Prices and Exchange Rates: A Theory of Disconnect

I present a sticky-wage model of exchange rate pass-through with heterogeneous producers and endogenous markups. The model shows that low levels of exchange rate pass-through to firm- and aggregate-level import prices coexist with large in trade flows. After an exchange rate shock, aggregate import prices are subject to a composition bias due to changes in the extensive margin of trade (the number of goods traded between countries). At the firm level, each producer adjusts its markups depending on its own productivity and the change in the competitive environment generated by the exchange rate movement. Firm-level price responses are asymmetric---different for appreciations and depreciations---and adjustments in the intensive margin of trade (firm-level exports) are substantial. In general equilibrium, the model shows that firm reallocations increase the persistence exogenous shocks.Exchange rate pass-through; Expenditure switching regime; Heterogenous firms; Endogenous markups

An introduction to financial and economic modeling for utility regulators

The most effective regulators in developing countriesare following remarkably similar approaches. The main common element across"best practice"countries is the use of relatively simple quantitative models of operators'behavior and constraints to measure the impact of regulatory decisions on some key financial and economic indicators of concern to the operators, the users, and the government. The authors provide an introduction to the design and use of these models. They draw on lessons from international experience in industrial and developing countries in ordinary or extraordinary revisions and in the context of contract renegotiations. Simplifying somewhat, these models force regulators to recognize that, in the long run, private operators need to at least cover their opportunity cost of capital, including the various types of risks specific to the country, the sector, or the projects with which they are involved. Because these variables change over time, scheduled revisions are needed to allow for adjustments in the key determinants of the rate of return of the operator. These revisions are a recognition of the fact that all these determinants-tariffs, subsidies, quality, investments, and other service obligations-are interrelated and jointly determine the rate of return. At every revision, the rules of the game for the regulator are exactly the same: to figure out the changes in the cost of capital and to adjust the variables driving the rate of return to ensure that it continues to be consistent with the cost of capital. If they can draw on reasonable data, these models do everything any financial model would do for the day-to-day management of a company but take a longer term view and include an explicit identification of the key regulatory instruments. They can monitor the consistency between cash flow generated by the business on the one hand and debt service and operational expense needs on the other to address the main concerns of the operators. They can also account for a large number of key policy factors including access and affordability concerns for various types of consumers. They generally account for the sensitivity of operators and users to various regulatory design options.Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Economic Theory&Research,Decentralization,Environmental Economics&Policies,Enterprise Development&Reform,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Financial Management

Life history traits and spatial patterns of five mid-size pelagic fish species of the Gulf of Cadiz

In the last decades, there has been an increasing interest on mid-size pelagic fish species (MSPFS) based on their economic and ecological importance in the marine ecosystems. The main goal of the present is to report novel information on the life history traits (size composition, reproductive aspects, condition status, age structure and growth) and spatial distribution (latitude, longitude and depth) of five MSPFS, belonging to the genus Scomber and Trachurus, in the Gulf of Cadiz shelf waters analyzing summer survey data (2007-2015). The main findings showed that their respective populations make a different use of the surveyed area, showing different population structures and reproductive and condition states. Scomber scombrus and Trachurus mediterraneus had the more restricted spatial distribution. It is hope that these new insights will contribute to the implementation of ecosystem-based approaches aimed to reach sustainable fisheries in the study area.Instituto Español de Oceanografía Universidad de Cádiz52 pgs + suplementary materia

La Puntilla Housing: Study in Low Rise - High Density Urban Housing. San Juan, Puerto Rico

This study focuses on the problems of urban housing, with special emphasis on low to middle income, high density - low rise solutions. The findings of the research of this thesis are incorporated into a design solution of a low rise - high density development in La Puntilla sector of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

Trade Costs and Job Flows: Evidence from Establishment-Level Data

We present evidence of the impact of input and output trade liberalization on establishment-level job flows. Using a longitudinal database containing the universe of manufacturing establishments in California from 1992 to 2004, we find that a decline in input or output trade costs causes job destruction in the least productive establishments, job creation in the most productive establishments, and an increase in the death likelihood of the least productive establishments. The evidence is consistent with predictions of models of trade with heterogeneous firms. We also show that input trade liberalization has larger effects on establishment-level job flows than output trade liberalization.Heterogeneous firms; Job flows; Trade costs

Existence as Economy and as Charity

Antonio Caso, “La existencia como economía y como caridad” (1916). Translated with Jose G. Rodriguez Jr. as “Existence as Economy and as Charity,” in 20th Century Mexican Philosophy: Essential Readings, eds. Carlos Alberto Sánchez and Robert Eli Sanchez, Jr. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017)