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.

Impacts of Trade Liberalization on Poverty and Inequality in Argentina

Using the most recent estimates of agricultural price distortions, this chapter studies the economic, poverty, and income inequality impacts of both global 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 chapter combines results from a global economy-wide model (World Bank’s Linkage model), a national CGE model, and microsimulations. The results suggest that 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. The chapter discusses the possible reasons for those results, offers some caveats, and suggests some lines for further research.Distorted incentives, agricultural and trade policy reforms, national agricultural development, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, F13, F14, Q17, Q18,

Aid, service delivery, and the millennium development goals in an economy-wide framework

In many developing countries, achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 will require significant increases in expenditures on social services and in foreign assistance. It will also require careful planning of the sector allocation and sequencing of public spending. Especially for low-income countries, the challenges of the MDGs cannot be well understood unless sector issues are seen in the context of constraints at the macro level and in labor markets. To help countries analyze policies aimed at making progress toward the goals, the World Bank has developed a new tool, the Maquette for MDG Simulations (MAMS). Its originality is to fully integrate government services and their impact on the economy within an otherwise standard economy-wide dynamic framework. In comparison with existing approaches, MAMS offers three main advantages. First, the representation of the production of government services - such as health or education - takes into account demandas well as supply factors and the efficiency of these services. It also allows for interactions across the goals, and between the goals and economic growth. Second, it shows how scaling up these services has economy-wide impacts that may change resource allocation in the non-government sector and relative prices, including the unit cost of government services. Third, it shows the tradeoffs across time, including the relative costs and benefits, of front-loading expenditures versus back-loading. The present paper describes the basic features of MAMS and provides an illustration of its applicability for Ethiopia.Economic Theory&Research,,Population Policies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Banks&Banking Reform

Process of definition and development of the Haitian-Dominican borderland

The borderline that currently divides the island of Hispaniola has undergone a complicated process of definition. Since colonial times, central authorities have claimed the area while contradictorily ignoring the societies that developed in the region. It was not until the first decades of the twentieth century that the two countries were officially divided and a borderline was enforced. The massacre of approximately 15,000 Haitians ordered by the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo in 1937 is the event that brought attention to the border nationalization process. In my research I argue that the conflict between the two countries had both an economic and a racial base and that the closure and definition of the border was intended to separate two societies perceived as different by the Dominican authorities, but that in reality constituted a bicultural world

The Skin We Live in:Pigmentation Traits and Tanning Behaviour in British Young Adults, an Observational and Genetically-Informed Study

Skin cancer incidence has been increasing worldwide, representing a particularly high burden for populations of European ancestry. Outdoor and indoor tanning using ultraviolet (UV) radiation devices are major risk factors for skin cancer. While tanning behaviours can be modified by targeted interventions to reduce skin cancer rates, there is insufficient evidence on the motivations for tanning preferences and their relationship with pigmentation phenotypes. The present observational and genetically-informed study investigates motives for tanning and the role that pigmentation phenotypes play on outdoor and indoor tanning behaviour in British young adults. This study included 3722 participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children in South West England, with data on pigmentation features, tanning ability and preferences, and SNP genotypes. Liking to tan and outdoor tanning were strongly influenced by pigmentary traits and tanning ability. However, the association of these phenotypes with UV indoor tanning was weaker. Our results provide evidence to support the implementation of skin cancer preventative interventions that consider individual biological characteristics and motives for undergoing outdoor and indoor tanning

El autocontrol como base para el cumplimiento de los objetivos corporativos

El autocontrol no se enseña, este se desarrolla en todas las etapas de la vida. Aunque la persona en l organización de llevar a cabo el desarrollo y liderazgo del autocontrol en la empresa en cada una de las funciones con el fin de cumplir y alcanzar la misión, visión y objetivos de la organización. El autocontrol no se debe desarrollar únicamente en la actividades, también es importante para abstenerse de realizar actividades indebidas o realizar actividades que molesten a las personas que nos rodean. Si un Jefe no tuvo control de su estrés, puede maltratar a sus subalternos y el ambiente laboral no será el más adecuado, las personas se desmotivan y no van a responder con sus tareas a cabalidad y con la calidad pertinente que requiere cada actividad. En la investigación realizada se observó que esta situación perturba de manera clara el cumplimiento de los objetivos corporativos, por consiguiente, esta serie de situaciones y circunstancias se convertirán en un obstáculo, dificultando de manera determinante la consecución y desarrollo normal de la gestión y el cumplimiento de las metas

Variantes genéticas asociadas con la vitamina D en la población brasileña: investigación de potenciales instrumentos para aleatorización mendeliana

Introduction. Vitamin D is required for bone and mineral metabolism, and participates in the regulation of the immune response. It has also been linked to a number of chronic diseases and conditions, usually in populations of European descent. A high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency has been reported in Brazil, despite the widespread availability of sunlight in the country. Thus, it is important to investigate the role of vitamin D as a risk factor for disease and to establish causal relationships between vitamin D levels and health-related outcomes in the Brazilian population.Objective. To examine genetic variants identified as strong determinants of serum vitamin D in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of Europeans and check whether the same associations are present in Brazil. If so, these SNPs could be developed locally as proxies to use in genetically-informed causal inference methods, such as Mendelian randomization.Materials and methods. SNPs associated with vitamin D levels were extracted from the GWAS catalog. A literature search was then run to select papers ascertaining these variants and vitamin D concentrations in Brazil.Results. GC was the gene with the strongest association with vitamin D levels, in agreement with existing findings in Europeans. However, VDR was the most investigated gene, in spite of it not being associated with vitamin D in GWAS.Conclusions. More research is needed to validate sound proxies for vitamin D levels in Brazil, for example, prioritizing GC rather than VDR.Introducción. La vitamina D es necesaria para el metabolismo óseo y mineral, y participa en la regulación de la respuesta inmunitaria. También se la ha relacionado con enfermedades crónicas, normalmente en poblaciones europeas. En Brasil existe una elevada prevalencia de deficiencia e insuficiencia de vitamina D, a pesar de la amplia disponibilidad de luz solar. Por lo tanto, es importante investigar el papel de la vitamina D como factor de riesgo de enfermedades y establecer relaciones causales entre los niveles de vitamina D y los problemas de salud en la población brasileña.Objetivo. Examinar variantes genéticas fuertemente asociadas a la vitamina D sérica en estudios de asociación genómica (GWAS) de europeos y comprobar si las mismas asociaciones estaban presentes en Brasil. De ser así, estos SNP podrían utilizarse como proxies en métodos de inferencia causal, tales como la aleatorización mendeliana.Materiales y métodos. SNPs asociados con los niveles de vitamina D fueron extraídos del catálogo de GWAS. Luego se realizó una búsqueda bibliográfica para identificar artículos que evaluaran estos SNPs y la concentración de vitamina D en Brasil.Resultados. GC fue el gen más fuertemente asociado con los niveles de vitamina D, en concordancia con los resultados existentes en europeos. Sin embargo, el gen VDR fue el más investigado, pese a no estar asociado con la vitamina D en GWAS.Conclusiones. Se necesita más investigación para validar proxies genéticos de los niveles de vitamina D en Brasil, y se recomienda priorizar GC en lugar de VDR

Public policies for the MDGs: the case of the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic (DR) has committed itself to work towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. Recent data indicate that the DR has made considerable progress on the MDGs but that an acceleration of efforts is needed for the country to reach all the goals.2 This chapter focuses on two key questions: Will the DR achieve all of the MDGs under current policies and trends? If not, what policy changes are needed to achieve the MDGs and at what cost? The second question incorporates alternative assumptions about the sources (domestic or foreign) of required additional government financing. We address these questions using MAMS (MAquette for MDG Simulations3), a dynamic-recursive computable general equilibrium (CGE) model for country strategy analysis, and a micro-simulation model. Such an economywide approach is needed given that the simulated policy changes have strong effects throughout the economy. Section 1 below provides background on the general economy and MDGs since 1990. Section 2 presents our methods and database, and Section 3 the simulations and an analysis of their results. Section 4 concludes with a summary of our main findings.Trabajo publicado en Vos, R.; Ganuza, E.; Lofgren, H.; Sánchez, M. V. y Diaz-Bonilla, C. (eds.). Políticas públicas para el desarrollo humano. UQBAR, Santiago, Chile.Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS