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on Central and South America |
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Issue of 2021‒04‒26
seven papers chosen by |
| By: | Alejandra Abufhele; Dante Contreras; Esteban Puentes; Amanda Telias; Natalia Valdebenito |
| Abstract: | Empirical evidence shows that lack of resources during infancy and the process of accumulating disadvantages throughout childhood have important consequences in cognitive and socio-emotional development. This paper examines socioeconomic gradients across cognitive and socio-emotional measures. Using longitudinal data from a 7 year - 3 wave panel data, we study the patterns of socioeconomic status and child development in Chile and estimate how much of the wealth gap can be explained by different mediators like maternal educational and skills, child attendance to preschool and school, possession of books, or violence indicators at home. We show strong associations between household wealth and child development, and as the child grows, the gap between the most extreme quintiles of the distribution, both in cognitive and socio-emotional skills remains, but decreases in magnitude. Taking advantage of the longitudinal nature of the data, we calculate a permanent skill for each child and each skill dimension in this 7-year period. The analysis for the permanent component shows that wealth gaps are important to determine cognitive ability but not socioemotional skills. While mediators account for some of the associations, there is still a large socioeconomic gap that persists in cognitive skills among children. By understanding the dynamism of social and cognitive vulnerability experienced during childhood and employing longitudinal data and methods, this study contributes to and extends the existing literature on socioeconomic gaps and child development in the context of Latin American. |
| Date: | 2020–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:udc:wpaper:wp509&r= |
| By: | Roberto à lvarez; Miguel A. González; Jaime Ruiz-Tagle |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses migratory wage gaps in Chile taking into account differences in their characteristics in order to improve the comparability between groups. Using data from the Chilean National Socioeconomic Characterization Survey (CASEN) we employ a matching procedure developed by Nopo (2008) which allow to estimate a common support and the mean counterfactual wage for immigrants. It is found that immigrants tend to do better in labour markets, earning on average more than natives in both 2015 and 2017. The heterogeneity of the immigrant population is relevant as those from countries with high Afro-descendant or Hispanic population earn on average -16% than natives. Scarce time spent in the country is an important determinant of their insertion in local labour markets since it explain near 60% of the gap. In fact, more recent immigration from countries with high African/Hispanic population have tend to earn -26% less. This cannot be explained by time spent in the country alone, so some discrimination could be relevant. These claims are supported by the finding that immigrants of the same group, but with more than five years of residence, are still subject to occupational segregation |
| Date: | 2020–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:udc:wpaper:wp506&r= |
| By: | Delaporte, Isaure; Escobar, Julia; Peña, Werner |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the potential distributional consequences of the first phase of the COVID-19 lockdowns on poverty and labour income inequality in 20 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. We estimate the share of individuals that are potentially able to remain active under the lockdown by taking into account individuals' teleworking capacity but also whether their occupation is affected by legal workplace closures or mobility restrictions. Furthermore, we compare the shares under the formal (de jure) lockdown policies assuming perfect compliance with the shares under de facto lockdowns where there is some degree of non-compliance. We then estimate individuals' potential labour income losses and examine changes in poverty and labour income inequality. We find an increase in poverty and labour income inequality in most of the LAC countries due to social distancing; however, the observed changes are lower under de facto lockdowns, revealing the potential role of non-compliance as a coping strategy during the lockdowns. Social distancing measures have led to an increase in inequality both between and within countries. Lastly, we show that most of the dispersion in the labour income loss across countries is explained by the sectoral/occupational employment structure of the economies. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19,Social Distancing,Compliance,Employment,Poverty,Labour Income Inequality |
| JEL: | D33 E24 J21 J31 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:682pre&r= |
| By: | de Souza Maia, Vinícius; Beluzo, Carlos Eduardo; Carlos, Bianca Cechetto; Arruda, Natália Martins; Alves, Luciana Correia |
| Abstract: | Background: Malaria continues to be one of the most relevant infectious diseases in Brazil and globally, with over 150.000 cases in 2019 alone. Due to high P. vivax prevalence and P. falciparum elimination goals, the Brazilian Malaria Elimination Program placed a high priority on timely treatment. Cases in the country are concentrated in the Legal Amazon region, with diagnosis and treatment provided for free by the government through its public health system, but many relevant questions about heterogeneity in risk and access to treatment remain. Methods: We use data from the Malaria Epidemiological Surveillance System, maintained by the Ministry of Health, from 2007-2019 to analyze factors that affect time to treatment of malaria in three distinct periods. We use Kaplan-Meier survival functions to estimate the interval between the appearance of first symptoms and beginning of treatment for several administrative, demographic, social and health variables. Results: Despite advances in malaria control over the last two decades, the program has not achieved its timely treatment goals in any of the periods analyzed. Malaria risk was highest among working-age adults, concentrated in a few high risk municipalities, autochthonously transmitted, in agriculture and domestic services, lower education, mid to low levels of parasitaemia, brown, indigenous and black populations and males. The main parasite is P. vivax and the majority of cases is still passively detected. Time-to-treatment was lower when they were detected actively, had lower levels of schooling, were not pregnant or past the 2nd trimester, between 0 and 14 years of age, worked in agriculture, had low parasite counts, were infected with P. falciparum, were indigenous people and lived in high risk municipalities. Conclusions: Differences in access to treatment were small if compared to differences in risk of acquiring malaria in the first place, but active case detection, municipal risk and race showed significant differences and potential avenues for intervention. |
| Date: | 2021–04–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:zec7y&r= |
| By: | Cristian Bonavida Foschiatti; Leonardo Gasparini |
| Abstract: | Estimaciones e Implicancias en Tiempos de Cuarentena En este estudio evaluamos la viabilidad del trabajo remoto en Argentina combinando datos sobre características de las ocupaciones de O*NET con información de empleo de la EPH. Las ocupaciones menos compatibles con el teletrabajo están caracterizadas por una mayor proporción de trabajadores informales y cuentapropistas, con niveles de educación, calificación y salarios más bajos. Mediante una simulación de ingresos sencilla se estima que los efectos negativos de corto plazo de un aislamiento obligatorio estricto serían mayores en los estratos de menores recursos, lo que implicaría un aumento significativo de la pobreza y la desigualdad de ingresos en el país. |
| Keywords: | trabajo remoto, empleo, cuarentena, covid |
| JEL: | J2 I3 |
| Date: | 2020–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aep:anales:4349&r=all |
| By: | Luis Marcelo Florensa; Pedro Esteban Moncarz |
| Abstract: | Latin America has historically been a region not very open to international trade. However, since the early 1990s, a change in trend has been observed, although it was not homogeneous neither it took place at a similar pace when comparing among countries in the region. In this paper, we estimate and compare the effects that different preferential trade integration strategies have had on consumer welfare, through changes in the prices of the goods and services consumed. Three channels are identified, changes in unit values, and in the quality and variety of the goods that are consumed. For the six countries analyzed here, which correspond to the region's main economies, the results show differences in the effects, both in terms of their magnitude and the channel through which they materialized. Argentina is the worst performer, while Mexico is at the opposite end. Except for Chile, countries that followed a more aggressive integration policy show better results. |
| Keywords: | trade integration, welfare, Latin America |
| JEL: | F14 F15 F6 |
| Date: | 2020–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aep:anales:4377&r=all |
| By: | Jaqueline Oliveira; Bruno Palialol, Paula Pereda |
| Abstract: | The relationship between temperature and agriculture outcomes in Brazil has been widely explored, overlooking that most of the country's labor force is employed in nonagriculture sectors. We use monthly individual-level panel data spanning January 2015 to December 2016 to ask whether temperature shocks impact non-agriculture wages in formal labor markets. Our results show that a 1oC shock increases wages where climate are colder, but reduces wages where climate are hotter. We calculate that wages fall 0.42% on average, an income loss equivalent to 0.06% of GDP annually. Assuming future temperatures rise uniformly by 2oC, and that no adaptation occurs, we expect annual income losses five times larger. The heterogeneous effects we find also suggest that weather vulnerability may deepen existing income inequalities. |
| Keywords: | temperature shocks; labor productivity; nominal wage exibility; non-agriculture sector; formal labor markets |
| JEL: | C23 J24 Q54 |
| Date: | 2021–04–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2021wpecon13&r=all |