|
on Central and South America |
|
Issue of 2007‒05‒19
five papers chosen by |
| By: | Alejandro Bedoya; Celeste González; Sergio Pernice; Jorge M.Streb; Alejo Czerwonko; Leandro Díaz Santillán |
| Abstract: | This document describes the construction of a database of corporate bonds issued by firms in Argentina between 1989 and 2005. The database draws on two main sources, the Bolsa de Comercio de Buenos Aires and the Comisión Nacional de Valores, while some additional information comes from the Mercado Abierto Electrónico. In all, we collected information on 1356 corporate bonds, though there are some bonds that have fields with missing information. Our data basically covers the characteristics of the bonds at time of issue. That is, we do not have a detailed description of how the characteristics of those corporate bonds that defaulted in 2001/2002 and were subsequently renegotiated changed. Based on the data from the primary markets, we constructed a series with the total outstanding stock of corporate bonds over this period. The information in the database allows to calculate these stocks at the firm level. |
| Keywords: | primary markets, corporate bonds, institutional framework |
| JEL: | G3 |
| Date: | 2007–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cem:doctra:344&r=lam |
| By: | Alejandro Bedoya; Roque Fernández; Celeste González; Sergio Pernice; Jorge M. Streb |
| Abstract: | We describe the evolution of three types of corporate securities in Argentina, namely, corporate bonds, asset-backed securities and deferred checks. Corporate bonds (obligaciones negociables) were legally authorized in 1988, and after a tax reform in 1991 they became an important financing vehicle. Asset backed securities (fideicomisos), legally created in 1995, have been issued since 1996. They typically bundle together small credits of a similar category. Deferred checks (cheques de pago diferido) exist since 1993, alongside standard checks. They can be negotiated on the exchange since 2003, and are akin to commercial paper. Corporate bonds have been overwhelmingly issued by large firms and banks, with an average issue size of 53 million dollars. Asset backed securities have an average value of 9 million dollars. Deferred checks are typically used by smaller firms, and those traded on the exchange of the Buenos Aires board of trade have an average value of 9 thousand dollars. |
| Keywords: | private securities, corporate bonds, asset-backed securities, deferred checks |
| JEL: | G3 |
| Date: | 2007–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cem:doctra:347&r=lam |
| By: | Roque B. Fernández; Sergio Pernice; Jorge M. Streb |
| Abstract: | Conventional theory leads to expect bonds to be a financing vehicle for large firms because of economies of scale and contracting costs. We find both in our econometric evidence for firms quoted on Latin American stock exchanges, and in our survey results for Argentina, that size of assets is a robust determinant of the use of bond finance. This result, together with the fact that there are few firms that are large in terms of market value, can help understand why Argentina, as well as Latin America, has small bond markets in terms of the ratio of the stock of bonds to GDP. Since firm value represents the present value of the cash flows against which the firm borrows, the outstanding stock of corporate bonds is as small as the size of Argentine firms. |
| Keywords: | debt structure, leverage, short term debt, corporate bonds, firm size, firm value |
| JEL: | G3 E6 |
| Date: | 2007–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cem:doctra:348&r=lam |
| By: | Rodrigo R. Soares (University of Maryland, Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, NBER and IZA) |
| Abstract: | This paper describes the pattern of reductions in mortality across Brazilian municipalities between 1970 and 2000, and analyzes its causes and consequences. It shows that, as in the international context, the relationship between income and life expectancy has shifted consistently in the recent past. But reductions in mortality within Brazil have been more homogeneously distributed than across countries. We use a compensating differentials approach to estimate the value of the observed reductions in mortality. The results suggest that gains in life expectancy had a welfare value equivalent to 39% of the growth in income per capita, being therefore responsible for 28% of the overall improvement in welfare. We then use a dynamic panel to conduct a preliminary assessment of the potential determinants of these gains. We show that improvements in education, access to water, and sanitation seem to be important determinants of the dimension of changes in life expectancy not correlated with income. |
| Keywords: | mortality, life expectancy, value of life, inequality, health |
| JEL: | I12 I31 I38 J17 O15 O54 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2771&r=lam |
| By: | Packard, Truman G. |
| Abstract: | The degree to which a labor market is segmented and jobs in the formal sector of the economy are rationed is critical to the analysis of coverage of social insurance and pensions. Using unique panel data spanning the 1998-99 contraction in Chile, the author finds little evidence that self-employment is the residual sector of a dualistic labor market, as is often depicted in the literature. Data on transitions between sectors show that self-employment is not a free-entry sector, and that entrepreneu rs can be " pushed " out of self-employment just as others are pushed out of formal employment during economic downturns. But employment without a contract does exhibit many of the features of the free-entry, employment safety net depicted in the dualistic literature. An annex to this paper presents supportive evidence from static analysis of selection-corrected wage differentials and a comment on the drawbacks of this approach. |
| Keywords: | Labor Markets,Labor Standards,Work & Working Conditions,Labor Management and Relations,Educational Policy and Planning |
| Date: | 2007–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4232&r=lam |