Higher education in Latin America has achieved some impressive gains over the past quarter century. An elite system consisting of at most a few dozen traditional universities in each country has radically transformed to include hundreds of new professional institutes, technical and vocational schools. At the same time, enrollment has soared. Between 1992 and 2012, the … [Read more...] about When Information on Higher Education Narrows the Skills Gap
Monitoring Corruption in Mexico: The Watchful Eye and the Cracking Whip
Corruption is a widespread problem in Latin America, despite recent progress. Some cases can have high visibility, especially when high-level authorities are involved in multi-million dollar scandals. Other cases stay mostly out of the spotlight, as they involve low-level civil servants who, for example, take bribes to approve a permit. Although they might seem isolated and … [Read more...] about Monitoring Corruption in Mexico: The Watchful Eye and the Cracking Whip
Fiscal Transfers in Latin America: Red de Centros Is Calling for Proposals
Red de Centros, a network of nearly 350 research institutes, is calling for proposals for the project Fiscal transfers in Latin America: What are their composition and cyclicality patterns? It involves the composition of fiscal transfers (unemployment insurance, conditional transfers, transfers to decentralized public entities, etc.) and their contribution to counter-cyclical … [Read more...] about Fiscal Transfers in Latin America: Red de Centros Is Calling for Proposals
When Too Much External Borrowing to Finance Investment Gets Dangerous
Life is full of people who never save, spend like sailors, and find from one day to the next that they’ve maxed out on their credit cards and must cut back on their lifestyle and even long-term investments like their children’s education. Countries are similar. Nations that don’t save sufficiently and finance investment with borrowing from abroad can suffer catastrophes when … [Read more...] about When Too Much External Borrowing to Finance Investment Gets Dangerous
Firms’ Productivity and Workers’ Wages
Does the productivity of your firm affect your pay? Standard microeconomic theory says no. Firms have no power over setting wages when markets are perfectly competitive. All they can do is hire as many workers as they need for each type of labor at their respective market wages. Clearly, this view runs contrary to popular perception. Some firms pay higher wages than others. In … [Read more...] about Firms’ Productivity and Workers’ Wages