Collective Remittances and the State: The 3x1 Program in Mexican Municipalities

The Mexican 3x1 Program for Migrants is a matching fund scheme that seeks to direct the money sent by hometown associations abroad (collective remittances) to productive uses. The federal, state and municipal governments contribute to the program multiplying by three the contributions sent by migrants abroad. Using municipal level data on program participation for the period 2002-2006, we evaluate the program’s capacity to target the poorest municipalities. Since migration has a nonlinear relationship with poverty and marginality, a program that unconditionally responds to project initiatives from migrant organizations is bound to be regressive due to self-selection bias. Indeed, poorer municipalities are less likely to participate and they also receive lower amounts and fewer projects than relatively richer localities. Moreover, we find evidence of a partisan bias: states and municipalities ruled by the PAN are significantly more likely to participate in the program, and electoral support for the PAN is associated with more funds or projects awarded. We argue that substantial changes should be implemented for the program to be a truly progressive poverty reduction tool.Latin American Studie

Bayesian learning about policies

Tesis doctoral inédita. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Derecho. Departamento de Ciencia Política y de la Administración, fechade lectura marzo 200

Sentimientos antipartidistas en el cono sur: un estudio exploratorio

RESUMEN: Este ensayo tiene como objetivo analizar las actitudes hacia los partidos políticos en tres democracias en pleno proceso de consolidación de sus instituciones. Más concretamente, se trata de averiguar si los partidos políticos en Uruguay, Chile y Argentina gozan o no de aceptación entre la ciudadanía y por ende, de legitimidad para guiar ese proceso de consolidación. Mediante la construcción de un índice de sentimientos hacia los partidos se explora, por un lado, la relación entre estos sentimientos y actitudes más generales hacia el régimen político y, por otro, el posible origen histórico y sociodemográfico de esos sentimientos más o menos entusiastas. Mientras que los partidos son ampliamente aceptados en Uruguay y Argentina, lo son menos en Chile donde además el régimen democrático es más cuestionado y la apatía y desinterés ciudadana más extendidaABSTRACT: This essay analyses the attitudes towards political parties in airee democracies currently facing a process of institutional consolidation. I explore whether political parties in Uruguay, Chile and Argentina have the legitimacy to guide this process by studying their acceptance among the citizenship. I build an índex of sentiments towards political parties and I explore, first, the relationship between these sentiments and more general attitudes towards the political regime and, second, the possible historical and sociodemografic origins of more or less enthusiastic patterns. Parties are highly valued in Uruguay and Argentina and considerably less valued in Chile, where attitudes towards the political regime are also more ambivalent and political apathy more extended

Sentimientos antipartidistas en el cono sur: un estudio exploratorio

[ES] Este ensayo tiene como objetivo analizar las actitudes hacia los partidos políticos en tres democracias en pleno proceso de consolidación de sus instituciones. Más concretamente, se trata de averiguar si los partidos políticos en Uruguay, Chile y Argentina gozan o no de aceptación entre la ciudadanía y por ende, de legitimidad para guiar ese proceso de consolidación. Mediante la construcción de un índice de sentimientos hacia los partidos se explora, por un lado, la relación entre estos sentimientos y actitudes más generales hacia el régimen político y, por otro, el posible origen histórico y sociodemográfico de esos sentimientos más o menos entusiastas. Mientras que los partidos son ampliamente aceptados en Uruguay y Argentina, lo son menos en Chile donde además el régimen democrático es más cuestionado y la apatía y desinterés ciudadana más extendida[EN] This essay analyses the attitudes towards political parties in airee democracies currently facing a process of institutional consolidation. I explore whether political parties in Uruguay, Chile and Argentina have the legitimacy to guide this process by studying their acceptance among the citizenship. I build an índex of sentiments towards political parties and I explore, first, the relationship between these sentiments and more general attitudes towards the political regime and, second, the possible historical and sociodemografic origins of more or less enthusiastic patterns. Parties are highly valued in Uruguay and Argentina and considerably less valued in Chile, where attitudes towards the political regime are also more ambivalent and political apathy more extended

Learning, political regimes and the liberalisation of trade

In this article, the probability of opening to trade is related to a country's propensity to learn from other countries in its region. It is argued that countries have different motivations to learn, depending upon the responsiveness and accountability of their political regimes. Whereas democracies cannot afford to be dogmatic, authoritarian regimes are less motivated to learn from the experience of others, even if they embrace policies that fail. Using data on trade liberalisation for 57 developing countries in the period 1970–1999, it is found that democracies confronting economic crises are more likely to liberalise trade as a result of learning; among democracies, presidential systems seem to learn more, whereas personalist dictatorial regimes are the most resistant to learning from the experience of others