In this paper we present a solution to the problem of pricing guarantees of minimum returns on pension fund contributions. These guarantees exist by law in Colombia and cover all pension fund contributions made to the country's private pension fund administration companies (AFPs). As of...

Static time series models usually assume stationarity, normality, and independence for the increments of financial rates of return. This paper investigates the empirical characteristics of financial rates of return from Latin American stock and currency markets and documents that their empirical...

In this study, we examine the response of Latin American stock markets to movements in European stock markets using VAR models. Our results vary depending on the openness of the country in terms of international trade. We find evidence that Latin American stock markets are responsive to changes...

The institutional reforms towards trade liberalizations in Latin America during the 1980s and the 1990s have introduced a good measure of import competition, but trade policies alone are not sufficient to create a competitive environment in an economy. The countries in Latin America have not had...

A survey of trade elasticities published for Latin American economies is conducted. Articles surveyed were published between 1975 and 1997. They include data from the mid-1950s through the mid-1990s. Imports are found to be highly income elastic as well as very price inelastic. Relatively fewer...

This paper examines individual trade policy preferences across the 17 countries in Latin America. The focus is on whether skilled or unskilled workers are more likely to support liberalized trade and on whether country characteristics, such as factor endowments, alter the preferences of skilled...

This paper explores the role of global risk aversion (GRA) and its main determinants, US economic growth and the US government bond yield, in explaining developments in Latin American sovereign spreads. We find that GRA is significant and positively related to Latin American sovereign spreads...

This paper analyses the dynamics of return to knowledge where knowledge is acquired through the combination of interactive and individual learning. We suggest that in light of this new definition of knowledge, choosing the optimal level of education is no longer an individual exercise of present...

This paper analyzes the impact of globalization on social spending in Latin America. It shows that trade integration has a consistently negative effect on social security expenditures, and that this effect is compounded by higher integration into capital markets. The importance of political...

This paper reviews central bank legislation in 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean during the 1990s. Using panel regressions, the paper finds a negative relationship between legal central bank independence (CBI) and inflation. This result holds for three alternative measures of CBI,...