JEL Code O: Economic Development, Technological Change and Growth - 2005

Title Author Date Source Abstract
Investigación y Desarrollo, Innovación y Productividad: un Análisis Econométrico a Nivel de la Firma. Benavente, J.M. 2005 Estudios de Economía 32(1): 39-67.
Market Reforms and Efficiency Gains in Chile. Bergoeing, R., A. Hernando y A. Repetto 2005 Serie Econom&icute;a N° 207. Departamento de Ingenier&icute;a Industrial, Universidad de Chile. Starting in the mid 1970s, Chile implemented a deep and comprehensive set of structural market reforms. In spite of the wide agreement there is with respect to the expected benefits these reforms should have on growth, little evidence has been provided to empirically establish and to quantify this connection. Using plant-level data on Chilean manufacturing firms for the 1980-2001 period, we provide such evidence. In particular, we estimate disaggregate total factor productivity (TFP) and decompose its dynamics into production reallocation and within plant efficiency changes to study aggregate efficiency, a fundamental source of aggregate growth. We find that during the 1990s, when most reforms had already been fully implemented, both the level and dispersion of TFP grew steadily. These efficiency gains were explained in equal proportions by within plant changes and by the net entry of new and more productive economic units. The reallocation among incumbent plants did not contribute significantly to the enhancement of efficiency, however. Finally, we also show that withinplant efficiency gains were the largest among firms producing traded goods, and among firms that were more likely to face binding liquidity constraints. Thus, in Chile, the adoption of better technologies and production processes, fostered by broader foreign exposure and a superior access to external finance, seem to have accounted for the observed improvement in manufacturing performance.
Inversión Privada e Impuestos Corporativos: Evidencia para Chile. Cerda, R. y F. Larra&icute;n 2005 Documento de Trabajo N° 297. Instituto de Econom&icute;a, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Basado en información microeconómica, este trabajo provee evidencia acerca del impacto de la tributación corporativa sobre la inversión. Utilizando datos para Chile, mostramos que un aumento de 10% en la tasa de impuesto corporativo reduce la inversión como fracción del stock de capital entre 0.2% y 1% bajo diferentes especificaciones econométricas. Este impacto difiere dependiendo del tamaño de la compañía. En pequeñas y medianas empresas el efecto es mucho mayor y altamente significativo: la inversión como fracción del stock de capital declina entre 0.5% y 1.6%. En las empresas grandes el impacto no es significativo.
Does Trade Increase Total Factor Productivity: Cointegration Evidence for Chile. Herzer, D. 2005 Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research Discussion Paper No 115.
Trade Composition and Total Factor Productivity: Evidence for Chile. Herzer, D. 2005 Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research Discussion Paper No 116. This paper examines the long-run impact of capital goods imports, intermediate goods imports, and exports of manufactured and primary goods on total factor productivity in Chile. Using cointegration techniques, we find productivity-enhancing effects of capital and intermediate goods imports as well as manufactured exports, and productivity-limiting effects of primary exports.
Why So Small? Explaining the Size of Firms in Latin America. Lora, L. y A.M. Herrera 2005 The World Economy 28(7): 1005-28.
Transport Costs and Trade: Empirical Evidence for Latinoamerican Imports from the European Union. Martínez, I. y C. Suarez-Burguet 2005 Journal International Trade EconomicDevelopment 14(3): 353-71.
Productividad en Chile: Determinantes y Desempeño. Vergara, R. 2005 Estudios Públicos 99: 23-62. El objetivo de este trabajo es hacer un análisis de los determinantes de la productividad en Chile en las últimas cuatro d&ecute;cadas. En base a ello se discuten las fortalezas y debilidades que existen en esta materia. El crecimiento de la productividad en Chile en estos años ha sido muy volátil y ha estado fuertemente correlacionado con el ciclo económico. Para retomar el proceso de crecimiento —se sostiene en este trabajo— es necesario enfatizar reformas que permitan lograr mejor&icute;as en aquellas variables que tienen un efecto significativo en la productividad y en los cuales el pa&icute;s hoy está relativamente más d&ecute;bil.
Globalization and Taste Convergence: The Case of Wine and Beer. Aizenman, J. y E.L. Brooks 2005 NBER Working Paper N°11228.
Multinationals and Plant Exit: Evidence from Chile. Alvarez, R. y H. Görg 2005 Institute for the Study of Labor Discussion Paper N°1611.
Trade and Structural Adjustment Policies in Selected Developing Countries. Andersson, J., F. Bonaglia, K. Fukasaku, y C. Lesser 2005 OECD Development Center Working Paper N°245.
Políticas Sociales para el Crecimiento con Equidad en Chile, 1990-2002 Arellano, J.P. 2005 El Trimestre Económico LXXII(2): 409-49.
La Dinámica Industrial y la Financiación de las Pyme. Benavente, J.M., A. Galetovic, y R. Sanhueza 2005 El Trimestre Económico LXXII(2): 217-54. Las pyme pagan más que las empresas grandes por su financiación, se les exigen garantías, se las financia a plazos cortos y muchas no se pueden endeudar. Se cree que estas son fallas de mercado que deberían corregirse con intervenciones regulatorias. Sin embargo, argumentamos que son respuestas apropiadas a (i) el mayor costo medio de los préstamos pequeños; (ii) el problema de la selección originado por la salida y reemplazo de empresas que ocurre en todas las industrias, que es más intenso cuando se trata de pymes; (iii) la necesidad de alinear los incentivos de deudores y acreedores cuando la información es asimétrica. Mostramos que estas prácticas también son comunes en países con mercados de capitales desarrollados. Finalmente, proponemos medidas para mejorar la financiación de las pyme.
Patrones de Desarrollo Urbano: ¿Es Santiago Anómalo? Bergoeing, R. y F. Piguillem 2005 Serie Econom&icute;a N°204. Departamento de Ingenier&icute;a Industrial, Universidad de Chile. La evidencia internacional muestra que las políticas de desarrollo urbano tienen efectos significativos en el bienestar de los individuos. Pese a ello, en Chile estas políticas han sido generalmente diseñadas e implementadas de acuerdo a criterios arbitrarios y omitiendo evidencia empírica relevante. Su evaluación exige conocer las regularidades que caracterizan al desarrollo urbano. Estos hechos, sin embargo, no están disponibles de manera sistemática en Chile. El objetivo de este trabajo es documentar estos patrones de desarrollo urbano para la ciudad de Santiago. El principal resultado es que estos se caracterizan por un nivel y evolución en el tiempo consistentes con los observados en otros países con características económicas similares. En este sentido, Santiago no es una ciudad anómala.
Government Subsidies and Political Elections: Evidence for Chile. Cerda, R.A. y R. Vergara 2005 Documento de Trabajo N°294. Instituto de Economía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Crecimiento Económico en Chile: Evidencia, Fuentes y Perspectivas. De Gregorio, J. 2005 Estudios Públicos 98: 19-86. Este artículo revisa la experiencia chilena de crecimiento, con especial énfasis en el rápido crecimiento que comenzó a mediados de los años ochenta, cuando la economía se recuperaba de la crisis de 1982, para moderarse a fines de los noventa. También se analiza y se descompone la evidencia sobre el crecimiento y la actividad, revisando las fortalezas y debilidades tras el despegue económico de Chile y los elementos que sustentan el crecimiento futuro. Por último, se presentan estimaciones de la tasa de crecimiento potencial de largo plazo para la economía chilena.
Mirando el Desarrollo Económico de Chile: Una Comparación Internacional Fuentes, R. y V. Mies 2005 Documento de Trabajo N°287. Instituto de Econom&icute;a, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Este trabajo estudia la posición relativa de Chile en el tiempo y respecto de otras economías emergentes e industrializadas en distintos indicadores de desarrollo económico, particularmente en las últimas dos décadas. Se presenta un análisis descriptivo, sin explorar relaciones causales ni probar hipótesis sobre el crecimiento económico de Chile, pero permite extraer fortalezas y debilidades que sirvan de base para la discusión de políticas para el crecimiento. La comparación de indicadores de desarrollo económico muestra que Chile es relativamente fuerte en estabilidad macroeconómica, integración comercial y financiera, calidad de instituciones y en el avance de otras reformas estructurales que han derivado en el desarrollo de mercado de capitales y la participación del sector privado en la actividad productiva. No obstante, Chile no muestra un buen desempeño en calidad de la educación, en esfuerzo en innovación tecnológica, calidad y cantidad de la infraestructura, y en algunos indicadores sociales.
Upgrading in Global Value Chains: Lessons from Latin American Clusters. Giuliani, E., C. Pietrobelli, y R. Rabellotti 2005 World Development 33(4): 549-73.
Are Exports and Imports of Chile Cointegrated? Herzer, D. y F. Nowak-Lehmann 2005 Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research Discussion Paper N°111.
Labor Demand and Trade Reform in Latin America. Maloney, W.F. y P. Fajnzylber 2005 Journal of International Economics 66(2): 423-46. Trade liberalization is thought to result in higher own-wage elasticities of labor demand, particularly for unskilled labor, with adverse implications for both labor market volatility and wage dispersion. The paper first argues that theoretically the link between liberalization and labor-demand elasticities is less clear than has previously been asserted. It then uses dynamic panel techniques to estimate labor-demand relations for manufacturing establishments in Chile, Colombia, and Mexico across periods of trade policy reform. The results do not strongly support the hypothesis that trade liberalization has a direct impact on own-wage elasticities.
Keeping Animal Apirits Asleep: the Case of Chile. Saez, S. 2005 World Bank Policy Research Working Paper N°3615.
Manufacturing Exports, Mining Exports and Growth: Cointegration and Causality Analysis for Chile (1960 - 2001). Siliverstovs, B. y D. Herzer 2005 German Institute for Economic Research Discussion Paper N°497.
Productividad Sectorial en Chile: 1986-2001 Vergara, R. y R. Rivero 2005 Documento de Trabajo N°286. Instituto de Econom&icute;a, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. El objetivo de este artículo es hacer estimaciones de productividad total de los factores a nivel sectorial. El principal desafío que se enfrenta es la ausencia de series de stock de capital por sectores para un período largo de tiempo. Sólo se tienen datos de stock de capital para el período 1996-2001. Se diseña una metodología para, a partir de dichos datos y otra información, generar cifras de stock de capital para el período 1986-1995. Con ello, más un ajuste por utilización de las series de capital y un ajuste de calidad relativa para las series de trabajo, se hacen estimaciones de PTF sectorial para 1986-2001. Según estos cálculos el mayor incremento de productividad en este período se ha producido en el sector comercio. Esto coincide con estudios para otros países, que muestran que los sectores con mayor incremento de la productividad corresponden a aquellos que usan intensivamente la tecnología de la información.
Orientación Exportadora y Productividad en la Industria Manufacturera Chilena. Alvarez, R. y R. López 2005 Cuadernos de Econom&icute;a 41: 315-43. In this paper, we study empirically the relationship between export orientation and firm productivity in Chilean manufacturing industry. Similar to findings for other countries and consistent with recent theoretical models, our results show that exporters are significantly more productive than non-exporters. Moreover, we found evidence of a clear association between firm productivity and entry and exit from international markets: (i) firms start exporting are more productive than non-exporters, and (ii) firms stop exporting are less productive than those remain exporting. In general, our findings are consistent with a self-selection phenomenon rather than learning-by-exporting.
Productividad, Desigualdad y Capital Humano: Los Complejos Desafíos de Chile. Beyer, H. 2005 Estudios Públicos 97: 59-98.
Agricultural Productivity and its Determinants: Revisiting International Experiences. Bravo-Ortega, C. y D. Lederman 2005 Estudios de Economía 31(2): 133-63.
Oportunidades y Desafíos para Chile de la Apertura Económica en China Claro, S. 2005 Estudios Públicos 96: 181-217. En este trabajo se discuten las oportunidades y desafíos que enfrenta Chile debido a la apertura y al crecimiento experimentado por China a partir de 1978. Para ello se identifica el grado de competencia que representan las exportaciones chinas para los productores chilenos en distintas industrias, así como los mercados en los cuales las oportunidades para los productores chilenos son mayores. Adicionalmente, se entrega un detallado análisis de las acciones comerciales que ha realizado Chile en los últimos 25 años para aprovechar o protegerse de la mayor penetración china en los mercados mundiales. El trabajo concluye con una discusión de dos de los principales temas en las relaciones comerciales actuales con China: su rol en el mercado mundial del cobre y elementos para tomar en cuenta en un posible tratado de libre comercio.
Latin America in the Rearview Mirror. Cole, H., L. Ohanian, A. Riascos, y J. Schmitz 2005 Journal of Monetary Economics 52(1): 69-107. Latin American countries are the only Western countries that are poor and that are not gaining ground on the U.S. This paper evaluates why Latin America has not replicated Western economic success. We find that this failure is primarily due to TFP differences. Latin America’s TFP gap is not plausibly accounted for by human capital differences, but rather reflects inefficient production. We argue that competitive barriers are a promising channel for understanding low Latin TFP. We document that Latin America has many more international and domestic competitive barriers than do Western and successful East Asian countries. We also document a number of microeconomic cases in Latin America in which large reductions in competitive barriers increase Latin American productivity to Western levels.
PPI Partnerships versus PPI Divorces in Developing Countries (Or are we Switching from PPPI to PPDI?) Estache, A. 2005 World Bank Policy Research Working Paper N° 3470.
Hacia la Economía del Conocimiento: El Camino para Crecer con Equidad en el Largo Plazo. Eyzaguirre, N., M. Marcel, J. Rodríguez, y M. Tokman 2005 Estudios Públicos 97: 5-57.
Export Diversification, Externalities and Growth. Herzer, D. y F. Nowak-Lehmann 2005 Discussion Paper N° 99. Ibero America Institute for Economic Research. It is frequently suggested that export diversification contributes to an acceleration of growth in developing countries. Horizontal export diversification into completely new export sectors may generate positive externalities on the rest of the economy as export oriented sectors gain from dynamic learning activities due to contacts to foreign purchasers and exposure to international competition. Vertical diversification out of primary into manufactured exports is also associated with growth since primary export sectors prevalently do not exhibit strong spillovers. Thus, it is to be expected that both horizontal and vertical export diversification are positively correlated with economic growth. Yet there have been remarkably few empirical investigations into the link between export diversification and growth. This paper attempts to examine the hypothesis that export diversification is linked to economic growth via externalities of learning-by-doing and learning-by-exporting fostered by competition in world markets. The diversification-led growth hypothesis is tested by estimating an augmented Cobb-Douglas production function on the basis of annual time series data from Chile. Based on the theory of cointegration three types of statistical methodologies are used: the Johansen trace-test, a multivariate error-correction model and the dynamic OLS procedure. Given Chile’s dramatic changes in economic policy, time series techniques considering structural breaks are applied. The estimation results suggest that export diversification plays an important role in economic growth.
Export-Led Growth in Chile: Assessing the Role of Export Composition in Productivity Growth Herzer, D., F. Nowak-Lehmann, y B. Siliverstovs 2005 Discussion Paper N° 103. Ibero America Institute for Economic Research. This study examines the export-led growth hypothesis using annual time series data from Chile in a production function framework. It addresses the limitations of the existing literature and focuses on the impact of manufactured and primary exports on productivity growth. In order to investigate if and how manufactured and primary exports affect economic growth via increases in productivity, several single-equation and system cointegration techniques are applied. The estimation results can be interpreted as evidence of productivity-enhancing effects of manufactured exports and of productivity-limiting effects of primary exports.
Toward a Modern State in Chile: Institutions, Governance, and Market Regulation. Saavedra, E. y R. Soto 2005 Documento de Trabajo N° 277. Instituto de Econom&icute;a, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Chile, as most Latin American countries, inherited the language, religion, and the institutions from 16th century Spanish conquerors. Most institutions have not changed since. This paper examines the institutional and economic structure of the State in Chile. It concludes that in several dimensions the current structure is incompatible with an adequate functioning of market economies, as those intended by the economic reforms implemented during the last three decades of the last century. The country needs to implement reforms in the administration of the State, the working of the Judiciary system, and the incentives and operation of regulatory agencies. Their combined negative effects imply that the benefits of reforms, privatization and market liberalization are partially dissipated in the form of inefficiency and rent seeking behaviour. In turn, this suggest that it is unlikely that the Chilean economy will reach the high growth rates necessary to overcome under development. Our main conclusion is that, in order to implement a framework in which the State acts mainly as regulator and competition supporter, it is necessary to undertake profound changes in the structure of incentives in which it currently operates. Five elements are at the center of this far-reaching evolution away from centralism, stagnation, and inefficiency: (1) the divestiture of state-owned enterprises, (2) the upgrade and update of regulatory agencies and the institutional framework in which they operate, (3) the improve of competition policy institutions, (4) the improvement of consumer rights protection, and (5) a substantial improvement in the working of the Judiciary system.
Latin American Economic Growth in the Late 20th. Century: Evidence and Interpretation. Solimano, A. y R. Soto 2005 Documento de Trabajo N° 276. Instituto de Economía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Spatial Inequality, Migration and Economic Growth in Chile Soto, R. y A. Torche 2005 Cuadernos de Econom&icute;a 41: 401-24. Between 1975 and 2000, annual per-capita GDP in Chile grew at 5%. Yet, regions did not benefit equally: poverty declined significantly in all regions but regional income inequality remained stagnant. We found that convergence in per-capita income and productivity levels is too slow to become a significant force in equalizing regional income. Lack of convergence is mostly associated with low levels of internal migration. This, in turn, is found to be largely the result of government policies, in particular, public housing. The efficient targeting of subsidies coupled with the prohibition to sell houses, tied families to their geographical location, inhibiting migration.
Parental Wealth Effects on Living Standards and Asset Holdings: Results from Chile. Torche, F. y S. Spilerman 2005 En E. Wolff (ed.) International Perspectives on Household Wealth, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. This paper examines aspects of the replication of inequality across generations and attempts to assess the extent to which parental resources influence the life chances and living standards of adult children. The data come from a survey of 4,400 households in Chile that focused on parental resources and outcomes in children’s lives. The results reveal several pathways by which parental resources affect children’s economic well-being. In particular, the living standard outcome measures are influenced indirectly, through parental investments in education and earnings capacity, whereas the wealth holdings of families are largly impacted directly, through transfers of parental assets.
Infrastructure Performance and Reform in Developing and Transition Economies: Evidence from a Survey of Productivity Measures. Trujillo, L., A. Estache, y S. Perelman 2005 World Bank Policy Research Working Paper N° 3514.