Effects of the 2008-09 economic crisis on labor markets in Mexico

The 2008-09 economic crisis has had a long-lasting negative impact on the Mexican economy. This paper examines labor market dynamics in Mexico in light of the crisis. The labor market has been characterized in recent years by low relative unemployment, but high levels of informal jobs, low-growth, and almost stagnant real wages. In this context, the crisis destroyed a wide number of formal jobs, and even informal, increasing the unemployment rates to pre-crisis levels. Manufacturing was the sector that endured the largest job losses during the crisis and wages decreased for all sectors. The government of Mexico implemented a variety of programs to cope with the crises. However, these measures were too limited to counteract the large negative impact of the crisis on labor markets.Labor Markets,Labor Policies,Population Policies,Labor Standards,Economic Theory&Research

For Richer or For Poorer? Evidence from Indonesia, South Africa, Spain, and Venezuela

We analyze household income dynamics using longitudinal data from Indonesia, South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal), Spain and Venezuela. In all four countries, households with the lowest reported base-year income experienced the largest absolute income gains. This result is robust to reasonable amounts of measurement error in two of the countries. In three of the four countries, households with the lowest predicted base-year income experienced gains at least as large as their wealthier counterparts. Thus, with one exception, the empirical importance of cumulative advantage, poverty traps, and skill-biased technical change was no greater than structural or macroeconomic changes that favored initially poor households in these four countries

Income Mobility in Latin America

[Excerpt] In the last decades Latin American countries have experienced substantial macroeconomic instability. While the region as a whole experienced economic growth during most of the 1990’s and 2000’s, there were also years of stagnation as well as economic decline

Earnings Mobility in Argentina, Mexico, and Venezuela: Testing the Divergence of Earnings and the Symmetry of Mobility Hypotheses

This paper examines changes in individual earnings during positive and negative growth periods in three Latin American economies: Argentina, Mexico, and Venezuela. We ask whether those individuals who start in the best economic position are those who experience the largest earnings gains or the smallest earnings losses; this is the “divergent mobility” hypothesis. We also compare periods of positive economic growth with those of negative economic growth, asking whether those groups of individuals that experience large positive earnings gains when the economy is growing are the same as those that experience large earnings losses when the economy is contracting; this is the “symmetry of mobility” hypothesis. We find very occasional support for the divergent mobility hypothesis in scattered years in the cases of Mexico and Venezuela, and no support at all in the case of Argentina. Rather, earnings mobility is most frequently convergent or neutral in all three countries. As for the symmetry of mobility hypothesis, we find that it is rejected in most cases; rather, those groups that gain the most when the economy is growing are also the ones that gain the most when the economy is contracting. Furthermore, we explain how the absence of divergence is compatible with rising inequality in the countries under study

Evaluation of training for the unemployed in Mexico: learning by comparing methods

We evaluate the Mexican training program for the unemployed PROBECAT/SICAT using methods that control for observable and non-observable factors. Comparing the different results over time allows us to gauge the size and evolution of hidden bias. We also compute the average treatment effect and the treatment effect on the treated. Our approach reveals the evolution of the program’s selection mechanism and judges the consequences of its expansions and contractions. We find that the program has a small though significant effect on employability, but no effect on wages. The hidden bias is large but declines over time and the selection mechanism turns from negative to neutral. These two aspects seem to be related to an important structural change in the design of the program that took place during the period under evaluation. All these results lead us to conclude that a parametric method controlling for un-observables provides the most complete tool for evaluating this program

Evaluation of training for the unemployed in Mexico: learning by comparing methods

We evaluate the Mexican training program for the unemployed PROBECAT/SICAT using methods that control for observable and non-observable factors. Comparing the different results over time allows us to gauge the size and evolution of hidden bias. We also compute the average treatment effect and the treatment effect on the treated. Our approach reveals the evolution of the program’s selection mechanism and judges the consequences of its expansions and contractions. We find that the program has a small though significant effect on employability, but no effect on wages. The hidden bias is large but declines over time and the selection mechanism turns from negative to neutral. These two aspects seem to be related to an important structural change in the design of the program that took place during the period under evaluation. All these results lead us to conclude that a parametric method controlling for un-observables provides the most complete tool for evaluating this program

Gamma-Secretase Represents a Therapeutic Target for the Treatment of Invasive Glioma Mediated by the p75 Neurotrophin Receptor

The multifunctional signaling protein p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) is a central regulator and major contributor to the highly invasive nature of malignant gliomas. Here, we show that neurotrophin-dependent regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP) of p75NTR is required for p75NTR-mediated glioma invasion, and identify a previously unnamed process for targeted glioma therapy. Expression of cleavage-resistant chimeras of p75NTR or treatment of animals bearing p75NTR-positive intracranial tumors with clinically applicable γ-secretase inhibitors resulted in dramatically decreased glioma invasion and prolonged survival. Importantly, proteolytic processing of p75NTR was observed in p75NTR-positive patient tumor specimens and brain tumor initiating cells. This work highlights the importance of p75NTR as a therapeutic target, suggesting that γ-secretase inhibitors may have direct clinical application for the treatment of malignant glioma

Informal Employment in Latin America and the Caribbean: Causes, Consequences and Policy Recommendations

The expansion of the informal sector in the last decades has been accompanied by a lack of almost every form of social protection and low-productivity/low-wage employment. This report summarizes the characteristics of the informal sector and provides policy recommendations to tackle it. Section 2 illustrates the size and trend of the informal sector in the region. It also describes the employment and wage characteristics of informal workers. Sections 3 and 4 review the causes and consequences of informality. Finally, section five concludes and provides policy recommendations.

El empleo informal en América Latina y el Caribe: Causas, consecuencias y recomendaciones de política

La expansión del empleo informal en las últimas décadas ha venido acompañada por una falta de protección social y un empleo de baja productividad y bajos salarios. En este informe se resumen las características y los principales aspectos del sector informal en América Latina y el Caribe. En la sección 2 se ilustra el tamaño y la tendencia del sector informal en la región y se describen las características del empleo y los salarios de los trabajadores informales. En las secciones 3 y 4 se examinan las causas y las consecuencias de la informalidad. Por último, en la sección 5 se presentan las conclusiones y recomendaciones de política.