913 research outputs found
The Moving Middle: Migration, Place Premiums and Human Development in Bolivia
Over half of Bolivian heads of household are lifetime migrants. This paper looks at the long term impact of internal migration over human development in Bolivia. Three issues frame these effects. First, twenty five years of rural to urban migration have transformed the demographic profile of Bolivian society. The new middle third is younger, more bilingual and better educated, with more access to social services than in the past. The poorest of the poor, however, did not migrate to the extent of the non-poor. Second, urban workers make approximately four times as much wages as identical workers in rural areas, controlling for age, ethnicity, and years of schooling. Two caveats dampen this place premium effect: schooling quality and informal insurance mechanisms that make migration more costly. Third, increases in human development can be associated to an âurbanization dividendâ that made social services more accessible to first and second generation migrants over a twenty-five year period. Future increases in human development, however, are likely to depend on providing quality services and expanding socials services to the rural poor, rather on gains from urbanization. The key policy challenges of the future include both an expansion of services to the poorest of the poor in rural areas and breaking down discrimination barriers against women and indigenous people in urban labor markets.Migration, human development, poverty, employment, schooling
The Moving Middle: Migration, Place Premiums and Human Development in Bolivia
Over half of Bolivian heads of household are lifetime migrants. This paper looks at the long term impact of internal migration over human development in Bolivia. Three issues frame these effects. First, twenty five years of rural to urban migration have transformed the demographic profile of Bolivian society. The new middle third is younger, more bilingual and better educated, with more access to social services than in the past. The poorest of the poor, however, did not migrate to the extent of the non-poor. Second, urban workers make approximately four times as much wages as identical workers in rural areas, controlling for age, ethnicity, and years of schooling. Two caveats dampen this place premium effect: schooling quality and informal insurance mechanisms that make migration more costly. Third, increases in human development can be associated to an âurbanization dividendâ that made social services more accessible to first and second generation migrants over a twenty-five year period. Future increases in human development, however, are likely to depend on providing quality services and expanding socials services to the rural poor, rather on gains from urbanization. The key policy challenges of the future include both an expansion of services to the poorest of the poor in rural areas and breaking down discrimination barriers against women and indigenous people in urban labor markets.Migration, human development, poverty, employment, schooling
Human Development Trends since 1970: A Social Convergence Story
This paper uses a unique data set of the Human Development Index to describe long-run human development trends for 111 countries, from 1970 to 2005. The first part of the paper shows trends by region, period and index subcomponent. We find that 110 of the 111 countries show progress in their HDI levels over a 35-year period. HDI growth is fastest for low-HDI and middle-HDI countries in the pre-1990 period. The life-expectancy and education subcomponents grow faster than income. The assessment of HDI progress is sensitive to choice of measurement. The second part of the paper focuses on the differences between income and non-income determinants of human development. First, HDI growth converges, both absolutely and conditionally, when running HDI growth rates on initial levels of HD. Second, we find that the income and non-income components of HDI change have a near-zero correlation. Third, we look at determinants of the non-income components of the HDI. We find that income is not a significant determinant of HDI change once we include urbanization, fertility and female schooling. Fourth, we test the effects of institutions, geography and gender on HDI growth. We find that the most robust predictors of HDI growth are fertility and female schooling. We check this result using years of womenâs suffrage as an instrument for changes in gender relations, and find that it is a significant predictor of HDI progress for the whole sample.human development, education, health and demographic trends, cross-country comparisons, measurement and analysis of poverty
Transparency and Accountability in Bolivia: Does Voice Matter?
Using a survey of clients, doctors and nurses in thirty municipal hospitals, this study examines the scope and determinants of corruption in Bolivia`s public health sector. The authors find that `voice` mechanisms such as citizen activism and oversight are significant in exposing bribery and deterring the overpricing of medical supplies. The existence of `exit` options, such as recourse to private health service providers, additionally serves to deter corruption. Hierarchical controls, such as administrative regulations and procedures, seem to have little impact on hospital corruption, though further research is needed to verify this finding.
The Moving Middle: Migration, Place Premiums and Human Development in Bolivia
Over half of Bolivian heads of household are lifetime migrants. This paper looks at the long term
impact of internal migration over human development in Bolivia. Three issues frame these
effects. First, twenty five years of rural to urban migration have transformed the demographic
profile of Bolivian society. The new middle third is younger, more bilingual and better educated,
with more access to social services than in the past. The poorest of the poor, however, did not
migrate to the extent of the non-poor. Second, urban workers make approximately four times as
much wages as identical workers in rural areas, controlling for age, ethnicity, and years of
schooling. Two caveats dampen this place premium effect: schooling quality and informal
insurance mechanisms that make migration more costly. Third, increases in human development
can be associated to an âurbanization dividendâ that made social services more accessible to first
and second generation migrants over a twenty-five year period. Future increases in human
development, however, are likely to depend on providing quality services and expanding socials
services to the rural poor, rather on gains from urbanization. The key policy challenges of the
future include both an expansion of services to the poorest of the poor in rural areas and breaking
down discrimination barriers against women and indigenous people in urban labor markets
Pobreza y activos en Bolivia: Qué rol juega el capital social?
AnĂĄlisis recientes de la pobreza en Bolivia muestran que, a pesar de un ligero descenso en el porcentaje de la poblaciĂłn que vive en condiciones de pobreza a lo largo de la Ășltima dĂ©cada, el nĂșmero absoluto de hogares pobres continĂșa en ascenso (JimĂ©nez y Yañez 1997a y b; Vos et al. 1997; Banco Mundial 1996). El bajo nivel de crecimiento de los ingresos de los hogares mĂĄs pobres sugiere que los esfuerzos sostenidos por mantener niveles de crecimiento econĂłmico moderados e incrementar la eficiencia en la asignaciĂłn del gasto e inversiĂłn pĂșblica no han sido suficientes para revertir las condiciones de pobreza crĂłnica que caracterizan al paĂs. Los enfoques analĂticos que sostuvieron la aplicaciĂłn de polĂticas de crecimiento y redes de protecciĂłn en la regiĂłn tambiĂ©n se encuentran en un periodo de cuestionamiento y reformulaciĂłn. Perspectivas que enfatizaban la mediciĂłn de la pobreza por insuficiencia de ingresos o necesidades bĂĄsicas (Lipton y van der Gaag 1993; Boltvinik 1992), se encuentran interpelados por modelos alternativos que procuran analizar patrones de causalidad entre pobreza y el acceso a mercados de activos de capital humano, capital fĂsico (pĂșblico y privado) y capital social (Birdsall y Londoño 1997a y b; Moser 1998; Collier 1998). Este estudio procura contribuir al anĂĄlisis de la pobreza desde la perspectiva de recursos y activos, y describir los alcances de este enfoque aplicado al caso boliviano.
Fiscal Policy and Income Redistribution in Latin America: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom
Conventional wisdom states that fiscal policy redistributes little in Latin America. Lower tax revenues and, above all, lower and less progressive transfers have been identified as the main cause. Existing studies show that, while in Europe the distribution of all transfers combined (cash and in-kind) is egalitarian, the bulk of transfers in Latin America accrue to the upper quintile. Through an in-depth fiscal incidence analysis applied to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico and Peru we argue that conventional wisdom may be wrong. First, the extent and effectiveness of income redistribution and poverty reduction, revenue-collection, and spending patterns vary so significantly across countries that speaking of "Latin America" as a unity is misleading. The (after direct taxes and transfers) Gini, for example, declines by over 10 percent in Argentina but by only 2.4 percent in Bolivia. In Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia government revenues are close to 40 percent of GDP, whereas in Mexico and Peru they are around 20 percent. Social spending (excluding contributory pensions) as a share of GDP ranges from 17 percent in Brazil to 5.2 percent in Peru. Second, social spending does not accrue to the richest quintile. On the contrary, concentration coefficients for social spending are highly negative (progressive in absolute terms) for Argentina and slightly so for Bolivia and Mexico. In Brazil and Peru social spending is progressive in relative terms only. Third, there is no obvious correlation between the size of government and the size of social spending, on the one hand, and the extent and effectiveness of redistribution, on the other: government size is similar for Argentina and Bolivia but they are on opposite sides in terms of the extent of redistribution.Fourth, due to indirect taxes households are net payers to the "fisc" beginning in the third decile in Bolivia and Brazil; for Argentina, Mexico and Peru this happens in the fifth decile. Fifth, corrective measures differ too: in Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil they may involve the reduction in revenues and total spending, while revenues and social spending (especially direct transfers to the poor) should be increased in Mexico and Peru. Bolivia and Brazil need to introduce changes to their tax and transfer system so that net payers to the "fisc" start at higher incomes. All five countries need to improve the of progressivity of their spending, including non-social spending components.fiscal incidence, fiscal policy, inequality, poverty, redistribution, social policy, taxes, transfers, Latin America, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico and Peru
Bolivia and the paradoxes of democratic consolidation
In Bolivia from the 1990s on, two presidents were ousted by popular protests, and protests were rampant. The protests expressed a growing discontent not only with successive administrations and their policies but with politics itself. The polity failed to built trust in democracy, ignored or repressed protests, and thus contributed to a process of democratic "deconsolidation." The main factors were corruption and the reluctance of the traditional political parties to discuss the neoliberal economic model. As a result, the current administration of Evo Morales faces two challenges: to change economic policies and to repair the support for democracy
Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV
The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of âs = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pTâ„20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60â€pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2â€{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration
Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector
The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets
containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass
energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The
measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1.
The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary
decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from
the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is
used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive
b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the
range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet
cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the
range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets
and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are
compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed
between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG +
Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet
cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive
cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse
momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final
version published in European Physical Journal
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