104 research outputs found

    Revisiting Economic Growth in Colombia: A Microeconomic Perspective

    Get PDF
    This paper revisits economic growth in Colombia using the growth diagnostics methodology proposed by Hausmann, Rodrik and Velasco (2005), to identify the most binding constraints for economic growth and the policies that, if implemented, can have the largest positive impact. To rank public policy priorities the HRV (2005) methodological approach is complemented with an econometric analysis of micro-data, aimed at exploring the impact that the various potential constraints to growth have had on firm-level investment decisions. The data shows economic reactivation in areas with falling violence. Results from analysis at the microeconomic level, however, give a particular spin to this conclusion by showing that investment decisions at the firm level are also explained by the restoration of some form of public order connected to the cessation of paramilitary violence and not only by the reduction of violence. From a public policy perspective, perhaps the most relevant result is the confirmation that in Colombia investment decisions are negatively affected by the cost of financing. Empirical results, robust across model specifications, single out the provision of access to financing at fair prices as a policy priority for economic growth, relevant across country regions and independent of whether uncertainties from poor protection to property rights are resolved.

    Politics, Policies and the Dynamics of Aggregate Productivity in Colombia

    Full text link
    This paper describes private actors involvement in Colombias policymaking process. While more transparent and formal channels are used to discuss horizontal policies, they are also less effective. The adoption of targeted policies, however, follows a faster track and depends more on political power than on those policies potential as engines for productivity growth. Data targeted policies and political characteristics across sector-region units are used to further characterize the different groups weight in policymaking, and the effect of the implied unbalance on aggregate productivity. Electoral weight and being represented by business groups and associations are found to be important determinants of the policy benefits received by a sector in a region, especially when activities are located in regions affected by armed conflict. It is also found that the resulting imbalance of policies damages aggregate productivity

    Corporate Tax Stimulus and Investment in Colombia

    Full text link
    This paper uses a yearly dataset of plant-level investment in Colombian firms during the period 1997 to 2007 to assess the impact of a tax incentive for firms that invest in fixed assets implemented in 2004. A positive and statistically significant correlation is found between the boom observed in investment and the adoption of the tax policy. However, the correlation vanishes when year-specific effects are controlled for. This result is robust to changes in the empirical specification, changes in estimation techniques, the inclusion of additional controls, and changes in the data set, among other tests. Overall, it is concluded that the tax stimulus analyzed was ineffective in promoting investment in Colombia

    Middle-Class Entrepreneurs and Social Mobility through Entrepreneurship in Colombia

    Full text link
    The paper uses microeconomic data to characterize entrepreneurs by income group and selected household, individual and business characteristics, finding that entrepreneurship is rare but more frequent in the upper class than the middle or lower classes. Middle-class entrepreneurs are, on average, better off than middle-class employees of similar characteristics but differ greatly from upper-class entrepreneurs in terms of educational attainment, the size of their businesses, and their outcomes. While entrepreneurs appear to have more income mobility than the average worker, this paper cannot establish whether this is true for middle-class entrepreneurs in particular, nor provide evidence to support the hypothesis that middle-class entrepreneurs activity is an engine for economic growth. Instead, the findings suggest that the types of businesses run by these entrepreneurs are characterized by low productivity. Consequently, policies to increase social mobility seem to hold greater promise for promoting higher productivity and welfare than policies encouraging entrepreneurship

    Credit, Labor Informality and Firm Performance in Colombia

    Full text link
    This paper explores the links between labor formality, access to credit and firm performance in Colombia using Annual Manufacturing Survey data for the period 2000-2009. A significant though small relationship is found between access to credit and informality. The results suggest that a 10 percent increase in the ratio of credit to sectoral output increases labor formality between 0. 76 and 1. 14 percentage points. This effect vanishes as a firms financial constraint increases. The paper also reports a strong correlation between labor formality and firm performance measured as output and employment growth. A one percentage point increase in labor formality is associated with an 8. 5 percent increase in output and an 11 percent increase in employment growth

    Frecuencia y distribucion de cancer oral en el Hospital Regional de Talca y Hospital Base de Curico entre los años 1991 y 1992

    Get PDF
    96 p.Se realizó un estudio descriptivo de cáncer oral en el Hospital Regional de Talca y Hospital Base de Curico entre los anos 1991 a 2002. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar la frecuencia y distribución de los casos de cáncer oral diagnosticados en dichos establecimientos. Un total de 75 casos de cáncer oral fueron diagnosticados; siendo el genero masculino el mas afectado, con 58 casos (77%) que el genero femenino, con 17 casos (23%), la proporcion hombre-mujer fue de 3.4:1. El grupo etareo mas afectado por cáncer oral fue el de 61 a 80 altos de edad (56%). La localización mas frecuente de los casos de cáncer oral fue el labio (33%), seguido por el paladar (22%) y la lengua (16%). El tipo histológico mas común fue el carcinoma espinocelular, con un 74% del total de las neoplasias orales. Los casos de cáncer oral representaron el 1.8% del total de las neoplasias malignas del organismo. Seria importante aplicar en la región programas de prevención, pesquisa y diagnostico precoz, como parte del examen clínico realizado por Odontólogos y Médicos, sobre todo en personas mayores de 40 anos, con hábitos de tabaco y alcohol aumentados

    Higher levels of physical fitness are associated with a reduced risk of suffering sarcopenic obesity and better perceived health among elderly. The EXERNET multi-center study

    Full text link
    Objective: To evaluate the associations between physical fitness levels, health related quality of life (HRQoL) and sarcopenic obesity (SO) and to analyze the usefulness of several physical fitness tests as a screening tool for detecting elderly people with an increased risk of suffering SO. Design: Cross-sectional analysis of a population-based sample. Setting: Non-institutionalized Spanish elderly participating in the EXERNET multi-centre study. Participants: 2747 elderly subjects aged 65 and older. Measurements: Body weight, height and body mass index were evaluated in each subject. Body composition was measured by bioelectrical impedance. Four SO groups were created based on percentage of body fat and relative muscle mass; 1) normal group, 2) sarcopenic group, 3) obesity group and 4) SO group. Physical fitness was evaluated using 8 tests (balance, lower and upper body strength, lower and upper body flexibility, agility, walking speed and aerobic capacity). Three tertiles were created for each test based on the calculated scores. HRQoL was assessed using the EuroQol visual analogue scale. Results: Participants with SO showed lower physical fitness levels compared with normal subjects. Better balance, agility, and aerobic capacity were associated to a lower risk of suffering SO in the fittest men (odds ratio < 0.30). In women, better balance, walking speed, and aerobic capacity were associated to a lower risk of suffering SO in the fittest women (odds ratio < 0.21) Superior perceived health was associated with better physical fitness performance. Conclusions: Higher levels of physical fitness were associated with a reduced risk of suffering SO and better perceived health among elderly. SO elderly people have lower physical functional levels than healthy counterparts

    Secado de lúcuma (Pouteria obovata) empleando la técnica de Ventana RefractanteTM

    Get PDF
    Lucuma is a fruit that is experiencing a growing trend in commercial ground into flour for use in the food industry. This study aimed to obtain lucuma flour using the method of refractive window drying and evaluate the effect of the thickness of lucuma pulp and drying time on flour moisture and color. It was used a Composite Design Central Rotary (DCCR) with time between 10 and 50 min and the thickness between 1 and 3 mm. A fixed temperature of 95 °C and mylar film (metallized polyethylene terephthalate) as a refractory film of 0.1 mm was used. It was determined that the optimal conditions for lucuma flour (9.8% moisture) with this technique is when the thickness was 1.3 mm and with a time of 15 minutes; in these conditions, the effective diffusivity of water is 2.53 E-7 m2/s.La lúcuma es una fruta que experimenta una tendencia creciente a nivel comercial en forma de harina para su empleo en la industria alimentaria. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo obtener harina de lúcuma utilizando el método de secado por ventana refractante y evaluar el efecto del espesor de la pulpa de lúcuma y el tiempo de secado en la humedad y el color de la harina. Fue utilizado un Diseño Compuesto Central Rotable (DCCR) con el tiempo entre 10 y 50 min y el espesor entre 1 y 3 mm. Se empleó una temperatura fija de 95°C y lámina mylar (polietileno de tereftalato metalizado) como película refractante de 0,1 mm. Se determinó que las condiciones ideales para obtener harina de lúcuma (9,8% de humedad) con esta técnica se da cuando el espesor fue 1,3 mm y con un tiempo de 15 minutos; a estas condiciones la difusividad efectiva del agua es de 2,53E-7 m2/s

    Secado de lúcuma (Pouteria obovata) empleando la técnica de Ventana RefractanteTM

    Get PDF
    Lucuma is a fruit that is experiencing a growing trend in commercial ground into flour for use in the food industry. This study aimed to obtain lucuma flour using the method of refractive window drying and evaluate the effect of the thickness of lucuma pulp and drying time on flour moisture and color. It was used a Composite Design Central Rotary (DCCR) with time between 10 and 50 min and the thickness between 1 and 3 mm. A fixed temperature of 95 °C and mylar film (metallized polyethylene terephthalate) as a refractory film of 0.1 mm was used. It was determined that the optimal conditions for lucuma flour (9.8% moisture) with this technique is when the thickness was 1.3 mm and with a time of 15 minutes; in these conditions, the effective diffusivity of water is 2.53 E-7 m2/s.La lúcuma es una fruta que experimenta una tendencia creciente a nivel comercial en forma de harina para su empleo en la industria alimentaria. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo obtener harina de lúcuma utilizando el método de secado por ventana refractante y evaluar el efecto del espesor de la pulpa de lúcuma y el tiempo de secado en la humedad y el color de la harina. Fue utilizado un Diseño Compuesto Central Rotable (DCCR) con el tiempo entre 10 y 50 min y el espesor entre 1 y 3 mm. Se empleó una temperatura fija de 95°C y lámina mylar (polietileno de tereftalato metalizado) como película refractante de 0,1 mm. Se determinó que las condiciones ideales para obtener harina de lúcuma (9,8% de humedad) con esta técnica se da cuando el espesor fue 1,3 mm y con un tiempo de 15 minutos; a estas condiciones la difusividad efectiva del agua es de 2,53E-7 m2/s
    corecore