This article presents the Mexican experience with the introduction of basic transaction accounts. Basic accounts are relatively cheap simple banking products with restricted functionality targeted at social groups that have limited access to transaction accounts. In Mexico, basic payroll accounts and accounts for the general public were introduced. By law, these products must be offered by all...

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The Economics of Crime: Lessons for and from Latin America makes an important contribution to the study of crime and violence in Latin America and to the debate about what works for reducing crime (and at what cost?). As the title of the book correctly suggests, the book brings together contributions from Latin American economists on the determinants and consequences of crime, as well as...

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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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One of the central concerns in Latin America an the Caribbean (LAC) has been the reduction of poverty and inequality so prevalent in the continent. Using large world samples, the literature has found that financial development increases economic growth, increases the income of the poor, and reduces inequality. This paper studies the effects of financial development on the whole distribution of...

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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 formation of social capital is critical for developing countries. This paper investigates the effects of attempts to recover public spaces in marginalized areas of Mexico. The effects are estimated through balancing in the propensity scores. We focus on the results of perception of safety, support and social capital. When efforts are made to recover public spaces, the perception of safety...

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An organization is a group of persons who satisfy established membership requirement and whose form and function are generally acknowledged. An organization's membership requirements may be based on inherited or earned traits. Organizations exist because they provide a setting in which members with similar traits can meet their physical and their socioemotional needs. As the relative importance...

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Increasing levels of violence in Mexico, which have the potential to damage the very fabric of 1 society, as well as impact key economic variables, led us to analyze the effect that changes in the perception of violence had on social capital fluctuations (including associative capital) between 2006 and 2011. This was a period in which an anti-violence and anti-organized crime policy was launched...

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Social capital, defined as the set of social networks that a person has in order to obtain benefits, is used by the population as a mechanism for providing resources, to cushion shocks in consumption and to obtain information on available employment opportunities. This study employs a logistic model to characterize the manner in which people access the labor market in Mexico through the use of...

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This study analyzes the relationship between social capital types and access to health services in Mexico. To this end, access to healthcare data from the 2006 ENCASU and 2011 ENCAS was validated using 2006 and 2012 ENSANU results. Indicators were found to be consistent. A statistical analysis of the distribution of social capital and health indicators by region, as well as by rural or urban area...

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Se ha relacionado el capital social a la eficiencia en los mercados (Arrow, 1972), al refuerzo del contrato (Durlauf y Fafchamps, 2004) y en general al desarrollo y bienestar (Keefer y Knack 1997; Putnam 2000; Knack y Zak 2003). En el presente trabajo hemos investigado los determinantes del capital social empíricamente, centrándose en tres medidas comunes aproximadas de este: dos ligadas a la...

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In recent decades, interest has increased in identifying, estimating and linking social capital to a variety of well-being variables in which the production of certain benefits or performance is key. Research has involved the confluence of several disciplines: economics, sociology, anthropology and psychology, to name a few. Although consensus on the definition of a single indicator for measuring...

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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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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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The document presents spending projections and projections of the distributive incidence for an Integrated Health System under three basic scenarios: status quo, a two pillar scheme (financed through general taxes and private spending) and a three pillar scheme (financed through general taxes, social security contributions and private spending). By presenting these simulations, the study enhances...

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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 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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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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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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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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