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on Central and South America |
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Issue of 2020‒08‒31
three papers chosen by |
| By: | Carlos Bianchi (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Hugo Laguna (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración) |
| Abstract: | A large and rich body of literature has shown that the relationship between innovation and employment is complex and dynamic in nature. From a firm’s level analysis, recent researches have shown heterogeneous empirical patterns for developed and developing countries. This paper contributes by inquiry in the role of innovation strategies as determinants of the firm’s employment growth in a Latin American small middle-income country. Adapting econometric structural models currently in vogue, we discuss the effects of three innovation strategies (Make, Buy, Make&Buy) on the firm’s workforce growth. In line with the literature, we identify a significant positive relation between product innovation associated with Make and Make&Buy strategies, however, on the contrary to most recent research we find a positive and significant effects of process innovation associated to Buy strategies. Considering technological, sectoral and firm characteristics, our findings show a clear positive effect of any innovation strategy in the growth of the firm’s workforce. Meanwhile, no innovative strategies negatively affect workforce growth. Our findings contribute by deepening the understanding of the firm level determinants of employment in developing countries. We analyze our result in the light of a recent but extensive evidence on the relationship between innovation and employment at firm’s level in Uruguay. In particular, we discuss the traditional explanation on the firm’s technological behavior in Latin America, to discuss the effects on employment of integrative innovation strategies in Uruguay. |
| Keywords: | innovation strategies, employment, Latin America, Uruguay |
| JEL: | O33 D22 J23 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulr:wpaper:dt-06-20&r=all |
| By: | Matías Brum (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Mauricio de Rosa (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía) |
| Abstract: | The economic crisis triggered by COVID-19 is causing a world-wide massive economic downturn, and what is likely to be the deepest GDP contraction for Latin America since the beginning of the XXth century. We microsimulate the short-run effect of the crisis on the poverty rate for the Uruguayan case based on household survey data, publicly available information on both cash-transfers and the increase in unemployed formal wage-earners applying for unemployment benefits, as well as macro-economic estimates of the likely GDP contraction. By combining these data sources, we are able to estimate the effect of the crisis on formal, informal and self-employed workers, while providing full micro-macro consistency to our results. We find that during the first full month of the lock-down, the poverty rate reaches 11.7%, an increase of over 36%. Moreover, new cash transfers implemented by the government have a positive but very limited effect in mitigating this poverty spike. We estimate that most of this increase in poverty could be neutralized with cash-transfers worth less than 0.5% of Uruguay’s annual GDP. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, nowcasting, poverty, microsimulations, developing countries, Uruguay |
| JEL: | D04 D31 I32 |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulr:wpaper:dt-09-20&r=all |
| By: | León, Juan; Benavides, Martín (Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo (GRADE)); Alarcón, Fernando; Erausquin, María Grazia; Salas, Ana |
| Abstract: | El hecho de que se hayan abierto más oportunidades educativas en los países en desarrollo ha llevado a una reducción de las disparidades educativas relacionadas con el género. El incremento de los niveles de escolarización de las mujeres tiene consecuencias sociales potencialmente importantes para los niños y niñas, en términos de salud y bienestar. Este estudio explora tanto el efecto directo como los efectos indirectos de la educación materna sobre el desarrollo infantil, mediante la observación de prácticas parentales y prácticas de salud que lleva a cabo la madre, así como del nivel socioeconómico de la familia. Los hallazgos confirman la importancia de la educación materna, no solo por la posibilidad de que las mujeres mejoren su bienestar, sino por los efectos intergeneracionales que tiene esta práctica en beneficio de los futuros ciudadanos peruanos. |
| Keywords: | Educación materna, Maternal education, Desarrollo infantil, Desarrollo del niño, Child development, Perú, Peru |
| JEL: | J13 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gad:doctra:dt94&r=all |