Proyectos

Renegociación de concesiones en Chile

Este trabajo describe en forma sistemática los montos renegociados en las 50 concesiones cuyos datos han sido publicados por el MOP en su página web. Nuestra principal conclusión es que las renegociaciones son frecuentes y que involucran montos considerables. En promedio, cada concesión ha sido renegociada 3 veces, resultando en transferencias a los concesionarios de

The Effectiveness of Private Voucher Education: Evidence from Structural School Switches

In this paper we analyze the effect of private voucher education on student academic performance using new data on Chilean students and a novel identification strategy. Most schools in Chile provide either primary or secondary education. We analyze the effect of private voucher education on students that are forced to enroll at a different school

Information Asymmetries and an Endogenous Productivity Reversion Mechanism

Several empirical studies suggest that the systematic behavior of lending standards, with laxer (tighter) standards applied during expansions (recessions) are responsible for reverting trends in aggregate productivity. We build a dynamic screening model with informational asymmetries in credit markets that rationalizes the observed dependence of lending standards on economic fundamentals and generates reversion of output

Soft budgets and Renegotiations in Public-Private Partnerships

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are increasingly used to provide infrastructure services. Even though PPPs have the potential to increase efficiency and improve resource allocation, contract renegotiations have been pervasive.We show that existing accounting standards allow governments to renegotiate PPP contracts and elude spending limits. Our model of renegotiations leads to observable predictions: (i) in a competitive

Optimal resource extraction contracts under threat of expropriation

The government contracts with a foreign firm to extract a natural resource that requires an upfront investment and which faces price uncertainty. In states where profits are high, there is a likelihood of expropriation, which generates a social cost that increases with the expropriated value. In this environment, the planner’s optimal contract avoids states with

A large firm model of the labor market with entry, exit and search frictions

I augment the standard large-firm matching model with a firm process of entry and exit. This extension requires the analysis of firm-level dynamics, which I present in this note. I also show the equivalence of the model with the one-worker firm model from Pissarides (2000).
JEL: J63.

Política comercial estratégica en el mercado aéreo chileno

Se estudia la política comercial desde un punto de vista estratégico. En particular interesa examinar las condiciones bajo las cuales es apropiada una política de reciprocidad (a diferencia de una apertura unilateral). La política de reciprocidad se basa en la idea que el país con el que se negocia un acuerdo estará más dispuesto a

On the planner’s loss due to lack of information in bayesian mechanism design

In this paper we study a large class of resource allocation problems with an important complication, the utilization cost of a given resource is private information of a profit maximizing agent. After reviewing the characterization of the optimal bayesian mechanism, we study the informational cost introduced by the presence of private information. Our main result

Local social capital and geographical mobility. A theory

In this paper, we attempt to understand the determinants of mobility by introducing the concept of local social capital. Investing in local ties is rational when workers anticipate that they will not move to another region. Reciprocally, once local social capital is accumulated, incentives to move are reduced. Our model illustrates several types of complementarity leading

Loyalty inducing programs and competition with homogeneous goods

We analyze a market where two firms producing a homogenous good compete by means of two mechanisms: prices and a loyalty bonus. We assume that firms act simultaneously when posting their loyalty bonus and prices. Consumers who purchase from a firmin the first period must return the bonus in case they switch providers in the

Economic performance, creditor protection and labor inflexibility

We present a static general equilibrium model of an economy with agents with heterogeneous wealth and endogenous credit constraints created by partial loan recovery rates. Higher loan recovery rates and better bankruptcy protection increase output and credit penetration, while the former raises the average interest rate spread and the latter decreases it. We also study

Emerging Markets Variance Shocks: Local or International in Origin?

We examine the source of permanent shocks to the variance of a set of emerging and developed markets. By using the ICSS algorithm, Bai-Perron (2003)’s test for structural breaks in mean level, and wavelets, and analyzing weekly data for 18 countries over the January 1996 – April 2006 period, we find significant numbers of variance