In this chapter we present the command iop written for Stata, which computes indices of inequality of opportunity for binary variables. The index indicates to what extent a certain outcome (e.g. access to schooling) depends on circumstances of the person (e.g. gender or ethnicity). The command...

We identify maternal behavioral factors associated with birthweight in Bolivia using data from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) of 2003. We estimate birthweight as a function of maternal behavior and the child's sex and gestational age. We control for maternal height, ethnicity,...

In this study I try to answer the question whether private schools do better in the human capital accumulation process than public schools in Mexico. The analysis is based on panel data including out-of-school cognitive skill tests, which allows dealing with some potential endogeneity problems...

This Paper examines the impact of imported technologies on productivity for a sample of developing and transition countries in Central and Eastern Europe and in the Southern Mediterranean. These economies are getting more and more integrated to the European Union. The Paper departs from earlier...

The paper applies a gravity model to 1980-1996 annual non-fuel imports data for 58 countries to quantify the effects of recently created or revamped PTAs on trade. We modify the usual gravity equation to identify separate effects of PTAs on intra-bloc trade, members' total imports and their...

This paper summarizes the findings of an impact evaluation of the Mexican training programs PROBECAT_SICAT for the period 1999-2004. The paper has five additional sections. Section 2 provides an account of the Mexican public policy towards the unemployed and a description of the institutional...

We evaluate the Mexican training program for the unemployed PROBECAT/SICAT using methods that control for observable and non-observable factors. Comparing the different results over time allows us to gauge the size and evolution of hidden bias. We also compute the average treatment effect and...

The importance of agricultural growth to poverty reduction is well known, but the specific channels through which the poor can take advantage of growth require further research. Beyond Food Production takes on this challenge, investigating four important channels: rural labor markets, farm...

This paper estimates the external returns to higher education in Mexico using cross-sectional micro data from the 2000 and 2010 censuses’ samples. Because of identification problems, which according to the literature are the main challenge in this kind of model, an instrumental variable...