are created. Identity and institutions are often seen as mutually constituted and caused, but constructivist analyses of regionalism conceptualize these relationships in different manners. Through revising the ontological differentiation between relationships of constitution and causation, this paper shows that constructivism faces serious challenges in providing explanations for the unfolding of regionalism. This paper reviews a number of constructivist approaches that conceptualize in different ways the relationships of constitution and causation between collective identity and regional institutions. While some approaches suggest that regional institutions can be caused by a pre-existing collective identity, some others assert that collective identity can be caused by the creation of regional institutions, where the causes of such creation remain open to other factors. The aim of this paper is to reflect on the capability of constructivism to simultaneously provide constitutive and causal explanations for the unfolding of regionalism. The paper shows that constructivist approaches to regionalism tend to be confusing in the differentiation between constitution and causation, and the consequence is that constructivism usually falls into 'under-explanation' or 'under-specification' in meeting the end of 'explaining' why and how regionalism unfolds. In turn, the paper suggests that constructivism needs to broaden and specify more deeply the conceptualization of causal relationships in this case in order to provide better explanations for the ways in which regionalism develops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the current evidence on the incidence of the corporate tax from Harberger-type general equilibrium models, with special attention to the open economy. The analysis identifies the major drivers of the results from open-economy models and compares estimates from four major studies that have examined corporate tax incidence in an open economy. Adjusting estimates from the studies to reflect central empirical estimates of key elasticities suggests that capital bears the majority of the corporate tax burden. The paper also presents an alternative method, based on the new view of property tax incidence, for allocating the corporate tax burden that distinguishes between the global effects of corporate taxes and excise effects that vary among nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reviews and discusses the literature on the concept of incentive in management; the visions of ancient Greek philosophers, classical economists, scientific management, agency theory, contracts, property theory and transaction costs theory. The discussion shows that the transaction costs theory, with its central idea of forms of governance, constitutes a comprehensive view of incentives that explains what are the inexplicable paradoxes for other theoretical perspectives. The paper analyzes the relations between incentives and helps to build up a theoretical and useful formal model of incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a detailed presentation of the Skaperdas and Syropoulos model; one of the main models of the theory of conflict and state emergence. First, it describes the model's Nash equilibrium and the relevant effects of comparative analysis. And second, from a new interpretation of the equilibrium and comparisons with other similar models, the paper concludes that it constitutes the most general analytical framework in the subject, which can be understood as the foundations for a general theory of conflict and state emergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper suggests that the best way to evaluate and drive development policy is to understand the root causes that explain the political economy restrictions limiting the developmental effectiveness of multilateral and bilateral institutions. To mitigate the deleterious effects of collective action restrictions this paper recommends a twopronged interdependent strategy: an enhanced use of ex ante evaluation in all interventions and through a more intensive application of the paper trail approach; and changes of constitutional rules or macro-institutional conditions which determine the decisions made in all institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This empirical research analyzes the determinants of Colombian household revenues and expenditures. Using a life cycle model with data from the national household survey 1994-1995, the paper shows how the behavior of household income is mainly affected by demographic characteristics and by the social-occupational characteristics of its members. Expenditure behavior is determined principally by income and secondly by the social characteristics of the household and by the expenditure of other households with similar characteristics. The paper also analyzes the influence of income uncertainty on households expenditure, to see if the effect is due to a motive of precaution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the evolution of violence in South America. It analyzes and discusses the influence of different economic variables on homicide rates, using an econometric test based on data of some South American countries during the period 1995-2000. It shows that this economic approach can be usefull but can also be dangerous when it leads to the wrong policies of social exclusion. Furthermore, it also shows how variables such rapid urbanization, low education, and inefficient regulations, together with corruption, play an important role in the generation of violence in South America. Finally, the paper recommends changing the way of perceiving economics and its social implications, by examining the interaction of this discipline with other social sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, some papers have been published that examine the relation between economic history and institutional economics, and propose a closer relation between these two disciplines. This article shows how the theoretical and methodological foundations of the different institutionalist programs are enriching research in economic history, giving it more rigor. Furthermore, using papers from Hodgson, North and Greif, this article reviews the contributions of traditional institutionalism, New Institutional Economics and Historical and Comparative Institutional Analysis. It ends by proposing a research program that emphasizes the historical studies of institutions and enriches economic analysis. Economic history should not be seen as a subaltern discipline; it should be treated at the same level as economics, as Schumpeter wanted it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows one type of asymmetric information problems, their theoretical implications, the design of contracts that mitigate them, as well as some experimental evidence. Furthermore, by extrapolating the results, the paper tries to illustrate certain macroeconomic implications obtained under a controlled environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurship has become a prominent and strategically important issue when talking about the driving forces of prosperity and job creation. However, entrepreneurship seems to be poorly defined. The paper studies central assumptions by questioning what many contemporaries take for granted. The paper shows that it is necessary to define the term "entrepreneurship". Recent arguments should distinguish the difference, sometimes contradictory, between the phenomenon of dynamic fast growing firms and that of the emergence of new microenterprises of the self-employed that have neither the intention nor the possibility of growing. Economic policy debate should specify more precisely what is really meant when talking about entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we note a complementary relationship between the Austrian school, based on the individual's role and markets, and institutional economics, which emphasizes the role of institutions in economic behavior. The idea of continuous improvement in corporate governance takes place in a system of complex and interrelated production in which the contributions of the various actors are necessary and difficult to quantify. Our working hypothesis is that institutions can to solve the distributional conflict and generate more productive organizations, while stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, examines the political costs that will have to be borne by farc; the Colombian military; Colombia's rightist politicians and elite and vested interests, internally-displaced people, the coca farmers, and Colombia's middle class. The analysis also touches on the roles and impacts of various other actors, such as bandas criminales and militant groups continuing to operate in Colombia, including the ELN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to analyze, with a new institutional economics framework, regulatory activity and its motivations. Better regulatory frameworks contribute to create an environment of legitimacy for the actions of the State. Nevertheless, this legitimacy can only be achieved by ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of such frameworks in relation to the aim pursued such as correct market failures, reduce inequity failures, or generation of more competitive environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses Colombian data to compare the impact of inflation on the elderly and the general population. On average, the elderly spend a greater proportion on housing and health and less on education. Between December 2008 and May 2015, they experienced a higher inflation rate than the rest of the population. Lower income elderly households spend a higher share of their income on housing and food, and face higher inflation than wealthier elderly households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though copyright is an institution which dates back to the 18th century, the economic analysis of copyright is relatively new; paradoxically it was not until 1934 with Plant's work when copyright economics started to emerge as a specialized field. This paper aims to draw an historical outline of copyright economics as a new area of economic analysis, focusing on its dilemmas and approaches, as well as on the main challenge for this institution in the digital era, unauthorized copy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Central Bank (ECB) has received a lot of criticism for its too little, too late performance to ease market pressures during the economic crisis. At the same time, the ECB and the Federal Reserve (Fed) have managed the new economic realities that have emerged in the international context differently. Despite the criticisms, the European Central Bank is the European Union institution that has assumed more control due to the new model of economic governance of the EU. Why did the Federal Reserve act so nimbly and quickly to calm the markets, while the ECB was so cautious in managing monetary policy? The aim of this paper is to perform a comparative analysis of the management of interest rates and other monetary policy measures undertaken by the Central Bank and the Federal Reserve during the economic crisis, as well as to understand the changes in the context of the ECB and the emergence of its authority within the European Union's economic governance model since 2011. Thus, in order to carry out a scrupulous exposition, we will also limit the time frame of this study to the 2007-2014 period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, various Latin American governments have attempted to render migrants as agents of development, mainly by channeling remittances to specific sectors such as housing and finance. The existing literature has yet to articulate how these new developments are reconfiguring the political economy of housing in the region. Drawing on empirical data collected at both ends of the Colombia-uk migration network, this paper argues that these efforts aim to institutionalise remittance flows and their associated transnational socio-economic activities. They are underpinned by the repositioning of housing from a consumption to an investment item, and as a driver of economic growth; as well the positioning of the financial sector as the main means for households to access public and private housing, and other basic services. These developments have taken place in the context of a broader process of financialisa-tion of the global poverty agenda in the last three decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Colombian Government has adopted a policy to improve communication skills in English at all education levels and especially in higher education, but little has been written about the achievements of the policy. This paper examines changes in the distribution of students' English proficiency level between the start and completion of their higher education programs. The results suggest an improvement in the distribution after graduating from higher education, characterized by a greater impact at higher scoring levels and an increased polarization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For several years, without any justification and against all available evidence, it has been said that in Colombia 400,000 clandestine abortions are performed each year. This paper seeks to test the validity of this number. First, it provides an overview of what could have been the original source of this figure, and then it shows that this hasty calculation is inconsistent with a rigorous study of induced abortion made in 1992. Also, it analyses different sources of information that contradict those assessments; exposes the difficulties inherent in estimating the magnitude of illegal activities; and criticizes one methodology. Finally, it estimates the range of the number of annual abortions based on the Demographic and Health Surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic and demographic growth in Colombia has been dominated by the largest cities. This has resulted in the common belief that Colombia is mainly an urban country. The aim of this paper is to show how economic and demographic growth has evolved, especially in terms of population density, since the mid-eighties. Using Markov transition chains and their spatial counterpart, we show that since the mid-eighties, municipalities have experienced a highly persistent pattern in which the main cities have maintained their position as the most densely populated. In contrast, municipalities that exhibited low levels of population density have remained relatively stagnant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What do economists mean when they talk about 'capital accumulation'? Surprisingly, the answer is anything but clear. The conventional view is that there are two types of capital, real and financial; that these two capitals should correspond to one another; and that, unfortunately, most of the time they don't: in general, goes the argument, the growth of financial capital tends to mismatch and distort the accumulation of real capital. The paper shows this 'mismatch thesis' - and therefore the ability of economists to explain accumulation - to be built on foundations of sand. Economists, it argues, cannot measure real capital in the first place, and the proxies they devise for that purpose entangle them in logical circularities and empirical impossibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a new measure of financial development to show that many benefits in terms of growth and stability can still be reaped from further financial development in most emerging markets. First, it defines financial development as a combination of depth, access and efficiency. Second, it highlights that the economic growth weakens at higher levels of financial development. Third, it indicates that the pace of financial development matters. Forth, it provides a new angle related to the tradeoffs of financial regulation. Finally, it finds that there is no "one-size-fits-all" in the sequencing of developing financial institutions versus markets, though as economies evolve the relative benefits from institutions decline and those from markets increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a review of the notions of value in economics and anthropology. In this review, the greater difficulty has been, indeed, the historical separation between disciplines that frequently have developed their theoretical conceptualizations about economic fact separately, while the cooperation attempts have had to overcome important methodological and formal differences. However, the analysis of the main anthropological and economic contributions has shown the necessity to re-examine the foundations about value and to reflect on the use of this concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of innovative processes such as securitization leads to asking if the behavior of economic agents is a response to the institutional changes with specific objectives, or if the changes in the regulatory regime are the result of market behaviour or needs of the economy. The objective of this paper is to apply the theory of institutional change of North (agent, source, process and way of change) to examine the Colombian market in the period 1993-2013 in order to explore the main events which had an influence on the performance of securitization in general, and mortgage securitization in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperation among firms can be analyzed from different theoretical perspectives. The objective of this paper is to analyze firm networks from the perspective of team theory and club theory. Even though these theories are not recent in economics, using them as a theoretical framework for the characterization of firm networks could be a novel contribution. We can infer that aspects of both theories could be combined to explain cases of cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an approach to the study of the working poor in Colombia. The purpose is to analyze poverty linked to types of labor insertion, Using data from the Continuous Household Survey and the Large Integrated Household Survey, it analyses main poverty indicators for the workers, and poverty decomposition by geographical area between 2002 and 2012. In addition, it offers a socio-demographic and occupational characterization of the working poor, concluding that the composition of the labor market and the type of labor insertion are determinants of low income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a newly compiled and improved database of national household surveys between 1988 and 2008. In 2008, the global Gini index is at 70.5 percent having declined by approximately 2 Gini points over this twenty year period. When it is adjusted for the likely under-reporting of higher? incomes in surveys by using the gap between national accounts consumption and survey means in combination with a Pareto-type imputation of the upper tail, the estimate is a much higher global Gini of almost 76 percent. With such an adjustment the downward trend in the Gini almost disappears. Tracking the evolution of individual country- deciles shows the underlying elements that drive the changes in the global distribution: China left the bottom ranks, modifying the overall shape of the global income distribution in the process and creating an important global "median" class that transformed a twin-peaked 1988 global distribution into a single-peaked one. The "winners" were country-deciles which in 1988 stood at the median of the global income distribution, 90 percent of which are from Asia in terms of population. The "losers" were the country-deciles in 1988 were around the 85th percentile of the global income distribution, almost 90 percent of which are from mature economies in terms of population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1949 World Bank mission headed by Lauchlin Currie recommended an integral attack on the interlocking vicious circles of underdevelopment through a widening of domestic and international markets and a reform of macroeconomic policy formulation. In 1950 Currie was invited by the Colombian Government to return as adviser to a new national planning board. In 1952 Albert Hirschman was also hired as an adviser to this board. This paper discusses the heated disagreements between these two distinguished economists, their influence on the theory and practice of economic development in Colombia and of the World Bank, and in particular their focus on planning based on an integral program versus individual project approaches to planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new theoretical model to unerstand how defence and corruption networks associated to drug trafficking operate. Based on game theory and social network theory strategic interactions between drug dealers and their agents are analyzed. The model shows that network density is a main determinant of the survival probability of drug dealers and of wages paid to their security agents; and that the efficacy of law enforcement policies depends on network density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women population migrations are very significant in the broader international migration phenomenon, not only because of the number of people involved, but also because they have their own particular characteristics which distinguish them from male migrations. Gender perspective, being applied to migration studies, has been very useful in demonstrating that migration is a gendered phenomenon and it has added depth to the specific understanding of female migration. This article focuses on Colombian flows to Italy, a scarcely studied phenomenon with interesting particularities, such as: its strong heterogeneity, the high female presence, and the variety of itineraries female have. Framed within the gender perspective, this paper aims to observe the differences between men's and women's migration experiences, in order to define some of the gender inequalities and their intersection with other inequalities that arise from certain social categories involved during the migration. It focuses on the family, an important place of analysis since within it gender relations are expressed with great determination and at the same time it changes with migration, contributing to modify women's social and family status. Changes in gender relations do not point only in one direction in such flows, as women have different trajectories showing that they are often active, independent and autonomous actors, able to articulate advantages and disadvantages present during the migration process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to understand the dynamics of the political transnationalism of Colombian migrants in New York City and the northern area of New Jersey during the 1990-2010 period from the processes of contempt and moral suffering (social stigmatization), the implications of these processes in the migrants' identity/autonomy (as generators of identity wounds) and their search for social recognition. The paper begins with a characterization of the Colombian migration to that setting. Then it shows the experiences of moral contempt faced by Colombian migrants in the contexts of origin and arrival. In the context of origin such experiences were linked to social and political polarization, violence, inequality and strong barriers to upward mobility, while in the context of arrival these experiences were related to the stigma of drug trafficking, the dynamics of cultural racism, discrimination because of low English proficiency, and the absence of a legal immigration status. Finally, the article discusses the participation and mobilization (mainly at informal and collective levels) of Colombian migrants in relation to the search for social recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to explore the characteristics of populism from the experience of Ecuador, one of the countries in Latin America that has had more processes of this type. The idea is to identify similarities in the way that the populist style of leadership is exercised from four cases despite the existing differences between these political leaders: Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra, Abdala Bucaram Ortiz, Alvaro Noboa Ponton, and Rafael Correa. The argument is that, unlike the prevailing approaches in Ecuadorian literature, populism must be understood as a style of leadership that occurs between leader and follower, which has a series of characteristics that are maintained throughout time, regardless of the contextual and systematic differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]