Poverty impacts of increased openness and fiscal policies in a dollarized economy: a CGE-micro approach for Ecuador

We quantify the effects on poverty and income distribution in Ecuador of bilateral tradeliberalization with the US and a budget-neutral value added tax increase which seeks to compensatetariff revenue losses. We stress the study of fiscal policies that the government couldtap in order to compensate for tariff revenue loss. This is a very important issue for Ecuadorbecause this country adopted the US dollar as its currency in 2000, forgiving the use of importantpolicy instruments. To study these issues we combine a reduced-form micro householdincome and occupational choice model (using 2005/6 data from the Ecuadorian LSMS) with astandard single-country computable general equilibrium model (employing a 2004 SAM). Wefollow a sequential approach that simulates the full distributional impact of trade and tax policies.We find that the impact of these policy changes on extreme poverty and income distributionis small but positive.

Fiscal Policies and Increased Trade Openness: Poverty Impacts in Ecuador

This research quantifies the effects on poverty in Ecuador of bilateral trade liberalization with the U.S. and fiscal changes (value added tax and direct taxes) which seek to compensate tariff revenue losses, so that the government deficit remains constant. This is a very important issue for Ecuador because it adopted the U.S. dollar as its currency in 2000, forgoting the use of monetary and exchange rate policy instruments. This paper highlights labor market effects and fiscal policies as the main mechanisms through which trade impacts poverty. The paper combines a reduced-form micro household income and occupational choice model (using the 2005/6 Ecuadorian household survey) with a standard single-country computable general equilibrium model (employing a 2004 Social Accounting Matrix). A sequential approach that simulates the full income and distributional impact of trade and tax policies is followed. The impact of these policy changes on the economy is small. Indigence and income distribution effects are small but positive. There are mixed results on poverty. The best poverty reduction outcomes are attained when only direct taxes are used for making up tariff revenue losses and the worst when a flat VAT rate is employed, including the elimination of current VAT exemptions (mostly for agricultural goods). A key contribution of this research is to illustrate the significance for poverty of policy choices available to the government.Poverty, free trade agreement, fiscal policy, CGE, micro simulation

La transposición de la directiva de servicios en las entidades locales

Se exponen en este artículo las principales repercusiones sobre los entes locales de la transposición de la Directiva 123/2006, del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo, relativa a los Servicios en el Mercado Interior. Tanto las principales reformas normativas aprobadas por el Estado (Leyes de Libre Acceso, Ómnibus y Comercio) como las modificaciones pendientes de las ordenanzas locales son objeto de análisis, pero igualmente se pone de manifiesto la incidencia sobre la organización de la Administración municipal y sus procedimientos del cambio de cultura administrativa que plantea la norma europeaThis essay puts forth the main impacts of the Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal market on local governments. Our focus is on the analysis of the most important national statutory reforms (Acts on Free Access, omnibus and trade) and the future reform of municipal by-laws needed for the implementation of the European norm. It also examines the impact of the overall changes in the administrative mentality carried out by the new standards determined at European level on the municipal Administration and the municipal proceeding

Cinematic experiences and the digital moving image.

If the introduction of the digital into moving image production does not alter the cinematographic device, nor change any of the essential features of the cinema, then the production of digital moving images will not affect the essence of cinema. If any of the essential features of cinema are, in fact, superseded by the digital features of the moving image, they should be named as cinematic experiences, which are defined as moving image production, digitally mediated, that looks for its essence in the consciousness of movement and visual rhythms

Productive Development Policies in Costa Rica: Market Failures, Government Failures, and Policy Outcomes

This paper analyzes five Productive Development Policies (PDPs) implemented in Costa Rica, finding that they are not optimally addressing market failures. Moreover, government failures rather than market failures represent the main justification for PDPs. Even in the presence of market failures, the policy instruments applied are not necessarily the most economically efficient but rather the most politically feasible options. In addition, the lack of policy evaluation and monitoring prevents adjustments and corrections of such policies. Addressing the arguments for policy intervention and incorporating the results of evaluation into policy design and reform are necessary conditions for success. In spite of positive policy outcomes, limitations to enhance competitiveness and create the conditions for productivity growth are still present. An umbrella approach in the case of those PDPs that reinforce each other is necessary for productivity growth.Policy Analysis, Policy Making, Industrial Policy, Costa Rica

Diseño del canal de venta a través de Internet para la tienda de calzado MD

Muchos estudios recientes indican un incremento sustancial en el comercio electrónico en América Latina y el Caribe, y muy especialmente en el espacio B2C (Business-to-Customers, relaciones entre negocios y clientes). En el año 2008, las transacciones representaron cerca de USD$16.025 millones, y su crecimiento anual fue casi del 35%. En la región centroamericana, no existen tiendas en la Web que se especialicen en calzado para dama, por lo que una incursión a corto plazo permitiría obtener el liderazgo en el mercado. El aumento en la penetración de tarjetas de crédito internacionales en el sector femenino en la región, crea un mercado potencial de más de dos millones de personas. De estas, cerca del 60% estaría dispuesta a comprar zapatos a través de Internet. MD es la actual marca de tiendas orientadas a calzado de moda para mujeres entre 18 y 40 años, propiedad de Distribuciones Diversas, S.A. de C.V. El fundador, actual socio mayoritario y presidente es el Ingeniero Carlos Cabrera. Su hija, Amanda Cabrera, diseñó la imagen y estrategia actual de MD que la ha dado una muy buena posición en el mercado de calzado femenino, especialmente en países como Guatemala y El Salvador. MD.biz será una división de MD, que comercializará calzado a través de Internet, y estará dirigida hacia el mismo mercado objetivo. Operará a nivel de la región centroamericana, y estará establecida en las oficinas centrales de Distribuciones Diversas, S.A. de C.V., en El Salvador. Su misión será la de comercializar calzado y accesorios relacionados en Internet con un alto componente de moda, que cumplan con estándares de calidad, comodidad y diseño, para satisfacer las necesidades del mercado regional y ser reconocida como una empresa comprometida con sus clientes, empleados y accionistas, en los países que opera. MD.biz enfocará sus productos y estrategias de marketing a mujeres entre 23 y 40 años de edad, que tengan acceso a tarjetas de crédito, familiarizadas con el uso de Internet para hacer compras en línea y que residan en cualquier ciudad donde llegue el servicio de courier oficial en países de América Central (excepto Belice y Panamá)

The Journalist Discourse on Political Corruption. A Comparative Analysis of the SQM case in Chile and the Bárcenas case in Spain

Este artículo empírico analiza cualitativamente el tratamiento periodístico de la corrupción política en España y en Chile. Concretamente, se centra en el caso chileno “Soquimich” y en el caso español “Bárcenas”. Para ello, se compara el discurso noticioso de los diarios chilenos El Mercurio y La Tercera y de los periódicos españoles El País y El Mundo en relación a los siguientes ejes: 1) Rol de los personajes y caracterización de los mismos y 2) Estrategias discursivas subyacentes en el discurso mediático. Si bien existen diferencias en la cobertura noticiosa en ambos países, los resultados obtenidos permiten concluir que el tratamiento de la corrupción es simplificado e incompleto. Eso se debe a que los relatos analizados se focalizan en los “corruptos” sin cuestionar las verdaderas raíces de la corrupción.This empirical article analyzes qualitatively press coverage of political corruption in Spain and Chile. Specifically, the study focuses on the Chilean case “Soquimich” and in the Spanish case “Barcenas”. For this purpose, the news discourse of Chilean daily El Mercurio and La Tercera and Spanish newspapers El País and El Mundo were compared regarding the following axes: 1) Role of the characters and characterization of them and 2) Discursive strategies underlayed by the media discourse. While there are differences in news coverage of corruption in both countries, the results obtained indicate that treatment of corruption is simplified and incomplete. That is because the stories analyzed are focused on corrupt —the particular characters— without questioning the real roots of corruption

Neumonía grave de evolución tórpida en paciente joven con prueba molecular negativa para nuevo coronavirus: Severe pneumonia of torpid evolutión in a young patient with a negative molecular test for a new coronavirus

The coronavirus disease originated in the year 2019 (COVID-19), has spread rapidly throughout the world, wreaking havoc on the health system and society. We report the case of a 26-year-old man with a history of asthma and obesity, who returned from the US and went to the emergency room with respiratory symptoms, hypoxemia and interstitial infiltrate on chest radiography, he was admitted to the isolation room The nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR molecular test was negative, so he was transferred to a common emergency room. Initial management was conservative, however the patient evolved unfavorably requiring ventilatory support, but died on the fifth day of hospitalization. A second positive result for SARS-CoV-2 was received the day after the patient died, being one of the first young victims in Peru.La enfermedad por coronavirus originada en el año 2019 (COVID-19), se ha diseminado rápidamente en todo el mundo produciendo estragos en el sistema de salud y la sociedad. Se reporta el caso de un varón de 26 años de edad con antecedentes de asma y obesidad, que retornó de EE.UU y acudió a emergencia con síntomas respiratorios, hipoxemia e infiltrado intersticial en la radiografía de tórax, se decide internamiento en sala de aislamiento, la prueba molecular RT-PCR de hisopado nasofaríngeo resultó negativa, por lo que fue traslado a una sala de emergencia común. El manejo inicial fue conservador, sin embargo el paciente evolucionó desfavorablemente requiriendo soporte ventilatorio, pero fallece al quinto día de internamiento. Se recibió un segundo resultado positivo para SARS-CoV-2 al día siguiente de fallecido el paciente, siendo una de las primeras víctimas jóvenes en el Perú

Direct and inverse discrete Zernike transform

Contiene: 4 ilustraciones, 2 tablas y fórmulas.An invertible discrete Zernike transform, DZT is proposed and implemented. Three types of non-redundant samplings, random, hybrid (perturbed deterministic) and deterministic (spiral) are shown to provide completeness of the resulting sampled Zernike polynomial expansion. When completeness is guaranteed, then we can obtain an orthonormal basis, and hence the inversion only requires transposition of the matrix formed by the basis vectors (modes). The discrete Zernike modes are given for different sampling patterns and number of samples. The DZT has been implemented showing better performance, numerical stability and robustness than the standard Zernike expansion in numerical simulations. Non-redundant (critical) sampling along with an invertible transformation can be useful in a wide variety of applications.Supported by the Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología, Spain, under Grant FIS2008-00697. R. Rivera acknowledges support by Alban, the European Union Program of High Level Scholarships for Latin America, scholarship Nº E07D402088CL. - This paper was published in Optics Express, and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: ttp://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-17-26-24269. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law.Peer reviewe