Investigacion Economica最新文献

This work uses a balanced panel data, from the 31 Mexican states during 1997-2012, to identify the reasons of the differences between states with greater and lesser innovative dynamism. To do this, the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition and the estimator proposed by Driscroll and Kraay are applied. The differences, in terms of innovative success, are mainly explained by the discrepancy in the amount and use of the human capital factor: the most innovative states have more human capital and make a better use of it. Public investment in research and development, as well as the spending on higher education, are factors that contribute also to explain the innovative success. Besides, the most innovative states have greater population density and more scientists, however, less innovative states make better use of these last factors.

Based on data from the manufacturing industry and its subsectors, this article shows the impact of monetary policy according to the industrial structure in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, the five Latin American countries adopting the system of inflation targeting for the longest time. Results show that the impact of monetary policy on industrial production is stronger in countries where the interest rate channel is more relevant, since the subsectors producing capital goods and durable consumer goods are more sensitive to monetary decisions. These results are closely linked to the role of price rigidities on the differential impact of monetary policy on industrial subsectors.

Numerous central banks (cbs) focus on controlling the nominal interest rate (i) to sway the price level and meet the inflation target (π^o) nowadays (Taylor, 1993, Bernanke, 1999, Woodford, 2003). The i is taken to be the anchor for a low and stable rate of inflation in an open economy model. Yet, some analysts, orthodox and heterodox alike, have challenged this belief arguing that cbs turn to the exchange rate (e) channel and adopt it as a second policy tool with the aim of meeting π^o (Svensson, 1999, Hüfner, 2004). The purpose of this paper is to show that the veritable anchor of inflation is neither i nor e, but the wage rate and the unit labour costs (ulc). We conduct econometric analyses based on data from a set of inflation targeting countries. The main empirical findings support our hypothesis regarding the higher importance of wages and the ulc vis-à-vis i and e in the determination of the cpi.

The current recession in Brazil has provoked intense discussion concerning ways to boost economic activity. This paper intends to contribute to the debate by ranking the sectors that have the power to pull the economy out of the recession when they are stimulated, employing the eigenvector method developed by Dietzenbacher (1992). To that end, we first estimated the input-output (I-O) matrix for 2013 applying Guilhoto and Sesso (2005)’s methodology and build an I-O matrix from the National Statistical Accounts. Later, we employed the eigenvector method to find the inter-sector backward linkages and ranked them. The results highlight the importance of petroleum refining and coke, resin manufacturing and elastomers, various chemical products and preparations, and chemicals to boost the recovery of the economy. Nonetheless, the traditional sectors of construction and automotive manufacturing exhibited poor and modest results respectively.

This article analyzes the effect of the relative minimum wage on the inequality of disposable income of households in the European Union. To do this, an empirical analysis is carried out with a panel data econometric modeling that allows to verify the effectiveness of the policies of the relative minimum wages on the economic inequality and leads to the estimation of a negative and significant elasticity. However, this effect is reduced by 60% from the start of the economic crisis. This is not a drawback for this measure of minimum wages, which is relative in nature, to be used as a common European reference in the fight against economic inequality. Therefore, economic, social, cultural, labor market and welfare state differences will not be a serious obstacle for their community adoption.