Winners and losers from utility privatization in Argentina : lessons from a general equilibrium model

The authors assess the macroeconomic and distributional effects of the privatization that Argentina began in 1989 in gas, electricity, telecommunications, and water and sanitation. Using a computable general equilibrium model, they track the effects of the changes observed between 1993, the first year by which all the major privatizations had taken place, and 1995, the most recent year for which data are available. In an innovative use of the model, they also assess the importance of the regulator in determining the distribution of gains and losses from utility privatization among sectors and income groups. They conclude that when regulators are effective, the annual gains from the private operation of utilities are about $3.3 billion, or 1.25 percent of GDP, and that all income classes benefit. Ineffective regulation cuts the gains from the reform by$1 billion or 0.35 percent of GDP. This cut in gains represents an implicit tax of 16 percent on the average consumer, paid directly to the owner of the utility rather than to the government. For the poorest income classes, thisimplicit tax is about 20 percent, meaning that good regulation is in the interest of the poor. The authors also show that the privatization of utilities cannot be blamed for the significant increase in unemployment observed in Argentina since 1993. Effective regulation can lead to a decline in unemployment, and ineffective regulation leads to only a small increase in unemployment. But the gains from utility privatization were not sufficient to offset the negative efficiency and distributional impact on the economy of the Tequila effect, which increased unemployment dramatically by limiting access to credit for users and producers alike.Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Labor Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Health Economics&Finance

Winners and Losers from Utility Privatization in Argentina. Lessons from a General Equilibrium Model

The economics rates of return for utility privatization projects in Argentina are very high, wheter or not distributional weights are considered. But there is a very high shadow price for regulatory activity, which tends to be ignored in most privatization exercises. And how serious a government is about the fair distribution of gains from reform is reflected in how serious it is about regulation.General Equilibrium Model; economics rates; utility privatization; regulatory activity

The livable city model

There is a lot of information about how to market a city but less about branding a place, especially for those located in depraved places. Models like Kavaratzis (2014), Kazancoglu and Dirsehan (2014), Metaxas (2010) or Anholt (2006) tried to explain the dynamics of some variables of the place but cannot define by themselves how to brand a city in places alike Latin-American countries. The aim of this paper is to propose a model called Livable City Model because there is a press-ing need to redefine place’s competitiveness and liveliness; if places don’t adjust its experience standards and offer better quality of life to stakeholders it can lead to city abandonment and ultimately face the scenario of necropolis. This model is based upon 4 pillars or sources of information like Government, Institutions, Academics and Citizens and its utility is set around deprived places that faces violence, extreme poverty or migration among other challenges. City branding should be a strategic approach to enhance troubled cities to compete in the global world

Liberalization of trade in services: A CGE analysis for Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay

In this paper we use two computable general equilibrium models to evaluate gains of liberalization of trade in services for Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. We employ two CGE models for the calculations. For the Argentine and Uruguayan cases, we apply a model built by the authors (see Chisari (2009)) based on the MPSGE. For Brazil, our study uses the GTAP model – adapted by Rutherford (2005) that also works on an MPSGE platform. We also consider two basic cases of liberalization of trade in services: 1) mobility of goods, in which there is mobility of services across borders, as it is the traditional case of exports and imports of goods, and 2) trade presence, that is location in the domestic country of new operators with a new technology for producing services. We estimate the gains from improvements in efficiency, quality and productivity of the industries of services, due to more intense competition in the domestic market as well as from reductions in the implicit mark up on domestic services due to barriers to trade. Quality advancements lead to gains in welfare of a similar order, or even higher than expected in the case of productivity improvements. To address the case of trade presence, a latent technology is defined in situ, operative or not depending on relative prices (its market share in the overall equilibrium of the economy is endogenous). This is especially relevant for the case of telecommunications. We also observe that: 1) the economy’s specific endowment of factors will limit the expected gains of the liberalization if the latent technology is unsuitable or incompatible with them, 2) governments can face some dilemmas regarding domestic market regulations, if the liberalization of trade in financial services called for a change in regulations so that the domestic demand for government bonds were to fall.Computable general equilibrium; liberalization of trade; trade in services

Effects of Copper and/or Cholesterol Overload on Mitochondrial Function in a Rat Model of Incipient Neurodegeneration

Copper (Cu) and cholesterol (Cho) are both associated with neurodegenerative illnesses in humans and animals models. We studied the effect in Wistar rats of oral supplementation with trace amounts of Cu (3 ppm) and/or Cho (2%) in drinking water for 2 months. Increased amounts of nonceruloplasmin-bound Cu were observed in plasma and brain hippocampus together with a higher concentration of ceruloplasmin in plasma, cortex, and hippocampus. Cu, Cho, and the combined treatment Cu + Cho were able to induce a higher Cho/phospholipid ratio in mitochondrial membranes with a simultaneous decrease in glutathione content. The concentration of cardiolipin decreased and that of peroxidation products, conjugated dienes and lipoperoxides, increased. Treatments including Cho produced rigidization in both the outer and inner mitochondrial membranes with a simultaneous increase in permeability. No significant increase in Cyt C leakage to the cytosol was observed except in the case of cortex from rats treated with Cu and Cho nor were there any significant changes in caspase-3 activity and the Bax/Bcl2 ratio. However, the Aβ(1–42)/(1–40) ratio was higher in cortex and hippocampus. These findings suggest an incipient neurodegenerative process induced by Cu or Cho that might be potentiated by the association of the two supplements.Fil: Arnal, Nathalie. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata "Prof. Dr. Rodolfo R. Brenner". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata ; ArgentinaFil: Castillo, Hector Omar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - la Plata. Centro de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares "Dr. Horacio Eugenio Cingolani". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Centro de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares "Dr. Horacio Eugenio Cingolani"; ArgentinaFil: Tacconi, Maria Josefa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata "Prof. Dr. Rodolfo R. Brenner". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata ; ArgentinaFil: Marra, Carlos Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata "Prof. Dr. Rodolfo R. Brenner". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata ; Argentin

Trade Balance Effects of Infrastructure Services Liberalization and of Their Regulation

During the 1990s, in most regions of the world, governments restructured their infrastructure sectors to facilitate some form of private participation in the operation and financing of the sector. These reforms, generally associated with other macroeconomic reforms which included the liberalization of international capital, goods and services flows have often initially produced significant flows of foreign direct investments flows to small countries. Overtime however they have also been associated with reversed flows, first of profits and later, as international financial crisis exploded, of capital repatriation that often put pressure on the service trade balances. These facts contribute to explain why trade in services are now at the top of the WTO agenda forum and point to the need to try to improve our understanding of the interactions between the privatisation of infrastructure monopolies and associated trade flows.Trade Balance; private participation; macroeconomic reforms

CARGILL HYBRID SEEDS MEXICO: A CASE STUDY

This case study focuses on the history of Cargill Hybrid Seeds Mexico, its position in the industry and the manner in which it had grown throughout time. Details on product, facility and personnel decisions give a feel for how the company was managed and how it succeeded in growing rapidly in the 1990s. The purpose of this case study is to provide an in-depth look into the Mexican Seed industry, with a particular focus on Cargill Seeds Mexico prior to its takeover by Monsanto. Additionally, the case study allows for the discussion of how to successfully merge similar companies, in this case, three companies that are accustomed to being competitors in the market. A discussion focusing on unique human resource difficulties that come from such a merger a setup.Agribusiness,