The objective of this paper is to identify whether the prevailing Brazilian labor market regulations, largely the result of the 1988 constitutional change, have any impact on labor market performance. To reach this objective the authors explore alternative methodologies, sources of information...

This paper provides an analysis of the organization of secondary schools in Latin America and the Caribbean. It deals with the confusing and controversial matters of providing schools for an increasingly heterogeneous clientele and the triple role of preparing students for higher education,...

This paper provides an analysis of the organization of secondary schools in Latin America and the Caribbean. It deals with the confusing and controversial matters of providing schools for an increasingly heterogeneous clientele and the triple role of preparing students for higher education,...

What one does not know, in the form of unobserved heterogeneity, can mislead one in empirical estimates. A simple model of intrahousehold allocations illustrates the possible importance of unobserved factors such as abilities in determining human resources and their impacts. The author reviews...

Based on Akerlof and Kranton (2005), who argue that group identity and social norms influence individual preferences towards work effort, a model is developed to understand why firms create good job conditions, taking into account the cost of implementing them and their impact on wages and...

This paper evaluates what type of models can account for the recent episodes of output drops in Latin America. I develop an open economy version of the business cycle accounting methodology (Chari, Kehoe, and McGrattan, 2007) in which output fluctuations are decomposed into four sources: total...

We use a firm production function approach to generate estimates of total factor productivity (TFP) and labor productivity in the manufacturing sector for a group of Latin American countries. We exploit these estimates to study the relative position of countries within this sector and to explore...

We use a firm production function approach to generate estimates of total factor productivity (TFP) and labor productivity in the manufacturing sector for a group of Latin American countries. We exploit these estimates to study the relative position of countries within this sector and to explore...

One of the major economic challenges facing the Caribbean is the generation of employment opportunities to reduce the high levels of unemployment experienced primarily among the young and female segments of the workforce. An analysis of unemployment requires an examination of both the supply and...