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on Central and South America |
| By: | Campbell, Gareth; Gallagher, Ã ine; Grossman, Richard |
| Abstract: | Substantial amounts of British capital flowed to Latin America during the first era of globalisation. Companies financed by this capital were typically headquartered in the UK, but operated thousands of miles away. This paper asks how this geographic separation between governance and business activities affected the valuation of these firms. We find that the location of the headquarters played a more important role than the location of operations. Stock prices tended to fluctuate in line with other equities based in the UK, suggesting that they were still regarded as being, at least partially, British companies. |
| Keywords: | Emerging markets |
| JEL: | F21 F54 F65 G11 G12 G15 G51 N16 N26 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:19799 |
| By: | Marino, Maria (Universitat de Barcelona); Ramos, Xavier (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona); Turati, Riccardo (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between intergenerational social mobility, migration aspirations, and participation in political demonstrations. Using individual-level data from the Latinobarómetro between 2002 and 2023, we show that individuals experiencing negative intergenerational educational mobility are more likely to express a desire to migrate and to participate into peaceful protests, whereas those with positive mobility exhibit the opposite pattern. Our analysis further suggests that the decision to migrate and to protest may be shaped by a common underlying decision process. Finally, we find that confidence in political institutions and positive economic expectations substantially mitigate expressions of social discontent in the form of migration aspirations and protest participation. Overall, the results indicate that unequal opportunities across generations are an important determinant of both migration intentions and political engagement. |
| Keywords: | social mobility, protest, migration |
| JEL: | D74 J61 J62 O15 F22 |
| Date: | 2026–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18789 |
| By: | Britto, Diogo; Hsu Rocha, Roberto; Pinotti, Paolo; Sampaio, Breno |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effect of having a child on parents' criminal behavior using rich administrative data from Brazil. Fathers' criminal activity increases sharply by up to 10\% during the pregnancy period, and by up to 30\% two years after birth, while mothers experience only a transitory decline in criminal activity around childbirth. The effect on fathers lasts for at least six years and can explain at least 5\% of the overall male crime rate. Domestic violence within the family also increases after childbirth. The generalized increase in fathers' crime stands in sharp contrast with previous evidence from developed countries, where childbirth is associated with significant and enduring declines in criminal behavior by both parents. Our findings can be explained by the costs of parenthood and the prevalence of poverty among newly formed Brazilian families. Consistent with this explanation, we provide novel evidence that access to maternity benefits largely offsets the increase in crime by fathers after childbirth. |
| Keywords: | Crime; Parenthood |
| JEL: | D10 J13 K42 H5 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:19649 |
| By: | Inés Berniell (CEDLAS-IIE-FCE-UNLP); Raquel Fernández (NYU) |
| Abstract: | Female labor force participation (LFP) and fertility have evolved jointly across Latin America, with participation rising as fertility declined over the last two decades. This paper studies the extent to which changes in fertility can account for increases in women’s labor supply in the five largest economies in the region as well as in the US. Defining three groups based solely on the presence of children under age 6, under age 13, and no children under age 13, we find that in all countries changes in labor supply within groups overwhelmingly dominate the compositional shifts induced by declining fertility. When we further disaggregate women into groups by their education in addition to the age of their children, the changing composition of the population becomes more important and the increase in LFP is mostly driven by more educated women without children under age 13, reflecting increases in both their participation and population share. |
| JEL: | J13 J16 J21 |
| Date: | 2026–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dls:wpaper:0379 |
| By: | Busso, Matías; Messina, Julián; Quigua, Juliana |
| Abstract: | This study examines whether information about corruption and tax evasion changes perceived unfairness in the income distribution, perceived inequality of opportunity, and support for specific redistributive policies. Using a survey experiment administered in eight Latin American countries, we find that factual information about public corruption and elite tax evasion increases perceptions of unfairness and unequal opportunity. It also increases support for taxing rich households relative to middle-class households. However, these effects do not extend to broader tax-financed redistribution: respondents do not become more supportive of raising corporate taxes, broadening the personal income tax, or increasing the VAT to finance social spending, nor do they become more supportive of expanding conditional cash transfers or non-contributory pensions through higher taxes. The results are consistent with trust limiting the translation of inequality concerns into support for broader tax-financed redistribution: the treatments increased perceived elite influence over government policy and reduced some measures of trust in public officials and firms. |
| JEL: | D31 H21 H26 D73 |
| Date: | 2026–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:14661 |
| By: | Vilá, Joan (IECON, Universidad de la República); Bergolo, Marcelo (IECON, Universidad de la República); Cruces, Guillermo (University of Nottingham) |
| Abstract: | Standard welfare evaluations of means-tested transfers typically focus on households directly exposed to eligibility enforcement. We show that this approach misses important spillovers when enforcement events transmit information through workplace networks. We study Uruguay’s AFAM-PE conditional cash transfer, where income eligibility is monitored monthly using administrative records of formal earnings, but many beneficiaries have limited knowledge of the income rule. Linking program records, social security data, and firm identifiers, we construct workplace networks and estimate spillovers using a fuzzy RD design around the income threshold. Coworkers of peers just above the cutoff reduce registered labor earnings by 20%; the fuzzy RD estimate implies a decline of about one-third of baseline earnings following a peer’s suspension. The response is persistent, operates mainly through formal employment, and largely reflects transitions to informal work. Spillovers are stronger in small firms, among similar coworkers, and when peers contact the support service. Incorporating these indirect responses lowers the estimated MVPF from 0.53 to 0.36. |
| Keywords: | social assistance, income-testing, enforcement spillovers, peer effects, workplace networks, informality, MVPF |
| JEL: | H53 H75 I38 J13 J22 J46 O17 |
| Date: | 2026–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18785 |