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on Central and South America |
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Issue of 2022‒01‒10
three papers chosen by |
| By: | Pablo Blanchard (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Paula Carrasco (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Rodrigo Ceni (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Cecilia Parada (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Sofía Santín (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía) |
| Abstract: | The rise in inequality in developed countries returns to the political and economic spotlight wage policies and their implications for labor markets. In developing countries, however, wage policies are one of the main instruments chosen by governments to deal with inequality and poverty. This paper aims to assess the distributive and displacement effects of a wage policy featuring a coordinated collective wage bargaining scheme and a national minimum wage. We estimate the impact on wage distribution, job displacement, and employment of this wage policy, which consists of more than two hundred sectoral minimum wages and a national minimum wage. We find that the wage policy reduces inequality in the lower tail of the wage distribution for all formal workers and affects the right bottom for male workers. This distributive effect does not align with the significant deployment effect in the bottom sectoral distribution, and this small effect fades out when we consider the entrance of new workers. Finally, when we analyze the impact on the whole distribution, we observe that for those sectors with the more left wage distribution, we find a bigger displacement effect, but again if we assess the performance of the total employment, we find null impacts. |
| Keywords: | Wage policy, Collective bargaining, Minimum wage, Formal employment |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulr:wpaper:dt-26-21&r= |
| By: | Fernando Isabella (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Santiago Picasso (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Andrés Rius (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía) |
| Abstract: | The emergence of populist leaders has shown a sustained growth in the last decade. Much has been studied about its causes, but less is known about its consequences. The pandemic implies an almost synchronous and global exogenous shock, which allowed us to study the response of this type of government to a crisis. Thus, we wonder if the response of those countries ruled by populist leaders differed from that of their non-populist peers. To answer this question, we use two global data sources: one on populism and another on the policy response of countries to the pandemic. Using econometric panel data specifications, the data confirm our initial hypothesis of a weak response from these leaders to the initial shock of the pandemic. Our findings partially confirm some previous results; however, our evidence suggest that this response is not linear and could vary over time. This work is useful in two ways. In an empirical level, it is shown that populist rhetoric has consequences, beyond the discursive, in the way of carrying out public policies. In addition, it contributes to the conceptual discussion of the phenomenon of populism, validating its importance. |
| Keywords: | populism, pandemic, Covid-19, public policy |
| JEL: | I18 H11 H12 |
| Date: | 2021–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulr:wpaper:dt-28-21&r= |
| By: | Sonia Bhalotra; Emilia Brito; Damian Clarke; Pilar Larroulet; Francisco J. Pino |
| Abstract: | We leverage staggered implementation of lockdown across Chile's 346 municipalities, identifying dynamic impacts on domestic violence. Using administrative data, we find lockdown imposition increases indicators of distress related to domestic violence, while decreasing domestic violence reports to the police. We identify male job loss as a mechanism driving distress, and female job loss as driving decreased reporting. Stimulus payments to poor households act on both margins, their impacts partially differentiated by lockdown status. |
| Keywords: | Domestic violence, Social protection, COVID-19, Lockdown, Public health, Welfare impact |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2021-189&r= |