Do procurement rules impact infrastructure investment efficiency ? an empirical analysis of inversao das fases in Sao Paulo state

As a means to reduce delays in public works implementation, a number of Brazilian states have recently reformed their procurement rules allowing contractor price proposals to be assessed before the technical evaluation of submitted bids is undertaken (in a procedure known as inversao das fases). In order to evaluate the effects of such reform, this paper adopts a difference-in-differences methodology to compare the procurement performance of Sao Paulo state (a reformer state) and Minas Gerais'(a non-reformer state) largest water and sewage utility along three efficiency dimensions: (i) procurement process duration; (ii) likelihood of complaint resolution litigation; and (iii) prices paid to contractors. The analysis finds that the reform is associated with a 24 day reduction in the duration of procurement processes for large projects and a 7 percentage point drop in the likelihood of court challenges irrespective of project size. Although both effects are economically important, only the latter is statistical significant. Finally, the paper finds no evidence of an effect of the procurement reform on prices paid.Government Procurement,E-Business,Public Sector Corruption&Anticorruption Measures,Contract Law,Investment and Investment Climate

The Persistence of (Subnational) Fortune

Abstract Using subnational historical data, this paper establishes the within country persistence of economic activity in the New World over the last half millennium, a period including the trauma of the European colonization, the decimation of the native populations, and the imposition of potentially growth inhibiting institutions. We construct a data set incorporating measures of pre-colonial population density, new measures of present regional per capita income and population, and a comprehensive set of locational fundamentals. These fundamentals are shown to have explanatory power: native populations throughout the hemisphere were found in more livable and productive places. We then show that high pre-colonial density areas tend to be dense today: population agglomerations persist. The data and historical evidence suggest this is due partly to locational fundamentals, but also to classic agglomeration effects: colonialists established settlements near existing native populations for reasons of labor, trade, knowledge and defense. The paper then shows that high density (historically prosperous) areas also tend to have higher incomes today, and largely due to agglomeration effects: fortune persists for the United States and most of Latin America. JEL: J1, N9, R1, O1, O4

Analisi economica delle fondazioni

Il lavoro analizza il ruolo economico delle fondazioni da diversi punti di vista. Innanzitutto, collega l'esistenza delle fondazioni al fenomeno delle private charities, considerando alcune spiegazioni economiche del perché gli individui effettuano donazioni. In secondo luogo, il ruolo delle fondazioni è considerato nel quadro analitico della teoria dell'impresa. Vengono riassunte alcune delle più comuni spiegazioni teoriche, concludendo che tale ruolo è ambiguo, anche con riguardo alla fornitura di beni in sostituzione al pubblico. Si considera a questo proposito il caso di studio della fornitura di assistenza sanitaria. Si avanzano infine alcune conclusioni sul ruolo delle fondazioni nel contesto della "crisi" dello stato sociale. Infine, si suggeriscono alcuni principi generali che possono migliorare la "governance" delle fondazioni in Itali

OPTIMAL INVARIANT INFERENCE WHEN THE NUMBER OF INSTRUMENTS IS LARGE

This paper studies the asymptotic behavior of a Gaussian linear instrumental variables model in which the number of instruments diverges with the sample size. Asymptotic efficiency bounds are obtained for rotation invariant inference procedures and are shown to be attainable by procedures based on the limited information maximum likelihood estimator. The bounds are obtained by characterizing the limiting experiment associated with the model induced by the rotation invariance restriction.

Por um Brasil mais seguro: uma análise da dinâmica do crime e da violência

Quais são os fatores que estão determinando o declínio da criminalidade nos últimos anos no Brasil? Por que a criminalidade violenta estádiminuindo em alguns Estados enquanto cresce em outros? Que tipos de intervenção podem ajudar a reduzir a violência, sobretudo entre osjovens? Com o objetivo de encontrar respostas a estas perguntas, este estudo estima a correlação entre seis fatores socioeconômicos de riscoe as mudanças nas taxas de homicídio no período de 1997 a 2008. Conclui-se que o declínio na média nacional durante a última décadaestá fortemente correlacionado à redução do grupo de jovens do sexo masculino entre 15 e 19 anos, à diminuição da desigualdade e, emmenor extensão, à queda na taxa de evasão no ensino médio público. Analisando de forma mais detalhada a experiência bem-sucedidado Sudeste, o estudo identifica algumas intervenções promissoras, como o policiamento orientado para resultados, o controle de armas e doconsumo de álcool,entre outras políticas norteadas por estratégias integradas de segurança pública subnacionais.A análise apresenta aindaconclusões originais sobre o impacto, na criminalidade violenta, das transferências condicionais de renda (TCRs) para educação

Making Entrepreneurs: Returns to Training Youth in Hard Versus Soft Business Skills

We study the medium-term impacts of the Skills for Effective Entrepreneurship Development (SEED) program, an innovative in-residence 3-week mini-MBA program for high school students modeled after western business school curricula and adapted to the Ugandan context. The program featured two separate treatments: the hard-skills MBA features a mix of approximately 75% hard skills and 25% soft skills; the soft skills curriculum has the reverse mix. Using data on 4400 youth from a nationally representative sample in a 3-arm field experiment in Uganda, the 3.5 year follow-up demonstrated that training was effective in improving both hard and soft skills, but only soft skills were directly linked to improvements in self-efficacy, persuasion, and negotiation. The skill upgrade was rewarded in substantially higher earnings; 32.1% and 29.8% increases in earnings for those who attended hard- and soft-training, respectively, most of which, was generated through self-employment. Furthermore, youth in both groups were more likely to start enterprises and more successful in ensuring their businesses' survival. The program led to significantly larger profits (24.2% and 27.2% for hard- and soft- treatment arms respectively) and larger business capital investments (38.4% and 32.6% for SEED hard and SEED soft, respectively). Both SEED curricula were very cost-effective; two months worth of the extra earnings caused by the training alone would exceed the cost of the program. These benefits abstract from the job- and business-creation benefits of the program, which were substantial: relative to the control group, SEED entrepreneurs created 985 additional jobs and 550 new businesses

Making Entrepreneurs: Returns to Training Youth in Hard Versus Soft Business Skills

We study the medium-term impacts of the Skills for Effective Entrepreneurship Development (SEED) program, an innovative in-residence 3-week mini-MBA program for high school students modeled after western business school curricula and adapted to the Ugandan context. The program featured two separate treatments: the hard-skills MBA features a mix of approximately 75% hard skills and 25% soft skills; the soft skills curriculum has the reverse mix. Using data on 4400 youth from a nationally representative sample in a 3-arm field experiment in Uganda, the 3.5 year follow-up demonstrated that training was effective in improving both hard and soft skills, but only soft skills were directly linked to improvements in self-efficacy, persuasion, and negotiation. The skill upgrade was rewarded in substantially higher earnings; 32.1% and 29.8% increases in earnings for those who attended hard- and soft-training, respectively, most of which, was generated through self-employment. Furthermore, youth in both groups were more likely to start enterprises and more successful in ensuring their businesses' survival. The program led to significantly larger profits (24.2% and 27.2% for hard- and soft- treatment arms respectively) and larger business capital investments (38.4% and 32.6% for SEED hard and SEED soft, respectively). Both SEED curricula were very cost-effective; two months worth of the extra earnings caused by the training alone would exceed the cost of the program. These benefits abstract from the job- and business-creation benefits of the program, which were substantial: relative to the control group, SEED entrepreneurs created 985 additional jobs and 550 new businesses