Case Study: Impacts of trade liberalization on poverty and inequality in Argentina: policy insights from a non-parametric CGE Microsimulation analysis

This paper studies the economic, poverty, and income inequality impacts of both world and domestic trade reform in Argentina, with a special focus on export taxes. Argentina offers an interesting case study as the only large agricultural exporter that has, at many points in its history, applied export taxes to several of its agricultural products. The paper combines results from a global economy-wide model (World Bank?s LINKAGE model), a national CGE model, and microsimulations. The results suggest that full liberalization of world trade (including subsidies and import taxes, but not export taxes), both for agricultural and non-agricultural goods, reduces poverty and inequality in Argentina. However, if only agricultural goods are included, indicators for poverty and inequality do not improve and even deteriorate somewhat. This is particularly the case if export taxes are eliminated.Poverty; trade liberalization; agricultural policy; Argentina; export taxes.

Demand methods of price management: An empirical research

One factor which companies often take as a reference point for their pricing decisions is demand. This, however, is often done only partially, with priority being given to quantitative factors rather than qualitative factors. In this context, the aim of this study was to supply companies with a tool to facilitate and enhance price management in areas related to demand. In order to achieve this objective, the following procedure was implemented. Firstly, an extensive review of existing literature was carried out. This has made it possible to identify a set of factors which can influence consumer behaviour with respect to prices, and which should therefore be taken into account when making pricing decisions. The factors identified were then grouped into several categories (variables related to price, variables related to the product, variables related to the characteristics and the behaviour of the consumer, and variables related to the context of the purchase), in order to offer an overall, linked view. An empirical study was then carried out, interviewing price managers in a selection of companies from Andalusia (Spain). The objective was to gather data on their methods of price management, and to evaluate the practical usefulness of the sets of factors identified. The results of the study have made it possible to draw some interesting conclusions on price management. One of these is the importance which companies attach to pricing decisions. These decisions were taken in all cases by higher management teams. However, on analysing the factors which intervene in pricing decisions, it has been observed that their number is limited. In general, cost is still the major factor, while demandrelated aspects, in particular qualitative aspects, play a secondary role. On investigating the reasons for the priority given to quantitative rather than qualitative data, interviewees basically gave two answers. On the one hand, quantitative information (costs and sales) is easier to obtain, use and interpret than qualitative information (motivation, perception and attitude). On the other hand, most companies, and in particular the smaller ones, have no budget available for qualitative market studies. There may be a third reason for this behaviour, which was not explicitly mentioned at first by interviewees. This is the lack of knowledge regarding qualitative demand factors: their nature, their meaning, their usefulness and the way in which they can be incorporated into pricing decisions. This study is a first step towards solving this deficiency, since it proposes a chart which contains numerous restrictions in an integrated, organised fashion. Logically, it would be impractical to take them all into account simultaneously. This is where the work of each company begins, using market studies to establish priorities between the different factors

Entre el proceso constituyente y la revolución ciudadana: el movimiento indígena ecuatoriano en la encrucijada

El movimiento indígena ecuatoriano constituye un referente paradigmático de la lucha de los pueblos originarios y las culturas ancestrales a escala global. Una prueba de su importancia es la Constitución de 2088, que define al Estado como plurinacional e intercul-tural. Esta definición supone el reconocimiento de los pueblos indígenas como nuevos sujetos sociales, y una reformulación del modelo de ciudadanía. Sin embargo, cinco años después del Proceso Constituyente, el movimiento indí-gena se encuentra sumido en una importante crisis. Este trabajo se centra en el análisis de las causas que determinan la crisis actual, y en particular en las políticas que desde el gobierno y desde el movimiento político Alianza PAIS tienen como objetivo la desactivación del mo-vimiento indígena, la deslegitimación de sus líderes y la pérdida de la autonomía territorial, así como en las estrategias desplegadas por el propio movimiento para hacer frente a esta agresión.The indigenous movement of Ecuador has been a shining example of the battle of original peoples and ancestral cultures on a global scale. The most relevant of their achievements was the definition of Ecuador as an intercultural and plurinational State, incor-porated in the 2008 Constitution. This definition entails the recognition of indigenous peoples as new social subjects. However, five years before the new Constitution, the indigenous move-ment is submerged in a deep crisis. On the one hand, this paper is aimed to throw new light on the governmental policies directed to under-mine the indigenous movement and to delegit-imize their leaders, and, on the other, it is fo-cused on the strategies of the movement to confront the present situation

Cambio climático y consumo energético en un instituto de educación secundaria

Esta comunicación presenta un trabajo de investigación realizado por alumnos de tercer curso de la ESO sobre el consumo energético de un Instituto de Educación Secundaria de Madrid, mediante el análisis de las luces que permanecen encendidas innecesariamente y las temperaturas de las aulas. También incluye un trabajo de concienciación y difusión sobre los compañeros y el profesorado, a través de la realización de cortos, videos y charlas. Se completa con la distribución y estudio de un cuestionario a todos los alumnos del centro para determinar sus conocimientos, interés y participación activa en la lucha contra el cambio climático. Se ha conseguido reducir el consumo energético del centro y concienciar a parte de su población