MEASURING WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY IN DISCRETE CHOICE MODELS WITH SEMI- PARAMETRIC TECHNIQUES

It is usual to estimate willingness-to-pay in discrete choice models through Logit models –or their expanded versions-. Nevertheless, these models have very restrictive distributional assumptions. This paper is intended to examine the above mentioned issue and to propose an alternative estimation using semi-parametric techniques (through Simple Index Models). Furthermore, this paper introduces an empirical application of willingness-to-pay for improved subway travel times in the City of Buenos Aires.Discrete Choice models, Econometrics, Transportation

A primer of international migration: The Latin American experience and a proposal for a research agenda

Although the phenomenon of international migration has been around for a while, in the last decades there has been a world-wide resurgence of it, which is larger in scale, wider is scope and is frequently accompanied by large flows of monetary remittances. These tendencies have revived the debate in the academic and policy spheres over their potential social and economic consequences. In this paper we develop a ‘Primer’ that presents the ‘state of the art’ in the study of international migration and make special emphasis on how the Latin American experience fits in it. We first present an overview of migration patterns in the region and highlight the importance of the United States as the prime destination for Latin American migrants. We then develop the core of the paper which reviews the different theories that have been proposed in the academic literature for explaining both the determinants of migration and its potential impacts, particularly from the perspective of the source country. In the process, we accentuate the central role played by international remittances. Finally, based on the current knowledge frontier in the subject, we propose a research agenda in order to fill some of the current shortages in the analysis of migration in the region.Migration; Remittances; Latin America

Measuring Willingness-To-Pay in Discrete Choice Models with Semi- Parametric Techniques

It is usual to estimate willingness-to-pay in discrete choice models through Logit models –or their expanded versions-. Nevertheless, these models have very restrictive distributional assumptions. This paper is intended to examine the above- mentioned issue and to propose an alternative estimation using non-parametric techniques. Furthermore, this paper introduces an empirical application of willingness-to-pay for improved subway travel times in the City of Buenos Aires

A primer of international migration: The Latin American experience

Migration has recently taken an important place in the agenda of many governments around the world. But the phenomenon of international mobility of individuals is not new. Following Massey [2003], the modern history of international migration can be divided into four periods. During the mercantile period, from about 1500 to 1800, world immigration was dominated by flows out of Europe and stemmed from processes of colonization and economic growth under mercantile capitalism

Plugging gaps in professionalism education: a resident-generated curriculum

Background: Professionalism is often taught to residents and medical students in case-based sessions using faculty-developed curriculum and faculty-led discussion. Resident-generated curriculum has been rarely published. After professional misconduct by a faculty member and reports of unprofessional conduct by residents from internal surveys of medical students, we surveyed our internal medicine residents to ask about gaps in professionalism training and optimal venues for professionalism education. Purpose: To develop case-based discussions within the morning report structure for resident-led discussion on professionalism topics that were not addressed by our standard faculty-generated curriculum. Description: A paper-based 9 item survey was distributed to residents at an attendance-required educational conference. 39 residents returned the survey. The survey revealed that a significant number of residents had engaged in less than ideal standards of professionalism at some time and that many residents had observed unprofessional behavior among attendings. Based on the results of this survey, one of the authors (RM) wrote 7 clinical cases involving ethical or professional dilemmas faced by residents that were infrequently addressed in our program. Topics addressed in these scenarios included respect for patients (specifically use of disparaging comments or labels), placing patient care needs above individual physicians needs, working through conflicts with other admitting services, providing medical care to a family member or significant other, inter-professional relationships with consulting residents, appropriate means of dealing with non-compliant patients who frequently \u27bounce,\u27 patient ownership when one resident admits a patient to another team\u27s service, appropriate use of social media, and appropriate use of cut-and-paste function in the electronic health record. All of the scenarios also discussed responding to colleagues (including faculty) who were observed to engage in the unprofessional conduct highlighted in the case. Once per month instead of our usual morning report, one resident chose one or two cases of their choice and led discussion with residents and students. Faculty were invited to attend, but the chief resident requested that their input be restricted to posing questions instead of leading discusions. Over the course of twelve months, all cases were discussed at least once. Cases discussing respect for patients and appropriate use of social media were especially popular and chosen for over 50% of the sessions. Compared to our regular ethics conferences, these sessions were better attended and had more discussion by medical students. Conclusions: Resident-led discussion of resident-generated scenarios addressed perceived gaps in professionalism education in our internal medicine training program. Respect for patients and appropriate use of social media were the most frequently discussed topics.\u2

Predictive frequency-based sequence estimator for control of grid-tied converters under highly distorted conditions

This paper proposes a novel frequency-based predictive sequence extractor that allows to isolate the harmonic components of both voltages and currents needed for the control of grid-tied converters. The proposed method is based on a modification of the Sliding Goertzel Transformation (SGT) that allows to include a predictive behavior with a prediction horizon equal to the processing window needed for the algorithm. The technique performance is compared with the well-established DSOGI alternative, allowing for a higher bandwidth in the estimation as well as improved immunity to changes in the magnitude, frequency and phase of the tracked signals. Additionally, the impact of the proposed method on the closed-loop performance of the current controlled converter is proposed as a metric, thus enabling other researches to have a clear view about the expected real impact of the different existing methods

Limits, stability and disturbance rejection analysis of voltage control loop strategies for grid forming converters in DC and AC microgrids with high penetration of constant power loads

This paper extensively analyzes the operation limits, system stability and disturbance rejection capability of the voltage control loops used in master-slave AC and DC Microgrids (MGs). Two different control schemes are studied analytically, simulated and experimentally tested, focusing on Constant Power Loads (CPL). Additionally, the use of the virtual capacitance (VC) as a tool for response enhancement is introduced. The study pursues the proper selection of the controllers gains and minimization of capacitance values by considering the dynamic behavior