Informality and macroeconomic volatility : do credit constraints matter?

ABSTARCT: Hiding operations from tax collectors increases information asymmetries between borrowers and lenders and ultimately reduces firms' access to finance. However, credit-constrained entrepreneurs can still fund investment by paying it out of their own savings. This paper studies these implications of borrowing constraints characterizing the informal sector for macroeconomic volatility. To this end, the author develops a simple dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model featuring tax avoidance and evasion opportunities. In the model, registered production not only is the basis to determine tax liabilities, but also serves as collateral for securing debts. Such a framework allows for endogenization of the extent of undeclared activity, and for analyzing the effect of informality on aggregate fluctuations through computational experiments. These experiments show that the borrowing-constrained informal sector exerts a non-negligible influence on the cyclical volatility of consumption and investment. Some qualifications and extensions conclude this work

Macroeconomic implications of the underground sector : challenging the double business cycle approach

ABSTRACT: Within the literature on business cycles featuring shadow economic activities, there is an approach based on the arguable premise that fluctuations in the official and unofficial sectors are negatively correlated. The present paper develops a real business cycle model that does not impose such an assumption. To do so, preferences are characterized so that regular and irregular labor are additively separable. Furthermore, leisure time is spent on both irregular work effort and non-market activities. Simulations are conducted to examine the performance of the model economy and to compare the resulting cyclical features with related empirical findings. In addition, computational experiments allow to analyze the effects of different tax structures, enforcement rates and tastes for irregular labor on the volatility and comovements of aggregate variables. These simulations and experiments overall offer a more comprehensive view of the cyclical implications of the shadow economy

EFL teaching through english-practice work stations (EPWS) to enhance participation and interaction in english for third grade learners

Tesis (Pedagogía en Inglés)Teachers all over the world are constantly searching for new activities, new strategies and methodologies that can help them make their lessons more satisfying for their learners and making it possible to enhance their learning process as well as their results. This has become a titanic effort for those teachers who do not count on the amount of time necessary for their lesson planning and to design their activities. But there are numerous Internet websites or teachers on social networks that are willing to give and share ideas. While doing the previous research for this thesis the authors came across with Debbie Diller’s book “Literacy Work Stations: Making Centers Work” (2003), where she explains how Literacy Work Stations (henceforth, LWS) work. After reading vast information about this method, there are several aspects presented that are very similar to the one seen at pre-elementary school by two of the authors were this methodology consisted of working in stations during short periods and rotating between them, so learners can work on different subjects. The researchers think that this kind of methodology is the one that generated faster and deeper development of the four skills of the English language for the two of them. And so the main purpose of this research is to foresee its usefulness and to propose an innovative strategy to enhance participation and interaction, not only in Spanish but mainly in English, inside an English as a Foreign Language (henceforth, EFL) lesson. The topic of this research is related to the implementation of a different strategy in elementary grades called English-Practice Work Stations to enhance participation and interaction during EFL lessons

Informality, saving and wealth inequality in Colombia

ABSTRACT: The informal sector is an extensive phenomenon in developing countries. While some of its implications have drawn considerable attention in the literature, one relatively unexplored aspect has to do with the saving patterns of workers and firms and how these might influence aggregate savings and wealth inequality. This paper aims to fill that gap by examining both entrepreneurs’ and workers’ choices regarding whether to perform informally and regarding asset accumulation. Specifically, the paper builds an occupational choice model wherein saving is primarily motivated by precautionary considerations. The model features labor and capital market segmentation, and it is calibrated to replicate the saving rates, wealth inequality and composition of occupations across the formal and informal sectors of Colombia. Computational experiments additionally make it possible to analyze the effects of highly debated formalization policies on wealth redistribution and promotion of saving and entrepreneurship. Alternative frameworks are finally considered

On the Aggregate Implications of Removing Barriers to Formality

ABSTRACT: This article examines the aggregate implications of several policies aimed at removing barriers to formality. To this end, we build a dynamic equilibrium model in which heterogeneous agents choose to work for a wage or operate a technology in the formal or informal sector, based on the costs and benefits associated with these occupational choices. Formality entails compliance with taxes, a minimum wage scheme, and firm operation costs but has a productivity advantage stemming from access to external finance and legal enforcement mechanisms. Informal activities avoid taxes and regulations without detection or punishment. The simulation results suggest that eliminating formal operation fees leads to firm formalization, earnings redistribution, and increases in total factor productivity and welfare. In addition, eliminating the income tax reduces labor informality. These two policies, taken together, generate full formalization and gains in redistribution, efficiency, and welfare that are even greater than when all the barriers to formality are jointly removed. In contrast, eliminating the minimum wage has strong adverse effects on labor formalization and little impact on productivity. Elimi¬nating the payroll tax leaves the occupational composition nearly unchanged and productivity and welfare as well

Libro de producción audiovisual de formato documental

Pa'l monte es un corto documental que cuenta la historia de Francisco y Julio Acevedo, dos hermanos que después de 10 años de desplazamiento consiguen una sentencia de Restitución de Tierras, un programa del gobierno les promete que se garantice la seguridad, la vivienda y programas de educación con el fin de que se haga un retorno efectivo al campo. Sin embargo, casi 4 años después no han podido regresar a sus tierras.Pa'l monte it is a short documentary that counts the history of Francisco and Julio Acevedo, two brothers who after 10 years of displacement manage to enter the program of restitution of lands, a program of the government that promises them the safety guarantees, housing, and programs of education in order that they should do an effective return to the field. Nevertheless, almost 4 years later they could not have returned

Invisibilización de comunidades locales tras metodologías de jerarquización y evaluación de atractivos. Caso de estudio: comunas de Pichidegua, Larmahue y Litueche, Región del Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins, Chile

Este artículo aborda la influencia de la aplicación de metodologías que jerarquizan y evalúan atractivos turísticos, comprendiendo su relación con preceptos ecoturísticos. Se esbozan aquellas debilidades de la metodología CIRCATUR-OEA, y sus ambiciosas variables para la realidad chilena, lo cual puede ser extrapolado a países en desarrollo, que no disponen de capacidades para convocar turistas internacionales, lo que generaría una invisibilización de las comunidades locales. Esto limita el desarrollo turístico de zonas rurales deprimidas económicamente, que ven al turismo como posibilidad para surgir y perpetuar su patrimonio cultural y natural, pero que producto de metodologíasobsoletas, no se adecúan a estándares internacionales.Para esto se aplicó la metodología CIRCATUR-OEA en 3 comunas de la VI Región, con la finalidad de evaluar las variables y resultados obtenidos de la jerarquización de atractivos. Por otro lado, se recopilaron otras propuestas metodológicas que permitiesen contrastar diferencias entre los resultados obtenidos. Así, se identificaron variables que son sobreevaluadas y que por ende, restan importancia a los recursos turísticos que no poseen visitación internacional (principal parámetro que analiza CIRCATUR-OEA), impidiendo que potenciales atractivos se den a conocer y sean reconocidos debido a sus bajos puntajes.Los resultados tras la aplicación de ambas metodologías son los siguientes: en el caso de CIRCATUR-OEA, existen catorce atractivos con jerarquía 0 (menor importancia), nueve atractivos con jerarquía 1, tres atractivos con jerarquía 2 y tres atractivos potenciales con jerarquía 3 (mayor importancia). Por otro lado, la metodología propuesta da un total de 0 atractivos con jerarquía I (menorimportancia), 13 atractivos con jerarquía II, 14 atractivos con jerarquía III y 2 atractivos con jerarquía IV (mayor importancia).Palabras clave: ecoturismo, comunidades locales, jerarquización, evaluación, atractivos turístico

Propuesta para el manejo del flujo de datos a través de los procesos de mercadeo y servicio al cliente en el Centro Aeronáutico de Colombia LTDA, mediante tecnologías de bajo costo

Ingeniero (a) IndustrialPregrad

Condiciones técnicas para el crecimiento sostenible en la teoría económica : un análisis

RESUMEN: La teoría económica y sus modelos anteponen como condiciones para el crecimiento sostenible los rendimientos de escala, la sustitución entre factores productivos y el progreso tecnológico. En el presente trabajo se propugna por una revisión de tales condiciones, particularmente de la sustitución entre recursos naturales y capital construido por el hombre y del cambio técnico, acorde con el reconocimiento de la inevitable escasez física de los recursos, concomitante a las acciones del ser humano en un mundo regido por restricciones termodinámicas. Al respecto, se analiza el papel que dichas condiciones desempeñan en las teorías del crecimiento económico con recursos, a la vez que se indican sus limitaciones y objeciones desde una perspectiva biofísica. Finalmente, se efectúa una breve reflexión acerca de cuán inapropiadas son las representaciones teóricas de las actividades económicas para dar cuenta del crecimiento en presencia de recursos naturales que se agotan o degradan.ABSTRACT: Economic theory and its models point out returns to scale, substitution among productive factors and technological progress as conditions for sustainable growth. This work aims at a critical appraisal of these conditions, particularly the ones related to substitution between natural resources and man-made capital and technical change, by recognizing the inevitable physical scarcity of resources concomitant to the human actions in a world governed by thermodynamic restrictions. To do so, the role that the mentioned conditions play in the theories of economic growth with resources is analyzed, and its limitations and objections from a biophysical perspective are indicated as well. Finally, a brief considerations as to how in appropriate the theoretical representations of economic activities are to take account of growth in spite of resource exhaustion or degradation is carried out

Credit and saving constraints in general equilibrium : evidence from survey data

RESUMEN: En este documento, construimos un modelo de equilibrio general dinámico de agentes heterogéneos en el que las restricciones de ahorro interactúan con las restricciones de crédito. Las restricciones de ahorro en forma de costos fijos para usar el sistema financiero llevan a los hogares a buscar instrumentos de ahorro informales (efectivo) y a un menor ahorro agregado. Las restricciones crediticias inducen una mala asignación de capital entre los productores, lo que a su vez reduce el producto, la productividad y el rendimiento de los instrumentos financieros formales. Calibramos el modelo utilizando datos de encuestas de un país en desarrollo donde las restricciones informales de ahorro y crédito son generalizadas. Nuestros resultados cuantitativos sugieren que eliminar por completo las restricciones de ahorro y crédito puede tener grandes efectos sobre las tasas de ahorro, la producción, la PTF y el bienestar.ABSTRACT: In this paper, we build a heterogeneous agents-dynamic general equilibrium model wherein saving constraints interact with credit constraints. Saving constraints in the form of fixed costs to use the financial system lead households to seek informal saving instruments (cash) and result in lower aggregate saving. Credit constraints induce misallocation of capital across producers that in turn lowers output, productivity, and the return to formal financial instruments. We calibrate the model using survey data from a developing country where informal saving and credit constraints are pervasive. Our quantitative results suggest that completely removing saving and credit constraints can have large effects on saving rates, output, TFP, and welfare. Moreover, we note that a sizable fraction of these gains can be more easily attained by a mix of moderate reforms that lower both types of frictions than by a strong reform on either front