Working Papers

By: Ramiro Gamboa Rivera La Paz, march 2023 Abstract This paper describes the current functioning of the retirement system in Bolivia. In addition, I rise scenarios related to old age benefit considering the quinueros; which means projections to the pension amounts that they (quinoa producers) could obtain based on the …

By: Javier Aliaga Lordemann Sergio Mansilla La Paz, february 2023 Abstract “Energy poverty” is a multidimensional concept that reflects the need to achieve a variety of wellbeing outcomes, which has been scarcely studied and used in public policy agendas. Considering that the literature on energy poverty is still incipient in …

By: Carlos Gustavo Machicado S. La Paz, august 2022 Abstract This work analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the mitigation measures that were adopted against it in different dimensions related to the agricultural producers of the Bolivian Altiplano, such as employment, income, food security, education and health. For …

By: Sheila C. Muriel H. La Paz, july 2022 Abstract The Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) existing in agriculture present diverse characteristics and serve multiple purposes; information systems, wireless sensors, drones, etc., are used for the care of resources such as soil and water, the improvement and monitoring of crops …

By: Carlos Gustavo Machicado S. La Paz, june 2022 Abstract This document carries out an exhaustive review of the literature, at the microeconomic level, on mainly behavioral problems aimed at promoting voluntary savings for old age (retirement). The different mechanisms and/or tools described have been designed to promote this type …

By: Gabriela Alondra Agafitei La Paz, may 2022 Abstract In 2019, the Bolivian government began implementation of the Universal Health Insurance (SUS) scheme, with critics claiming the unpreparedness of the healthcare system to provide universal and free services. To date, there is no research that assesses the effects of the …

By: Jorge Ignacio Del Castillo Machicado La Paz, april 2020 Abstract This article researches on the evolution of the business regulatory framework of Bolivia from 2006 to 2017 and its relationship with the country’s Labor productivity, Total Factor Productivity, and its Informal Economy size. To do this, it analyzes the …

By: Lucas DuPriest La Paz, december 2019 Abstract This paper investigates the location patterns of coworking spaces, the effects of coworking spaces on the local and urban context, and coworking spaces potential opportunities for the creation of local economic development, issues that have been neglected in a Bolivian context by …

By: Jorge L. Gumucio Sergio M. Medinaceli La Paz, november 2019 Abstract The purpose of this paper is to show the shortcomings of incentive policies, specifically competitiveness, if they are designed without considering fundamentals of market development such as, level of demand, level of investment, and availability of alternative sources …

By: Beatriz Muriel H. Alejandra Terán O.  La Paz, november 2019 Abstract The study analyzes – direct and indirect – export employment in Bolivia, using information from both the national accounts of 2005, 2011 and 2014 and the population and housing censuses. The most important result is that the export …

El día miércoles 07 de octubre se realizó el Economics Research Workshop (ERW) que llegó a su trigésima cuarta versión. Esta versión del evento fue organizada por la Academia Boliviana de Ciencias Económicas (ABCE), la Sociedad de Economistas de Bolivia (SEBOL), la Universidad Privada Boliviana (UPB) junto al Centro de …

By: Luis Fernando Serrudo Carlos Gustavo Machicado Juan Cristobal Birbuet Abstract: This study calculates the Social Progress Index (SPI) for the 9 Departments of Bolivia during the period 2012–2016. The indicators have been calculated by using secondary information from official sources. We observe that the Departments of Santa Cruz and …

El día miércoles 4 de septiembre se realizó el Economics Research Workshop (ERW) que llegó a su trigésima tercera versión. Esta versión del evento fue organizada por la Academia Boliviana de Ciencias Económicas (ABCE), la Sociedad de Economistas de Bolivia (SEBOL), la Universidad Privada Boliviana (UPB) y la Fundación INESAD. …

By: Boris Branisa José Peres – Cajías Nigel Caspa Abstract: Based on almost 5.000 direct observations on National Identification Cards, this paper offers the first estimation of the evolution of average heights in urban Bolivia for the decades 1880s-1920s. The analysis focuses on men aged 19-50 years registered in the …

By: Paola L. Montero Ledezma Abstract While more married women in cities are part of the workforce, are they doing the jobs for which they have been prepared? How are the wages of this sector of the population formed? How does the spouse/partner’s income or commuting costs affect their employment …

By: Alejandro Herrera Mariel Bedoya Bruno Gonzaga Karen Espinoza Abstract In this paper we use a Multi-Cutoff Fuzzy Regression Discontinuity Design to evaluate spillover effects of students enrolled into Peruvian public magnet schools, Colegios de Alto Rendimiento (COAR), on educational outcomes of younger students in their schools of origin. Using …

By:   Abstract   This paper analyzes Bolivia’s long-term economic growth between 1950 and 2015, identifying its proximate causes through a growth accounting exercise, which considers the direct and indirect effects of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) on GDP per worker. The novelty is that the measurement of TFP that is …

By: Martin Vallejos Tarqui Shirley Navia Cáceres Abstract This study analyses the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) effects on the macroeconomic dynamics of Bolivi-an economy. For this purpose, a Structural Vector Autoregression model (SVAR) is used. The results show the expected signs according to economic theory, which implies a positive effect …

By:  David Zeballos Coria Juan Carlos Heredia Gómez Paola Yujra Tonconi  Abstract The objective of this paper is to evaluate the cyclical behavior of the Bolivian economy based on a Markov-Switching Dynamic General Equilibrium model (MS-DSGE). Using a model for a small open economy, with monetary targeting and foreign-exchange intervention, …

By: Darwin Ugarte Ontiveros Osmar Bolivar Rosales Abstract This document aims to analyze empirically the effectiveness of decentralization in Bolivia. Effectiveness is understood as the capacity of local administration to cover its local needs. The research measures the effect of the central government’s local investment (the Bolivia Cambia program) on …

By: Luis Fernando Castro Peñarrieta Gustavo Zárate Taborga Valeria Salinas Maceda   Abstract Inequality in Bolivia is normally measured through income. However, the construction of a socio-economic index (ISE), using the four available censuses 1976, 1992, 2001 and 2012, permits to analyze inequality in long-term as well as under a …

By: Bernardo X. Fernández Marcelo Gantier Martín Palmero La Paz, September 2018 Abstract Between 2006 and 2014, Bolivia experimented an economic boom period driven mainly by high international prices of commodities. Paradoxically, in the same period, social demands increased and concerns related to the high levels of corruption in public …

By: Joaquín Morales Valeria Salinas La Paz, September 2018 Abstract We explore reasons underlying the economic prosperity of certain popular merchants in Bolivia. Even if economics often associates popular merchants with poor economic performance and low productivity, anthropological evidence shows the existence of large fortunes in the bolivian popular economy …

By: Boris Branisa C. Carlos Gustavo Machicado S. Mario Marcelo Arduz R. Abstract This document analyzes the implementation of a financial system (software) for the Community Financial Institutions (CFEs) carried out between 2011 and 2012. The system was a set of financial modules that facilitated the administration of information and …

By: Inés Valeria Lagrava León La Paz, February 2018 Abstract Despite the efforts made to reduce neonatal mortality in the Plurinational State of Bolivia, and the implementation of the Universal Maternal and Child Health Insurance (SUMI), the data reveal that progress has been slower than achieved in terms of reducing …

By: Beatriz Muriel Hernández & Alejandro Herrera J. La Paz, December 2017 Abstract This paper analyzes Bolivian Global Value Chains (GVC) for 2002, 2005 and 2011, using the Vertical Specialization Index (EV) of  Hummels et al. (2001) and the measure of Upstreamness of Antràs y Chor (2011) (cited by Antràs et …

By: Darwin Ugarte Ontiveros, Gustavo Canavire-Bacarreza and Luis Castro Peñarrieta October 2017 Abstract Average treatment effects estimands can present significant bias under the presence of outliers. Moreover, outliers can be particularly hard to detect, creating bias and inconsistency in the semi-parametric ATE estimads. In this paper, we use Monte Carlo simulations to demonstrate …

By: Luis Carlos Jemio, Lykke E. Andersen & Agnes Medinaceli La Paz, October 2017 Abstract: This paper calculates and analyzes key indicators from Bolivia’s Green National Accounts during the period 1990 – 2015, which covers an entire Commodity Super Cycle. The first half includes the Great Commodities Depression while the second half of …

By: Lykke E. Andersen, Augustus Griffin, Justus J. Krause &  Gabriel Orduña Montekio La Paz, October 2017 Abstract: There is conceptually a big difference between inequality of opportunity and inequality of outcomes, and the policies needed to address the two different kinds of inequality are also very different. However, it is difficult to …

By: Johnny Suxo La Paz, octubre de 2017 Resumen La estimación de las cuentas ambientales a nivel subnacional es importante en Bolivia, debido a la heterogénea distribución espacial de los activos ambientales en el territorio nacional, en particular para departamentos de escasa diversificación productiva, donde la extracción de recursos naturales …

Erica Tauzer, Mercy J. Borbor-Cordova, Telmo de la Cuadra, Susana del Granado, Carol Franco-Bellini, Carlos Medina, Jhoyzette Mendoza, Moory M. Romero-Fernandez, Anna M. Stewart-Ibarra La Paz, September 2017   Abstract Flood risk is increasing in urban areas due to increased population and urban development, a changing climate, coastal subsidence, and …

  Abstract This article analyzes the importance of firm characteristics to explain earnings in urban Bolivia. Initially I propose a new simple theoretical model of segmented labor market where, in equilibrium, individual and firm variables jointly determine earnings at the worker level. The key for achieving this equilibrium is that …

Diego A. Vera Cossio Department of Economics, University of California, San Diego Abstract In this study, I use the timing and eligibility criteria of a large-scale conditional cash transfer program in Bolivian public schools to identify the efect of the program on adults’ labor supply. I find that adult females …

Susana del Granado, Anna Stewart, Mercy Borbor, Carol Franco, Erica Tauzer, Moory Romero Resumen Los países de América Latina y el Caribe estan afectados por eventos climáticos extremos. En República Dominicana, Ecuador y Bolivia existe un incremento en el riesgo a sucesos extremos en general y a inundaciones en particular. …

RESUMEN Este documento de investigación estima las emisiones netas de carbono provenientes del cambio en el uso de tierra en Bolivia durante los periodos 1990 – 2000 y 2000 – 2010 utilizando un modelo de contabilidad de carbono que incluye deforestación, degradación de bosques, regeneración de bosques, descomposición y recomposición …

ABTRACT This paper presents an analysis of the decentralization process that has been taking place in Bolivia over the last couple of decades. It starts with a review of the legal framework that determines the distribution of responsibilities and financial resources to the sub-national governments (9 departments and 339 municipalities), …

ABTRACT What is the long run impact on development from differences in subsistence strategies during pre-industrial times? Whereas this question has been explored from the point of view of agriculture, remarkably little attention has been paid to the complementary strategy of relying on marine resources. As a step towards closing …

RESUMEN El presente trabajo de investigación busca contextualizar la pobreza monetaria en Bolivia y, a partir de aquí, establecer la importancia de la situación laboral de los trabajadores del hogar. Las estimaciones muestran que la pobreza ha disminuido de manera importante entre 1999 y 2012; siendo más significativo -en términos …

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes the effects of economic growth on labor earnings in Bolivia during 1999-2012. More precisely, we develop a labor market model to capture both cycle and trend effects of prices, and production on earnings, which is estimated econometrically using pseudo-panel data methods. The results show that labor …

RESUMEN Las MYPES son una parte importante de la economía nacional, los microempresarios identifican a la falta de capacitación como un factor determinante para mejorar su productividad; sin embargo, cuando se les pregunta qué tipo de capacitación necesitan, no existe consenso sobre sus necesidades. El presente estudio de caso busca …

ABSTRACT We focus on an issue that appears particularly relevant for fragile states and which has received little attention: social institutions related to gender inequality, defined as societal practices and legal norms that frame gender roles and the distribution of power between men and women in the family, market, and …

RESUMEN La presente investigación indaga en las características productivas y laborales de la economía departamental de Cochabamba y de su región metropolitana, a partir del uso de información del Censo 2012 y datos del INE para el periodo 2004-2013. Con base en este objetivo, el estudio centra su atención en …

RESUMEN El propósito de este documento es coadyuvar a hacer un uso sostenible del agua en las ciudades de La Paz y el Alto, identificando los puntos donde la economía de estas ciudades ejerce mayor presión sobre este recurso y las necesidades de intervención. Con este fin, hicimos una radiografía …

RESUMEN ¿Ayuda la existencia de recursos extractivos a la formación de recursos humanos, concretamente a la formación técnica? La evidencia empírica es poco concluyente. Para el caso de Bolivia se muestra que la actividad extractiva sin agregación de valor, no genera demanda por personas calificadas y por tanto no emite señales claras hacia …

ABSTRACT This paper describes the construction of a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for the Mexican economy for year 2008. It presents the methodology and data sources used, assumptions made, criteria adopted to disaggregate the SAM’s accounts and the main results obtained. The Mexico SAM was built as the main data …

ABSTRACT This paper describes the construction of the most detailed, openly accessible Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for Bolivia to date. In addition to allowing for “standard” socio-economic analysis common for SAMs – like assessing the linkages between production, factor income distribution and households’ incomes and expenditures – the SAM presented …

ABSTRACT Este estudio analiza los desafíos que confronta el sistema educativo boliviano, que son necesarios abordar para que el país pueda reducir las brechas existentes en relación a los demás países de la región, que han alcanzado un mayor desarrollo y bienestar. Bolivia presenta brechas significativas en cuanto al nivel …

ABSTRACT: This paper analyzes gender differences in vulnerability and resilience to shocks, including climate change and climate variability, for Peru, Brazil and Mexico, which together account for more than half the population in Latin America. Vulnerability and resilience indicators are measured by a combination of the level of household incomes …

ABSTRACT: This paper analyzes gender and ethnic differences in vulnerability and resilience to external shocks and stresses in Mexico. Vulnerability and resilience are measured by a combination of the level of household incomes per capita and the degree of diversification of these incomes. Thus, households which have poorly diversified incomes …

ABSTRACT La presente investigacion contribuye con evidencia acerca del efecto del ahorro en cuatro medidas de empoderamiento femenino. Estimamos un modelo de tratamiento endogeno para el acceso a ahorro en el sistema formal en 2004 utilizando como variable de exclusion el numero de agencias de servicios nancieros por cada 1.000 habitantes a nivel …

RESUMEN El documento ─basado en la metodología de estudios de caso─ analiza los procesos de negociación y acuerdos entre la explotación minería privada y las comunidades implicadas en el pueblo de San Cristóbal y regiones aledañas, mostrando que es posible generar juegos cooperativos entre los actores involucrados con ganancias netas …

ABSTRACT A previous analysis of the impact of formal institutions on the knowledge economy of 22 Middle-Eastern and Sub-Sahara African countries during the 1996-2010 time period concluded that formal institutions were necessary, but inadequate, determinants of the knowledge economy. To extend that study, this paper claims that globalization induces peace …

ABSTRACT We build a theoretical model that incorporates unionization in the labor market into a Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson (HOS) framework to investigate the impact of unionization on the Stolper-Samuelson Theorem. To capture the American economy case, we assume that unskilled labor in the manufactured goods sector is unionized, and that sector is intensive in skilled …

ABSTRACT: This paper investigates the potential of information technologies to improve public service delivery and empower citizens in the context of two unusual randomized natural experiments occurring within one particular bureaucratic process: the renewal of a national identication card by the Bolivian Police. The rst experiment arises from the random assignment of both …

RESUMEN Este documento presenta una metodología para medir la diversificación de los medios de vida de los hogares. Esta medida, junto a los niveles de ingresos de los hogares, nos permite clasificarlos según la vulnerabilidad que estos pudieran tener. Aplicamos análisis de regresión para detectar los factores y estrategias asociadas …

ABSTRACT: This paper is an attempt to understand the factors behind low contract renewal rates frequently observed in insurance programs in poor countries. This is done on the basis of the experience of a microinsurance health program in India. We show that deficient information about the insurance product and the …

ABSTRACT: This paper uses inter-country panel data obtained during the period 1990–2010 to examine how the occurrence of natural disasters has affected corruption within the public sector. There are a number of new findings from this study. (1) Disaster with the large amount of damage increase corruption not only for …

ABSTRACT: Using Kauffman, Kraay, and Mastruzzi governance indicators, this article analyzes the impact of formal institutions on the knowledge economy- by assessing how the enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) through good governance mechanisms affects the knowledge economy. The article also employs the World Bank’s four components of the knowledge …

ABSTRACT: The carbon sequestration potential of an unmanaged and previously unstudied Guadua angustifolia bamboo forest in the Carrasco National Park of Bolivia has been studied, by estimating the total aboveground biomass contained in the forest. It was found that the aboveground biomass consisting of stems, branches, and foliage, contains a …

ABSTRACT: Strong rural-urban linkages are increasingly seen as key to achieving sustainable livelihoods and food security in developing countries. However, not all linkages are positive and, although this is recognised in literature, few explore their potential unfavourable characteristics. Based on twelve weeks fieldwork in Guatemala this paper aims to contribute …

ABSTRACT: This paper proposes a simple way to measure livelihood diversification, and uses this measure together with income levels to classify Bolivian households by level of vulnerability. Regression analysis is then carried out to determine the factors and strategies associated with high resilience or high vulnerability. The results show that …

Abstract This paper employs a recent methodological innovation on intellectual property rights (IPRs) harmonization to project global timelines for common policies against business software piracy. The findings on 99 countries are premised on 15 fundamental characteristics of software piracy based on income-levels (high- ncome, lower-middle-income, upper-middle-income and low-income), legal-origins (English …

Abstract: El estudio analiza el empleo en las empresas manufactureras registradas bolivianas durante 1988-2007, estableciendo su relación con la regulación laboral a partir de indicadores de flujos y funciones de demanda. Los flujos de empleo muestran que las empresas con altas tasas de trabajadores temporales, comparativamente con aquellos permanentes asalariados, …

Abstract Productivity differences can explain differences in economic growth across countries. It has been demonstrated that the presence of a foreign-owned multinational enterprise (MNE) in a developing country is one of the most important methods through which technology transfer occurs. This presence could be in the form of foreign direct …

Abstract Using data on Uruguayan adolescents, we estimate peer effects in risk attitudes. Relative risk aversion is elicited in an experimental setting. Identification is based on parents not being able to choose the class within the school of their choice. After controlling for school-grade fixed effect and addressing endogeneity due …

Abstract: This article integrates previously missing components of government quality into the governance-piracy nexus in exploring governance mechanisms by which global obligations for the treatment of IPRs are effectively transmitted from international to the national level in the battle against piracy. It assesses the best governance tools in the fight …

Abstract: We explore empirically models of aggregate fluctuations with two basic ingredients: agents form anticipations about the future based on noisy sources of information and these anticipations affect spending and output in the short run. Our objective is to separate fluctuations due to actual changes in fundamentals (news) from those due to temporary errors …

Abstract: La investigación analiza el desempeño de las exportaciones en Bolivia a la luz de los empleos que genera, directos e indirectos, con los siguientes resultados destacables: i) la creación de fuentes laborales se ha concentrado en los bienes no tradicionales ya que son intensivos en este factor de producción; …

Abstract: This paper analyzes employment in Bolivian registered manufacturing firms during 1988 to 2007, establishing its relationship with labor regulation. Estimating job flows, we find that firms with high temporary worker rates (less labor regulation costs) are those with both higher job reallocation rates and higher net employment growth, and …

ABSTRACT: This paper examines bureaucratic delay within the allocation of small infrastructure projects by sub municipal governments in Bolivia, and it presents a randomized eld experiment designed to improve public service delivery by promoting voice, transparency, and accountability among grassroots organizations. The experiment consists of randomly providing sub municipal governments …

Bolivia tiene un gran potencial para mitigar el cambio climático a través de la reducción de la deforestación. Mientras que las posibles complicaciones han sido intensamente debatidas, se ha realizado poco análisis cuantitativo al respecto. Introducimos el modelo OSIRIS-Bolivia con el fin de crear una base cuantitativa para la toma …

ABSTRACT: Using individual-level data for China,South Korea, and Japan for2006, this research examines how life satisfaction for married males and femalesin East Asian countries isinfluenced bythe age of theirchildren. Our results show that the life satisfaction of males is barely affected by a child of the relationship, whereas the life …

ABSTRACT: We calibrate a simple neoclassical model of structural transformation to a set of Latin American countries and show that slow growth in agricultural productivity can substantially delay the development process and result in signicant dierences in per capita incomes. Some of our results indicate that low agricultural productivity delayed …

ABSTRACT: Bolivia has significant potential to abate climate change by reducing deforestation. This opportunity presents economic and environmental tradeoffs. While these tradeoffs have been hotly debated, they have as yet been the subject of little quantitative analysis. We introduce the OSIRIS-Bolivia model to provide a quantitative basis for decision-making. OSIRIS-Bolivia …

ABSTRACT: This study explores the economic consequences of earthquakes. In particular, it is investigated how exposure to earthquakes afects economic growth both across and within countries. The key result of the empirical analysis is that while there are no observable efects at the country level, earthquake exposure signicantly decreases 5-year …

ABSTRACT: La economía regional ha sido hasta ahora considerada en la literatura sobre desarrollo económico e inversión en Bolivia, sin embargo, en la mayoría de los trabajos no se había tomado en cuenta la posibilidad de existencia de autocorrelación espacial; es decir, que el valor observado en un sitio depende …

ABSTRACT: In this article a process-tracing approach is used to explore how different factors have contributed to the development of healthcare policy in Bolivia, in light of the current proposal to introduce a unified public healthcare system. The main findings are that although international relations and state bureaucrats have been …

ABSTRACT: El presente documento contribuye con evidencia acerca del impacto ex-post al programa de transferencias condicionales Bono Juancito Pinto en las escuelas públicas de Bolivia. Con el fin de identificar correctamente a los potenciales beneficiarios y evitar problemas de endogeneidad y sesgo de selección, se evalúa el efecto del anuncio …

ABSTRACT: Los controles de precios son medidas que pueden afectar considerablemente a los sectores sujetos a dichas políticas. Mediante un modelo de equilibrio general dinámico estocastico con dos tipos de agentes: campesinos y citadinos, calibrado para Bolivia, se muestra que ante caidas en la productividad del sector agropecuario, el empleo …

ABSTRACT: We present an analysis of the effects of foreign aid on economic development when the quality of governance may be compromised by corruption. The analysis is based on a dynamic general equilibrium model in which growth is driven by capital accumulation and public policy is administered by government-appointed bureaucrats. …

ABSTRACT: Se desarrolla y ajusta un modelo de equilibrio general dinamico y estocastico con 2 sectores, el formal y el informal, para la economia boliviana. El objetivo del modelo es evaluar los impactos de las ultimas reformas laborales sobre el empleo, los salarios y el producto. En concreto, analizo el …

ABSTRACT: La presente investigación analiza la producción de la quinua como una opción para mejorar los ingresos rurales del Altiplano de Bolivia; dado que, por un lado, el grano se armoniza óptimamente a las costumbres y tradiciones laborales y familiares de los habitantes de ésta región y, por otro lado, …

ABSTRACT: This paper analyzes the factors that explain earnings in levels and inequality in the urban areas of Bolivia, considering not only the usual individual characteristics (education, experience, gender, and ethnicity) but also firm characteristics. Given the information available at the firm level in the household surveys, two simple models …

ABSTRACT: We study economic growth in four emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC). Questions addressed are: (a) How do medium term growth determinants differ from short term determinants? (b) What are differences between growth effects of aggregate versus disaggregated exports? And (c) Does lower institutional quality hinder …

ABSTRACT: This papers reviews main topics concerning sub-national revenues (intergovernmental transfers and taxes) and discusses some policy options to develop own sub-national revenues. The review covers the political-legal framework and the fiscal outcomes, finding that: i) intergovernmental transfers policies have expanded over time, generating inequity problems, principally at the departmental …

ABSTRACT: Using data for the third wave from the European Social Survey (ESS) and the Fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (K-NHANES), this research examines the relationship between having children at home and depression among men and women aged 18-75 years. Multilevel and probit regression models are applied. …

ABSTRACT: El presente documento busca de manera indicativa explicitar algunos elementos conceptuales y prácticos para construir el problema acerca del tema, pues la diversidad de ángulos desde donde se lo aborda da la impresión de que el problema mismo no está conceptualizado de manera homogénea. En ese sentido, la reflexión …