– Macroeconomics

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: 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: 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 …

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: 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 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: 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: 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: 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 …

Literature on convergence among Latin American countries is still scarce compared to other regions. Almost none of the research connects convergence to the economic history of Latin America and the usual finding is one speed of convergence assuming one globally stable steady-state. In this paper I analyze 32 countries and …

ABSTRACT: A new inflationary memory indicator was developed and applied here. A panel was built with the selected countries considering the economic growth as dependent variable in function of the convergence hypothesis, the inflation rate, the public expense and, the recursive variance of the inflation (VARINF) as inflationary memory indicator. …

ABSTRACT: This paper analyses the impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Bolivian economy. The PEP 1-1 Standard Model has been employed to analyze the effects of a reduction in (i) the world export prices of mining and agriculture, (ii) the world demand of textiles, and (iii) transfers to …

ABSTRACT: Este estudio busca respnder las siguintes interrogantes: ¿Quál es la magnitud y cómo se distribuyen los subsidios que se transfieren a los hogares a través de la provisioón pública de los servicios de educación y salud?; ¿Cuál es la magnitud y cómo se distribuyen los impues a los hogares?; …

ABSTRACT: The paper analyzes the Bolivian experience in switching from an old publicly managed pay-as-you-go pension system to a privately managed, fully funded pension system.

ABSTRACT: After several decades of “state-capitalism” characterized by import substitution policies, Bolivia implemented in 1985 a New Economic Policy (NEP) following neo-liberal ideas of free trade, privatization, and liberalization of capital flows. It was hoped that the opening up of the economy would attract foreign direct investment (FDI) which in …

ABSTRACT: Poverty in Bolivia continues to be among the highest in Latin America despite decades of concerted national and international efforts to reduce it. Bolivia has meticulously followed the recommendations of the Washington consensus at the same time as external aid has been generous and foreign direct investment has boomed. …

ABSTRACT: This document investigates the effectiveness of foreign aid in Bolivia. When comparing accumulated aid in each sector during the period 1998-2002 with the progress in each sector during the same period, it becomes clear that the four sectors receiving by far the most aid (Institutional strengthening, Rural Development, Roads, …