nep-lam New Economics Papers
on Central and South America
Issue of 2018‒10‒08
four papers chosen by



  1. Afro-descendants in Latin America By German Freire; Carolina Diaz-Bonilla; Steven Schwartz Orellana; Jorge Soler Lopez; Flavia Carbonari
  2. How Much Does Technology Affect the Management of Cities in Latin American and the Caribbean By Morgane De Halleux; Antonio Estache; Tomas Serebrisky
  3. The formation and take-off of the Sao Paulo automobile-industry cluster By Tomàs Fernández-de-Sevilla; Armando J Dalla Costa
  4. The Rich Underreport their Income: Assessing Bias in Inequality Estimates and Correction Methods using Linked Survey and Tax Data By Sean Higgins; Nora Lustig; Andrea Vigorito

  1. By: German Freire; Carolina Diaz-Bonilla; Steven Schwartz Orellana; Jorge Soler Lopez; Flavia Carbonari
    Keywords: Poverty Reduction - Social Development & Poverty Social Development - Crime and Society Social Development - Race in Society Social Development - Social Inclusion & Institutions Law and Development - Human Rights
    Date: 2018–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:30201&r=lam
  2. By: Morgane De Halleux; Antonio Estache; Tomas Serebrisky
    Abstract: The paper produces a new performance ranking of 27 cities in Latin American and the Caribbean based on a composite indicator of six broad policy dimensions reflecting the quality of city management. A correlation of the results with the information and communications technology (ICT) characterization of each city suggests that the fast growing digitalisation option are not yet influencing significantly urban management in the region. Whether this is due to technological constraints or to a lack of skills or political will is unclear.
    Keywords: Technology, cities, Latin America, Caribbean
    Date: 2018–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/277147&r=lam
  3. By: Tomàs Fernández-de-Sevilla (Free University of Brussels); Armando J Dalla Costa (Federal University of Paraná)
    Abstract: "The bulk of the automotive-industry in Brazil, country which is ranked in the top-ten of world cars producer since the mid-1960s, has been concentrated around the city of São Paulo. We aim to explain the formation and growth of the São Paulo auto-industry cluster. In doing so, four explanations are used: the presence of external economies (Marshall, 1890; Porter, 1990); the capabilities of large companies, which act as regional hubs (Chandler, 1990; Markusen, 1996; Lazonick, 2010); the adoption of active industrial policies (Amsden, 1989, 2001; Chang, 2002); and the institutional environment (Bagnasco, 1977; Brusco, 1982; Becattini, 1990; Porter, 1998)."
    Keywords: Industrial Districts and Clusters; Automotive Industry; External Economies; Large Companies; Active Industrial Policy; Institutions
    JEL: O14 O25 N66 N96
    Date: 2017–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehs:wpaper:17014&r=lam
  4. By: Sean Higgins (UC Berkeley); Nora Lustig (Tulane University); Andrea Vigorito (Instituto de Economía, FCEA, Universidad de la República (Uruguay))
    Abstract: Do survey respondents misreport their income? If so, how does misreporting correlate with income, how does this affect estimates of income inequality, and how well do existing methods correct for bias? We use a novel database in which a subsample of Uruguay's official household survey has been linked to tax records to document the extent and distribution of labor income underreporting and to assess the performance of various existing methods to correct inequality estimates. Individuals in the upper half of the income distribution tend to report less labor income in household surveys than those same individuals earn according to tax returns, and underreporting is increasing in income. Using simulations, we find that this leads to downward-biased inequality estimates. Correction methods that rely only on survey data barely affect the biased inequality estimates, while methods that combine survey and tax data can lead to over-correction and overestimation of inequality.
    Keywords: inequality; income underreporting; tax records; household surveys
    JEL: D31 C81
    Date: 2018–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tul:wpaper:1808&r=lam

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