nep-lam New Economics Papers
on Central and South America
Issue of 2025–06–23
three papers chosen by
Maximo Rossi, Universidad de la RepÃúºblica


  1. Spreading Jam Across the National Toast: Royalties and Local Fiscal Capacities By Álvarez, Andrés; Castañeda, Brigitte; Hofstetter Gascón, Marc
  2. The Impact of Crime Perception on Public Transport Demand: Evidence from Six Latin American Capitals By De Martini, Santiago; Gonzalez, Juan B.; Perez-Vincent, Santiago M.
  3. Women Political Leaders as Agents of Environmental Change By Inés Berniell; Mariana Marchionni; Julián Pedrazzi; Mariana Viollaz

  1. By: Álvarez, Andrés (Universidad de los Andes); Castañeda, Brigitte (Universidad de los Andes); Hofstetter Gascón, Marc (Universidad de los Andes)
    Abstract: How do subnational tax collection efforts respond to windfall revenues from natural resource royalties? Conversely, what are the fiscal implications when these revenues decline? This paper investigates the effects of Colombia’s 2012 reform, which substantially restructured the allocation of mining royalties among municipalities. By analyzing this legal shift, we assess changes in municipal tax collection behavior. Municipalities that experienced a reduction in royalties intensified their tax collection efforts; however, these efforts did not fully offset the revenue losses. In contrast, municipalities that benefited from increased royalties reduced their tax collection activities, resulting in no net change in overall municipal income. These findings contribute to the literature on the resource curse by offering a subnational perspective on the fiscal dynamics of resource windfalls
    Keywords: Taxes; royalties; resource curse.
    JEL: H71 H72 H83 P11
    Date: 2025–06–16
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000089:021389
  2. By: De Martini, Santiago; Gonzalez, Juan B.; Perez-Vincent, Santiago M.
    Abstract: Public urban transportation systems are essential for mitigating climate change, leading policymakers to intensify efforts to boost ridership. However, there is not much evidence showing up to what extent, in regions with high crime rates like Latin America, safety perception could limit these efforts. This paper studies the impact of crime and crime perception on public transport demand across six Latin American capitals. Using a sample of 5, 160 participants, we conduct three preregistered experiments to quantify the impact of crime on public transport choices and policy preferences. In the first experiment, we estimate the willingness to pay for safety by offering participants a choice between buses with varying crime rates and fares. We find that users place a substantial premium (51% of the current bus ticket) on safer transport options. The second experiment explores the substitution effect between private and public transport, revealing that higher crime rates diminish the likelihood of choosing public transport, even when offered at a reduced fare. The third experiment examines how crime perception influences public support for different transport policies. Our results show that a higher crime perception shifts support toward crime reduction initiatives at the expense of service efficiency and environmental policies. These results highlight the need for policies that integrate safety improvements to increase public transport ridership and contribute to climate change mitigation.
    Keywords: Public Transportation;Crime;environmental policy effectiveness;Experiments
    JEL: R41 R48 C91
    Date: 2025–06
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:14139
  3. By: Inés Berniell (CEDLAS-IIE-FCE-UNLP); Mariana Marchionni (CEDLAS-IIE-FCE-UNLP & CONICET); Julián Pedrazzi (CEDLAS-IIE-FCE-UNLP & CONICET); Mariana Viollaz (CEDLAS-IIE-FCE-UNLP)
    Abstract: This paper explores how female political leaders impact environmental outcomes and climate change policy actions using data from mixed-gender mayoral races in Brazil. Using a Regression Discontinuity design we find that, compared to male mayors, female mayors significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This effect is driven by a reduction in emissions intensity (CO2e/GDP) in the Land Use sector, without changes in municipal economic activity. Part of the reduction in emissions in the Land Use sector is attributable to a decline in deforestation. We examine potential mechanisms that could explain the positive environmental impact of narrowly electing a female mayor over a male counterpart and find that in Amazon municipalities, female elected mayors allocate more space to the environment in their government proposals and are more likely to invest in environmental initiatives. Differences in the enforcement of environmental regulations do not explain the results.
    JEL: J16 D72 Q54 Q56 Q58
    Date: 2028–06
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dls:wpaper:0351

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