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on Central and South America |
| By: | Sebastián Katz (Central Bank of Argentina); Eduardo Levy-Yeyati (Universidad Torcuato Di Tella) |
| Abstract: | Based on long series of per capita GDPs, we characterize the economic divergence of Argentina in the 20th century relative to a group of countries with comparable initial income per capita. We find the divergence to be considerably longer than usually conjectured, with two marked tranches in the first half of the century and in the post war period, the latter being associated with GDP underperformance despite the relative decline in population. We identify specific dates for the inflection points, discuss the context in each case, and propose a potential explanation of the divergence together with a description of the highly volatile plateau displayed since the 1990s. |
| Keywords: | divergencia económica; PIB per cápita; desempeño económico; Argentina; crecimiento económico; volatilidad económica; siglo XX |
| JEL: | N10 N16 O40 O54 |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcr:wpaper:2024114 |
| By: | Matus-López, Mauricio |
| Abstract: | This article presents a scoping review of the scholarly literature on the historical, institutional, and economic evolution of the health systems of Chile, Uruguay, and Costa Rica. These three countries were selected due to their differing institutional trajectories—market-oriented (Chile), universal public (Costa Rica), and hybrid-transitioning (Uruguay)—as well as their shared current status of near-universal coverage and high human development. The review aimed to systematically map peer-reviewed publications to identify key institutions, landmark reforms, long-term quantitative indicators, and critical assessments of system performance. A structured search was conducted in Web of Science, Scopus, and SciELO using terms related to health systems, institutional development, financing, and the three countries. After removing duplicates and applying thematic and geographic filters, 42 articles were selected for full-text analysis. Findings show a disproportionate focus on Chile, reflecting its globally unique model of function separation and private insurance. Costa Rica's system is consistently framed around the centrality of the CCSS and its primary care reforms, though discussion of the private sector remains limited. In Uruguay, the 2007 reform establishing the Integrated National Health System (SNIS) receives positive coverage, while earlier periods remain underexplored. Across cases, available quantitative data is fragmented and short-term, limiting comparative and longitudinal analysis. Despite coverage gaps, the review confirms key trends identified in broader literature and underscores the need to incorporate non-indexed sources—such as national reports and historical monographs—to fully grasp the institutional evolution of Latin American health systems |
| Keywords: | health care; health systems; history; institutions; Chile; Uruguay, Costa Rica, Latin America |
| JEL: | I11 I14 I15 I18 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:124790 |
| By: | Claire Boone; Pablo A. Celhay; Paul Gertler; Tadeja Gracner |
| Abstract: | We study how preventive medical care use affects health behaviors and outcomes for patients with chronic diseases. Leveraging variation induced by a national appointment reminder program, rolled out across 315 public primary care clinics in Chile, we use an instrumental variables approach with patient-level administrative data from over 300, 000 patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension. We find that increased preventive visits lead to more screening tests and large increases in medication adherence. Preventive care also leads to earlier detection and treatment of cardiovascular complications: we document an increase in cardiovascular hospitalizations but a reduction in in-hospital mortality. |
| JEL: | I12 I18 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33738 |