Credit and saving constraints in general equilibrium: A quantitative exploration

In this paper we build an incomplete-markets model with heterogeneous households and firms to study the aggregate effects of saving constraints and credit constraints in general equilibrium. We calibrate the model using survey data from Colombia, a developing country in which informal saving and credit frictions are pervasive. Our quantitative results suggest that reducing savings […]

The effects of FX-interventions on forecasters disagreement: A mixed data sampling view

We analyse the heterogeneity of exchange rate forecasts by a panel of professional forecasters. Adopting the view that forecasters’ economic behaviour is such that they constantly collect, process and analyse relevant information when producing forecasts, we apply a Mixed-Data Sampling (MIDAS) regression approach. This enables us to explore the roles played by key drivers for […]

Tobacco taxes and illicit cigarette trade in Colombia

This paper estimates the short-term impact of a twofold increase of the tobacco excise tax on consumption of illicit cigarette trade in Colombia. Using data collected before and after the tax increase from a novel smoker survey (DEICS-Col), the impact is estimated as the change in the probability that a smoker has illicit cigarettes. The […]

Price smoking participation elasticity in Colombia: estimates by age and socioeconomic level

Background Tobacco prevalence in Colombia is small compared with other Latin America despite the nation’s tobacco taxes being among the lowest in the region. However, tobacco taxes have increased several times during the last decade, and large increases in 2010 and 2016 impacted consumer prices.Objective This paper aims to estimate the price smoking participation elasticity (PPE) in […]

Estado del arte sobre las relaciones legalidad-informalidad-ilegalidad en Latinoamérica

La literatura académica sigue revelando que existe una variedad de definiciones para comprender “lo legal”, “lo ilegal”, “lo informal” y, las relaciones que tienen estos fenómenos entre sí, al igual que una variedad de metodologías para su estudio. Este capítulo presenta un estado del arte sobre ¿Cómo se ha entendido recientemente la relación entre ilegalidad, […]

Enfoque histórico de la interrelación entre la informalidad y el desarrollo

La informalidad laboral afecta el desarrollo económico, si bien no es el único determinante, si es posible afirmar que acciones de política económica, dirigidas a incrementar la formalización del empleo, pueden contribuir positivamente a mejorar el bienestar de muchos hogares pobres y vulnerables y, por tanto, a transitar a mayores niveles de desarrollo económico. Los […]