An estimation of the pattern of diffusion of mobile phones: the case of Colombia

In this paper we find that the diffusion pattern of mobile telephony in Colombia can be best characterised as following a Logistic curve. Although in recent years the rate of growth of mobile phone subscribers has started to slow down, we find evidence that there is still room for further expansion as the saturation level is expected to be reached in five years time. The estimated saturation level is consistent with some individuals possessing more than one mobile device.

Clusters en cultivos il��citos: determinantes y din��micas

Los datos recientes de areas de cultivos il��citos indican que a pesar de las fumigaciones, la producci��n total se ha reducido levemente y los cultivos se han dispersado. Se plantea un modelo te��rico que analiza las decisiones tomadas por los cultivadores sobre la localizaci��on de sus parcelas, basando esta escogencia en la dinamizaci��n local de los costos esperados. Se utiliza un modelo de agentes para la simulaci��n de la naturaleza compleja de las din��micas estudiadas. Se encuentra que el incentivo para agruparse aumenta con las econom��as a escala y se reduce con la expectativa del castigo, sobretodo en zonas con alta densidad de cultivadores.

Don't make war, make elections : Franchise extension and violence in XIXth-century Colombia

This paper studies the effect of strengthening democracy, as captured by an increase in voting rights, on the incidence of violent civil conflict in nineteenth-century Colombia. Empirically studying the relationship between democracy and conflict is challenging, not only because of conceptual problems in defining and measuring democracy, but also because political institutions and violence are jointly determined. We take advantage of an experiment of history to examine the impact of one simple, measurable dimension of democracy (the size of the franchise) on con- flict, while at the same time attempting to overcome the identification problem. In 1853, Colombia established universal male suffrage. Using a simple difference-indifferences specification at the municipal level, we find that municipalities where more voters were enfranchised relative to their population experienced fewer violent political battles while the reform was in effect. The results are robust to including a number of additional controls. Moreover, we investigate the potential mechanisms driving the results. In particular, we look at which components of the proportion of new voters in 1853 explain the results, and we examine if results are stronger in places with more political competition and state capacity. We interpret our findings as suggesting that violence in nineteenth-century Colombia was a technology for political elites to compete for the rents from power, and that democracy constituted an alternative way to compete which substituted violence.

Empowering IDP with SMS: a randomized controlled trial in Bogot��

We carried out a randomized controlled trial in Bogot��, the recipient of Colombia��s highest number of internally displaced people (IDP), to assess whether the use of SMS to communicate eligibility to social benefits fosters the welfare of victimized internal refugees. Only a fraction of IDP are elegible to benefits. We inform eligibility via SMS to a random half of IDP-households who are, and estimate the Local Average Treatment Effect of the text message on the knowledge of the benefits available tothe displaced population. We show that while on the average treated households know their rights better than controls, a more disaggregate analysis suggest that there is variation of awareness across benefits. The intervention was overall successful in empowering IDP and the use of SMS should be widened as a social policy instrument. However our results suggest that text messages should be complemented with other communication strategies, yet to be evaluated.

Equality��of��educational��opportunities��in��Colombia:��A��metropolitan��area��comparison

This document aims to provide evidence about the existence of different patterns in equality of opportunities in academic achievement during the last fifteen years in Colombia. The outcomes selected for measuring inequality are the scores obtained on SABER 11 in math as well as reading. It is found that inequality has grown around 11% in the country, and that this trend is common for all the metropolitan areas included in the analysis. Most of the increase found comes from factors related to the school market. The fraction of unfair inequality, conditional to the circumstances included in the definition of ���types���, is higher than 20% of gross inequality in 2012.

Financial protection for the poor in Colombia: the effects of a subsidized health insurance scheme

Financial protection is one of the objectives of health systems, which protects poor households from falling into poverty as a result of health care related expenses. Expanding prepayment schemes to the poor is difficult in developing countries because labor is largely informal. Providing health care free-at-point-of-service does not adequately target spending on the poorest, but occupation- or community-based schemes have also inherent limitations to achieve universal coverage. Colombia adopted a government-subsidized health insurance scheme (SHI) strategy. The political debate about increasing SHI enrollment needs evidence about the effectiveness of this scheme regarding financial protection. This study runs a four-part model to estimate the effect of SHI on out-of-pocket expenses by the poor that are currently uninsured, if they were enrolled in the SHI. The results show a 43% and 50% reduction in expenses at Bogot�� and national level respectively, which confirms the effectiveness of SHI as a financial protection tool.

Heterogeneity and the formation of risk - sharing coalitions

We offer a new explanation of partial risk sharing based on coalition formation and segmentation of society in a risky environment, without assuming limited commitment and imperfect information. Heterogenous individuals in a society freely choose with whom they will share risk. A partition belonging to the core of the membership game obtains. Perfect risk sharing does not necessarily arise. Focusing on mutual insurance rule and assuming that individuals only differ with respect to risk, we show that the core partition is homophily-based. The distribution of risk affects the number and size of these coalitions. Individuals may pay a lower risk premium in riskier societies. A higher heterogeneity in risk leads to a lower degree of risk sharing. We discuss how the endogenous partition of society into risk-sharing coalitions may shed light on empirical evidence on partial risk sharing. The case of heterogenous risk aversion leads to similar results.

Acci��n colectiva y pol��ticas p��blicas

El presente documento hace una revisi��n de la literatura reciente (��ltimos 15 a��os) que vincula la acci��n colectiva con las pol��ticas p��blicas. En particular se observan dos tendencias, de un lado, la defensa a la l��gica de la acci��n colectiva se��alando el tipo de incentivos que se deben crear para propiciar la cooperaci��n y eventualmente tener resultados de pol��ticas p��blicas, y aquellos que piensan que la acci��n colectiva depende de elementos psicol��gicos y sociales que no siempre garantizan una cooperaci��n constante y que dificultan predecir lo que puede suceder en t��rminos de pol��ticas p��blicas. Al final se concluye que, si bien la l��gica de la acci��n colectiva contribuye al an��lisis de las pol��ticas p��blicas, a��n falta un mejor entendimiento de las razones que motivan o frenan la cooperaci��n y la manera como esta se construye en funci��n de un problema colectivo que se puede o no convertirse en una pol��tica p��blica.

Incidencia del gasto en educaci��n sobre los hogares en Bogot�� en 2003

Se eval��a el impacto redistributivo de las pol��ticas educativas en Bogot�� mediante el An��lisis de Incidencia del Beneficio. A pesar que los hogares son aut��nomos con respecto a la elecci��n entre la educaci��n oficial y no oficial, la provisi��n p��blica de la educaci��n genera fuertes impactos progresivos en el ingreso que se explayan hacia reducciones de pobreza y desigualdad, sin importar el c��lculo del subsidio que se impute al ingreso.

Estructuras organizacionales, esquemas salariales y calidad educativa en Am��rica Latina: un estudio comparativo de los casos de Chile, M��xico, Per�� y Uruguay

Las deficiencias que registran los diferentes pa��ses de Am��rica Latina en los indicadores relacionados con el rendimiento escolar y la calidad educativa han sido un tema recurrente en la agenda pol��tica de los gobiernos de la regi��n durante las ��ltimas d��cadas. Diferentes estudios sugieren la incidencia de variables como la raz��n maestro/alumno, el gasto per c��pita y la formaci��n docente, entre otros. Sin embargo, se ha explorado muy poco la influencia de variables como la estructura organizacional, los sistemas de evaluaci��n, los esquemas salariales y los incentivos, entre otros. Este trabajo pretende realizar una caracterizaci��n del desarrollo de estos aspectos para cuatro pa��ses de Am��rica Latina: Chile, M��xico, Per�� y Uruguay, en el marco de las reformas educativas emprendidas en los noventas. Adicionalmente se presenta un an��lisis de los principales resultados obtenidos hasta el momento, discriminados en dos tipos: la evoluci��n de los salarios docentes y el mejoramiento en los resultados acad��micos de los estudiantes.

La ciencia y sus tensiones: ��un nuevo contrato social de la ciencia?

En la Conferencia Mundial de la Ciencia en Budapest se hizo un llamado para que la investigaci��n cient��fica y el desarrollo tecnol��gico est�� m��s vinculado a resolver los problemas esenciales de la sociedad. Esta situaci��n es lo que se conoce como el nuevo contrato social de la ciencia en donde los cient��ficos se deben comprometer m��s a responder a las necesidades sociales y los gobiernos a apoyar la investigaci��n.

The crime kuznets curve

We document the existence of a Crime Kuznets Curve in US states since the 1970s. As income levels have risen, crime has followed an inverted U-shaped pattern, first increasing and then dropping. The Crime Kuznets Curve is not explained by income inequality. In fact, we show that during the sample period inequality has risen monotonically with income, ruling out the traditional Kuznets Curve. Our finding is robust to adding a large set of controls that are used in the literature to explain the incidence of crime, as well as to controlling for state and year fixed effects. The Curve is also revealed in nonparametric specifications. The Crime Kuznets Curve exists for property crime and for some categories of violent crime.

El derecho del trabajo y de la seguridad social: discusiones y debates

La relaci��n entre el Derecho del Trabajo y la econom��a determina no s��lo la g��nesis de esta disciplina, sino las coyunturas que deben afrontarse para hacer viable la generaci��n de empleo, sin desproteger las condiciones m��nimas que garanticen el derecho al trabajo, bajo los par��metros establecidos en la Constituci��n. Esta obra presentatambi��n unan��lisis del impacto de la crisis econ��mica mundial en materia de derecho individual, colectivo y procesal del trabajo, sin dejar de lado la seguridad social, las reformas y elan��lisis que deben adoptarse para afrontarla.

Nuevo r��gimen de protecci��n legal a las personas con discapacidad mental: antecedentes, an��lisis y tr��mite legislativo ���Ley 1306 de 2009���

Esta publicaci��n tiene por objeto hacer una presentaci��n acad��mica y jur��dica del contenido de la citada norma; teniendo en cuenta su importancia para el ordenamiento jur��dico colombiano, pues se trata de la reforma a una parte significativa del C��digo Civil en cuanto al car��cter de los asuntos que aborda. Adicionalmente, se hace un an��lisis del contenido y se brindan las herramientas necesarias para la ense��anza, por parte de los docentes dedicados a ello en los programas de derecho, as�� como para el entendimiento de sus alcances por parte de los estudiantes.

An��lisis comparado del ordenamiento territorial a escala regional de Barcelona y el Randsad 2005 ��� 2013. Reflexiones para el caso colombiano

El presente estudio quiere analizar la construcci��n de la dimensi��n regional como proceso de interacci��n entre el conjunto de asentamientos humanos y de unas relaciones pol��ticas, jur��dicas, hist��ricas, econ��micas y funcionales alrededor de ese espacio determinado que aborda la interdependencia territorial. A partir de la concepci��n que la aglomeraci��n urbana es intr��nsecamente regional, el trabajo aborda tres casos de estudio: el Randstad en Holanda, el ��rea Metropolitana de Barcelona y la Mesa de Planificaci��n Regional Bogot�� ��� Cundinamarca como configuraciones que permiten la formaci��n de acuerdos coordinados b��sicos para un abordaje integral de la gesti��n del territorio. De las particularidades de cada caso se elaboran comparaciones que establecen que la configuraci��n de acuerdos regionales es influida por una pr��ctica pol��tica y de ordenamiento territorial determinada. Fundament��ndose en la comparaci��n, el aparte final el texto establece establecen algunas orientaciones para la consolidaci��n regional en Colombia como proceso de apoderamiento de lo local.