The objective of the study is to identify the role of geographical variables in explaining differences in per capita income among Brazilian states. It also aims at ascertaining the degree to which such variables affect convergence or divergence trends in per capita income among these states. In...

This paper analyzes the effects of several aspects of labor legislation that were modified through successive waves of reform since 1991. Firing costs diminished sharply through the progressive elimination of job security regulations, the introduction of temporary contracts and changes in the...

Utilizing differences-in-differences estimates, this paper reviews the impact of reduced firing costs on the dynamism of the Colombian labor market. The effects include raising exit rates into and out of unemployment, increasing compliance with labor legislation by lowering the costs of formal...

This study examines the impact of unions on wages and employment using data from Uruguay in a period when unions were banned (1973-1984), then legalized with tripartite bargaining (1984-1991) followed by industry-wide or firm-specific bargaining (1992-1997). The relationship between wages and...

There are few Latin American countries that produced such a remarkable turnaround in policies and outcomes as Argentina did in the 1990s. The large number of reforms yielded surprisingly strong growth and the near-disappearance of inflation. The change of `economic paradigm` led to behavioral...

This research project focuses on the demand side of the labor market by examining the impact which labor market regulations have had on employment creation in the English-speaking Caribbean countries of Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Although a recent IADB report on labor market...

This study uses a cross-section of Brazilian municipal data in an attempt to estimate the impact of climate changes on the pattern of disease morbidity and infant mortality. Brazil is a country with climate conditions that range from tropical rain forest to temperate savanna regions in the...

We first review the existing theories on the implications of the various regulations that protect creditors. We then empirically investigate the cost and benefits of the strict protection of creditors` rights. Building on the sample of 49 countries developed by La Porta et al. (1998), we study...

This paper identifies three periods in Argentine exchange rate policy, corresponding with different development strategies and political coalitions. The first, periodic adjustments to a pegged rate until the mid-1970s, accompanied an Import Substitution Industrialization approach and a...

This paper reviews the main causes of the rapid growth of credit in Peru during the 1990s. The creation of new types of lending intermediaries besides traditional banks has allowed debt to increase and credit to be extended to new classes of borrowers such as middle and lower-class urban...