The focus on short-term macroeconomic factors, including unemployment and wages, is insufficient to explain international migration. Institutional factors, bound to change only in the long run, can potentially have a large impact on migration flows. To illustrate this, we analyze Mexico-U.S. migration focusing on social security coverage, an important indicator of job formality. Using...

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We explore the time pattern of remittances using data on return migrants from the Mexican Migration Project. Some of these return migrants have settled in the U.S. and are returning to Mexico to visit family and friends, whereas others are temporary migrants returning home after a working spell in the U.S. We find that the dollar amount remitted first increases with time spent in the U.S. to...

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We seek to further understand the factors that determine per emigrant remittances using data from 23 Latin American and Caribbean countries over the 1980-2003 period. We find that emigrants avoid remitting when the exchange rate is under pressure. This finding is consistent with the notion that remitters strive to reduce their exposure to exchange rate losses by taking into account the expected...

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International migrants are persons who cross national borders and remain outside their countries of birth or citizenship for 12 months or more, regardless of the reason for being abroad or legal status while abroad. According to UN estimates, the number of international migrants was 191 million in 2005, and half were in the labor force of the destination country. International labor migration...

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The paper discusses the financing of the health care reform implemented in Colombia since the early nineties and explains the obstacles faced on the way to universal enrollment to social health insurance. The paper describes the reform and the sources created for its financing. It presents the observed trends in the financing of the insurance schemes created by the reform, identifies the...

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The book by Cristian Baeza and Truman Packard is based on the next hypothesis: adverse health events reduce the consumption of goods and services different from health services, and many households become poor because of that. While the authors recognize that the evidence they present on the topic is limited, they propose the use of a “universal risk pool” as a way to eliminate the problem of...

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El gobierno de México definió entre los años noventa y los dos mil principios de reforma a los seguros de salud e intentó implementarlos. Las principales iniciativas aprobadas definieron esquemas voluntarios, en un caso basado en aseguradoras privadas (que tienen muy baja penetración), y en otro, en una nueva instancia pública que funciona como mecanismo de distribución del gasto federal hacia...

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Micro and small-sized enterprises (MSE) have a central role in economic development in Latin America given their large contribution to employment generation, their share in the total number of firms and, to a lesser extent, their contribution to gross domestic product. Yet, their production is mainly oriented to the domestic market and they are characterized by an increasing productivity gap with...

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This study uses Mexico's 2008 National Household Survey of Income and Expenditure to I construct an easy-to-use scorecard that estimates the likelihood that a household has income below a given poverty line. The scorecard uses ten simple indicators that field workers can quickly collect and verify. Poverty scores can be computed on paper in the field in about five to ten minutes. The scorecard's...

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The document that was presented by the World Health Organization (WHO) in February 2011 sets forth a series of proposals to encourage member countries to achieve universal health coverage. These proposals are presented in detail and are based both on world statistics and case studies.

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Este artículo presenta un conjunto de mediciones de los costos y beneficios reales del plan general de retiro por jubilación proporcionado a los ciudadanos por parte del Sistema Mexicano de Pensiones (SMP), que son necesarias para evaluar las decisiones de los trabajadores en cuanto a la contribución a la seguridad social (es decir, trabajar en el sector formal) y al retiro. El SMP ofrece dos...

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Using Mexican cohort data for 1991-2000 this article examines the relationship between retirement decisions —the transition from work to labor market inactivity— and social security (contributive) pensions in less developed countries. The available large time series also makes possible to examine how a financial crisis that took place in 1995 has affected retirement incentives. In most Latin...

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As Latin American and the Caribbean countries face rapid aging transitions, the economic contribution of older workers would need to be strengthened. This paper uses household data from Brazil and Mexico to characterize labor market behavior of older workers, such as participation, sector and type of employment, and productivity, to identify critical areas for policy intervention. The paper also...

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Despite countless initiatives to alleviate malnutrition over the years, it affects hundreds of thousands of children in Sri Lanka. Understanding the determinants of malnutrition and their contribution to socio-economic inequality in malnutrition is essential in targeting specific socio-economic groups to improve their nutrition levels. This study attempts to identify the socio-economic...

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This paper aims to analyse the space and time distribution of the infant mortality rate (IMR) at municipality level in Colombia before and after conferring greater responsibilities to the municipalities for the administration of the local health care systems. Using special econometrics, we find that there is a geographical concentration of IMR persisting over time and defining two groups of...

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This is a stimulating book which explores the relationship between employment conditions and health outcomes. The authors provide a conceptual framework to illustrate the channels through which health outcomes are determined and affected; this framework includes individual and aggregate variables, such as the economic, political and environmental conditions. The book also includes case studies...

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We present a descriptive analysis of the results of Mexico's 2009 Economic Census regarding the use of bank credit and accounts by productive entities (companies). INEGI was requested to prepare a set of statistics regarding various company characteristics that are relevant to the decisions made by institutions offering banking services. Information was grouped according to company size and to...

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Alrededor del mundo se observan dos versiones de la organización de los seguros de salud; la seguridad social basada en el empleo, y los servicios nacionales de salud. En Latinoamérica regularmente se usa la primera, pero se está lejos de lograr la cobertura universal. En los Países Bajos encontramos una peculiar mezcla de obligaciones públicas y responsabilidades privadas. La cobertura universal...

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El presente documento, está centrado en las Mipyme y en las políticas públicas para su fomento en la economía costarricense. El análisis, se hace a partir de un enfoque alternativo de clasificación de las actividades económicas, el cual permite precisar con mayor detalle las desigualdades entre las actividades tradicionales de amplia trayectoria en la economía, de aquellas actividades que han...

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The international financial crisis of 2008-2009, its impact on economic activity and contrasting I responses to face it have given new impetus to the debate Between academics, international organization representatives and public officers on the scope for public policies to reduce the adverse impact of externa) shocks and trigger sustainable long-term growth in production and employment. The...

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