sábado, 15 de febrero de 2014

Mejores instituciones de investigación económica en Latinoamérica

Mejores instituciones de investigación económica en Latinoamérica

written by Lucía Leguízamo

Research LibraryEn momentos de cambios económicos y sociales, la inversión en investigación se hace primordial con el fin de corroborar o entender la aplicación práctica de teorías y formulas económicas. Aparte de ello, la economía es una ciencia que involucra aspectos del diario vivir, y como resultado interesa y reta mentes de expertos en el tema.
En nuestros artículos anteriores publicamos rankings de universidades y facultades de economía en ColombiaChileBrasil y toda Latinoamérica basados, en su mayoría, en la labor de educar a nuevos profesionales. Ahora, queremos desviar la atención de nuestros lectores hacia una visión general de instituciones desde un punto de vista investigativo. El propósito de la siguiente lista es de carácter informativo para los interesados en desarrollar su carrera académica como investigadores en América del Sur. De igual manera buscamos exaltar instituciones que dedican parte de sus recursos al apoyo de sus investigadores afiliados.
Los datos han sido tomados de la lista de Top 12,5% Instituciones en Suramérica, Diciembre 2013, la cual clasifica instituciones de acuerdo al número de autores registrados en RePEc y el número de publicaciones y popularidad de dichos autores.

  No.
Institución
  País
  Puntaje
Autores
Participación Autores
  1
  Chile
  1,29
  45
  38,16
  2
  Chile
  3,08
  39
  38,18
  3
  Brasil
  3,35
  25
  23,6
  4
  Chile
  3,71
  30
  24,38
  5
  Chile
  4,96
  27
  25,38
  6
  Brazil
  5,56
  38
  31,33
  7
Colombia
  6,05
  85
  75,11
  8
Colombia
  8,43
  57
  42,72
  9
Argentina
  8,74
  15
  11,43
  10
Argentina
  9,07
  13
  12,87

La información se basa en los registros del servicio de autores de RePEc (RePEc Author Service). Los datos presentados son producto de la compilación de diversos informes: autores y bibliografía registrada en RePEc, instituciones registradas en EDIR, análisis de citas realizado por CitEc y popularidad de datos recopilados realizado por LogEc. Para mayor información acerca de la metodología, pueden acceder aquí.

Image Credit: Michael Perez

viernes, 14 de febrero de 2014

Como decir "te quiero" en lenguaje económico

14 Maneras que un economista podría dice "Te Quiero"
Lisa Mahapatra y Sam Ro - Business Insider




En el amor y la economía, las palabras sólo llegan hasta allí .
Por eso recurrimos a las gráficas ... tanto en el amor y la economía.

Elizabeth Fosslien, una analista de Chartsmith y Arc Worldwide, creó 14 gráficas sin duda cursi que se comunican a través de juegos de palabras de amor económicos.

"Darles una de estas (gráficos) y cualquier cosa que reciban el próximo año será ajustado. Se llama gestión de las expectativas y es la clave para una relación larga y feliz", dice ella.

Echa un vistazo a estos gráficos auto-inductores que ella creó, perfecto para decirle a su amor verdadero exactamente lo mucho que significan para ti.

¡Gracias a Elizabeth por darnos permiso para presentar estas gráficas!


El amor trasciende el principio de los rendimientos decrecientes


[El eje vertical mide "Mi Utilidad", el eje horizontal mide "Tiempo a tu lado" y la frase encima dice "El ingreso marginal de pasar tiempo a tu lado nunca va a disminuir"]

"Tu eres inalcanzable"


[La frontera de posibilidades de producción: Cualquier punto en el exterior de la misma como "You" es inalcanzable]

En la riqueza y en la pobreza


[El índice Standard & Poor (S&P) estaba en rojo pero yo no estaba triste (azul) porque achiqué el mercado me fui largo (a largo plazo) sobre tí]

Y si tienes suerte, tendrás la oportunidad de ver los credit default swaps al descubierto


[El eje vertical mide "Brecha" (Spread), el eje horizontal mide "Duración de la relación" y la brecha (riesgo) de que los canjes de crédito no se paguen era creciente con "Mis relaciones previas" pero contigo (you) son cero]

Al igual que los mercados, el amor puede ser irracional


[Cotización de "Tí" : Inapreciable (Mejor cada día que pasa) Luego de la cotización: Irresistible
Sin comparaciones con otras cotizaciones
Recomendación: Fuerte para comprar]

El Club Pigou de Greg Mankiw no era digno de ti de todos modos


[El Club Pigou es una lista de la élite de la economía creada por Gregory Mankiw de Harvard. Algunos miembros se ven en la lista de la derecha. A la izquierda la lisa del Club YoTeElijo]

John Nash pudo haberte enviado uno de estos suaves mensajes de San Valentín 


[En la teoría del juego del amor la estrategia óptima es obvia: Siempre decir SI]

En el amor, el interés es alto


[]

No todos los mercados a la baja son malos



Haces que mi confianza suba



Es básico de economía 


Perfectamente inelástica


Una rebanada de pastel de amor cada vez mayor



¿Confundido? Me explico durante la cena




Un gráfico muy esclarecedor de crecimiento y desigualdad

Este gráfico increíble Explica Casi todas reciente historia económica
 JOE Weisenthal


Aquí está un gráfico fantástico que básicamente explica toda la historia económica.

Fue twitteó y anotado por James Plunkett y se basa en un gráfico de economista Branko Milanovic desigualdad.

Lo que muestra es el crecimiento del ingreso entre 1988 y 2008 para cada percentil de ingresos. El gráfico le permite ver cómo diversos grupos de ingresos han prosperado o se ha estancado en los últimos decenios ( que se detiene en 2008, pero es seguro suponer el gráfico no se ve muy diferente en este momento).



Screen Shot 2014 01 22 a las 20.04.54 AM
James T Plunkett
En el gráfico se puede ver cómo los percentiles más bajos ingresos han experimentado un crecimiento monstruoso desde finales de los años 80. Este crecimiento representa a las economías emergentes y el aumento de la clase media china. Entonces usted tiene la clase media del mundo desarrollado, que ha visto casi nada de crecimiento del ingreso real en los últimos decenios ( lo que probablemente explica mucha de la angustia actual sobre la desigualdad ). Y entonces usted tiene la subida de la ultra- elite, lo global 1 %, lo que ha hecho fantásticamente bien durante todo este tiempo.

Como Plunkett dice, cada elite de Davos debe ver y entender esta tabla.



Business Insider

jueves, 13 de febrero de 2014

Bienvenidos a la universidad (occidental) de Corea del Norte

Inside North Korea's Western-funded university
By Chris Rogers and Marshall Corwin
BBC Panorama

In the heart of North Korea's dictatorship, a university - largely paid for by the West - is attempting to open the minds of the state's future elite. The BBC's Panorama has been granted unique access.
Entering the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, it is immediately clear this is no ordinary academic institution.
A military guard salutes us as our vehicle passes through the security checkpoint. Once inside the campus we hear the sound of marching and singing, not more guards but the students themselves.
They are the sons of some of the most powerful men in North Korea, including senior military figures.
"Our supreme commander Kim Jong-un, we will defend him with our lives," they sing as they march to breakfast.
"Patriotism is a tradition," explains a 20-year-old first-year student. "The songs we sing as we march are in thanks to our Great Leader."
There are 500 students here - dressed smartly in black suits, white shirts, red ties and black, peaked caps with briefcases at their sides. They are all hand-picked by Kim Jong-un's regime to receive a Western education.
The university's official aim is to equip them with the skills to help modernise the impoverished country and engage with the international community.
Pyongyang University of Science and TechnologyThe university, located on the outskirts of Pyongyang, was opened in October 2010
All classes are in English and many of the lecturers are American. This is remarkable because North Korea has isolated itself from the outside world for decades and the US is its hated enemy.
After 18 months of negotiations, we have been given unique access to the students - though we are constantly monitored. The students explain they are warming to Americans - if not the US government.
''Of course at first we were nervous, but we now believe American people are different from the US," says one student. "We want to make good relationship with all countries," adds another.
The founder and president is Dr James Chin-Kyung Kim. The 78-year-old Korean-American Christian entrepreneur was invited by the regime to build a university based on a similar one he had opened in northern China.
He raised much of the £20m it cost from American and South Korean Christian charities.
North Korea university parade ground workoutStudents take part in a parade-ground workout before lunch every day
"I am full of thanks to this government - they accepted me. They fully trust me and have given me all authority to operate these schools. Can you believe it?"
It is hard to believe - human rights groups say North Korean citizens found practising Christianity are persecuted.
Inside every classroom, portraits of North Korea's brutal dictators take pride of place above the whiteboard.
Lecturer Colin McCulloch gives his time for free. Some of the other 40 lecturers are sponsored by Christian charities. Mr McCulloch has moved from Yorkshire to teach business to the regime's future elite.
He splits the students into groups and tells them to form their own fantasy companies and compile their profit projections.
In a country where the supply of all goods is controlled by the regime, the concept of a free market is new to the students.
"I'm sure the leaders and the government here recognise they need to connect with the outside world," Mr McCulloch tells us. "It's not possible to be a totally hermetic, closed economy in the modern age."
students clean North Korean monumentStudents obsessively scrubbed a monument paying homage to the regime
The university's foreign lecturers are up against a lifetime of propaganda and conditioning - and almost complete isolation from the rest of the world, as we discover when American Erin Fink invites us to take part in her English class.
"It will be good for you to listen to these guys because their accent is very different from my accent - they speak British English," she explains to her first year undergraduates.
They tell us they like a North Korean girl group called the Moranbong Music Band, one of Kim Jong-un's latest propaganda tools.

Start Quote

We are learning foreign languages because foreign language is the eye of scientists. Learning a language is learning a culture. I want more of that”
Undergraduate student
When we mention Michael Jackson, we get a room full of blank faces. We try again.
"Raise your hands if you've heard of Michael Jackson." Not a single arm goes up.
You might have thought students would have found out about Michael Jackson from the Internet - unlike most of North Korea it is available at the university.
But in the computer room a female minder censors all internet access. It is strictly no email, no social media, and no international news.
In North Korea, only absolute devotion to the supreme leader, and praise of all things North Korean, is permitted. According to human rights groups, that devotion is the result of conditioning from birth - and fear of execution or imprisonment in inhumane labour camps.
"The key question is whether the university is training those young Koreans most likely to change the country in a positive way, or those most likely to perpetuate the current regime," says Greg Scarlatoiu of the Washington-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea.
"If the price to pay for being allowed to establish a presence inside North Korea is ignoring the country's egregious human rights violations, I will say that price is too high."
Lord Alton chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea and is a patron of the university.
He hopes the experiment could kick-start more fundamental change and alter the mindset of a generation.
"You have to start somewhere. This isn't an excuse for appeasement, which I'm totally opposed to.
"This is a form of engagement in order to try and change things."
But are the students actually interested in embracing change? Even during the guarded conversations that we are allowed, it is clear some students are keen to connect with the outside world.
"We are learning foreign languages because foreign language is the eye of scientists," says one undergraduate.
"And learning a language is learning a culture. I want more of that."

BBC

martes, 11 de febrero de 2014

5 manera de manejar como un profesional malas evaluaciones de desempeño

5 Ways To Handle A Bad Performance Review Like A Pro



Business Insider

NEW YORK (MainStreet) — Even if you tried your best to impress your managers and meet your quotas last year, nobody's perfect. If a less-than-stellar performance review is in your future — or sitting on your desk — resist the urge to tell management where to get off. Instead, handle it like a professional and you can walk away from the conversation with big brownie points from the boss. Our experts weigh in on the top five ways to handle a negative review.

1. Stay calm.

The first thing for an employee to remember before a performance review is to remain calm and collected, says Scott Fitch, division president of Insperity Performance and Organizational Management.

"No one benefits from getting upset or losing his or her temper," Fitch says. "Like any meeting, an employee should prepare before the performance review by making a list of accomplishments. Be ready to discuss areas of success and opportunities for improvement. If an employee takes an honest, critical look at the year's performance, a lot of surprises may be eliminated during the meeting."

Regardless of how you really feel about your review, the only answer when getting feedback is to say 'Thank you' and to take some time to digest it before responding further," explains Suzanne Peterson, associate professor at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

"The minute you argue with the feedback or appear defensive, you gain the labels uncoachable, un-self-aware or too emotional. These labels can damage your overall reputation," Peterson says. "You must become known as someone who is perceived as taking feedback well, regardless of its validity."

2. Have an open dialogue.

Long gone are the days a supervisor spoke and the employee simply listened, Fitch explains. Both individuals have a responsibility during the review process to address concerns candidly and help build a more productive work environment.

"Employees should appreciate feedback. It's a way to grow and improve. If they misread criticism or become defensive, it's a wasted opportunity," he says. "With any communication, transparency is key."

To get the dialogue off on the right foot, employees shouldn't act surprised if they know they didn't hit the mark, says Morag Barrett, CEO of SkyeTeam, an international HR and leadership development firm. It's best just to own up to it.

"You should always come to a performance discussion prepared to participate in the conversation. Bring examples of your accomplishments, and expect to be asked about things that didn't go so well," she says.

Also, don't forget that your review is a great time to ask for help if you need it. Now is not the time to be a victim, Barrett says.

"Leave the conversation with a clear understanding of what your boss expects from you, and what you can expect from your boss," she says.

3. Show you're willing to learn from your weaknesses.

Sometimes it can be humbling for individuals to admit their weaknesses or areas in which they have struggled, but managers are likely to appreciate their willingness to improve, says Angelo Kinicki, management professor at the Carey School.

"Whether you are asked or not, come to the review prepared to discuss both your achievements and your missed objectives," Kinicki says. "For those areas in which you underperformed, prepare ideas about what went wrong and how you will get your performance back to acceptable levels. If you think some type of training or coaching is needed, ask for it."

During the review, employees should develop a plan with their manager for how to improve and begin setting monthly, attainable goals as to how those improvements will be executed, says Tom Gimbel, president and CEO of LaSalle Network, a Chicago-based staffing firm.

"While it's important that employees set high expectations for themselves, it doesn't do any good to over promise and under deliver. Employees should be honest with their manager on what is a manageable list of achievements and improvements that can be made," Gimbel says.

4. Don't make excuses.

If something in the system or organization prevented you from achieving your goal, it's OK to talk about that, but be careful not to pass the buck, Barrett says.

"For example, if you were tasked with delivering a program but the online resources you were supposed to use crashed, then just say something like, 'Unfortunately the online resource wasn't available, and I'm continuing to work with that group to find a solution.' This statement explains that the issue was not with you, and shows that you are doing something about it."

A manager does not want to hear one excuse after another from an employee, but rather that you understand the situation and that you're taking the right steps to improve in the future, Fitch says.

Ideally, you should feel comfortable talking about what went wrong without sounding overly defensive, Kinicki says, adding that "Managers like employees to take ownership."

Overall, it's best to avoid any sugarcoating and be honest, Gimbel says.

"Don't just talk about weaknesses; have a plan in place to fix them," he says. "Don't bother making excuses for what went wrong — own it and see it as an opportunity for improvement."

5. Ask for regular, consistent feedback moving forward.

If your negative review came as a surprise, it's a sign you're not getting the feedback you need from your managers on a weekly or monthly basis. While reviews are great, conversations about performance should happen regularly, Gimbel says.

"If an employee isn't receiving feedback, they should ask for it. Reach out to managers and ask if there was a better way of handling a certain situation immediately after it happens. Ask where your latest project needed improvement," he says. "Feedback is the only way to grow professionally."

Also, keep in mind that not everything you get critical feedback on requires action, says Shawnice Meador, director of career management and leadership development for MBA@UNC.

"It is important for you to grasp everything that really makes a difference and have a plan of action on how to continually grow and improve," Meador says.

While some feedback will warrant immediate action for you to be successful in your role, other feedback is considered "white noise": good to know, but not always relevant to succeeding in your current role.



Read more: http://www.mainstreet.com/article/career/employment/5-ways-handle-bad-performance-review-pro#ixzz2sN3ySn1H

FMI le da el OK a Islandia ¿es bueno o es malo eso?

El FMI alaba la recuperación de Islandia, el país que dejó caer a sus bancos
El informe anual del Fondo pide que se afronte el levantamiento del control de capitales
El organismo internacional advierte de los riesgos "heredados" de la crisis de 2008
El País



Una tasa de paro del 5,1% en mayo —desde el 9,2% que alcanzó en septiembre de 2010—, una inflación del 3,3% en junio —desde el pico del 18,6% en junio de 2009— y un crecimiento del PIB —aunque más bajo que en 2011— del 1,6% en 2012. El Fondo Monetario Internacional celebra la recuperación de Islandia, el país que dejó caer a sus bancos cuando estalló su burbuja financiera en 2008. El organismo, sin embargo, alude constantemente a los "riesgos heredados", a los problemas que el país nórdico arrastra desde la crisis, y llama a combatirlos para "garantizar la estabilidad".

Uno de los principales retos es levantar los controles de capital que Reikiavik impuso cuando sus tres principales bancos colapsaron y tuvo que pedir la ayuda del FMI. En su momento, los controles ayudaron a estabilizar la situación y fortalecer la corona, la moneda islandesa. Pero, aunque el programa de ayuda del Fondo se completó en agosto de 2011 e Islandia ha vuelto a los mercados de capitales para financiarse, esos controles de capital todavía siguen en vigor coartando su  potencial de crecimiento.

En el informe anual sobre el país, de unos 318.000 habitantes, los expertos del organismo piden encarar el levantamiento de los controles de forma decidida. En primer lugar, advierten de que debe manejarse la liquidación de los bancos quebrados de forma que no afecte a la estabilidad financiera. También solicitan reforzar los incentivos para conseguir liberar las reservas de coronas que se encuentran fuera del sistema, una condición "clave" para retirar los controles, y una petición recurrente de los técnicos del Fondo. Además, llaman a establecer una regulación clara y prudente y supervisar el proceso hacia la total liberalización.

La elevada deuda de las familias sigue siendo uno de los principales problemas del país
El FMI, que también incluye la tercera evaluación después del programa de rescate, aborda otro de los principales problemas de la economía islandesa, que es la elevada deuda de las familias. El Partido Progresista (PP), socio de Gobierno del Partido de la Independencia —ambos de centroderecha— propuso en la campaña electoral del pasado abril renegociar con los acreedores —muchos de ellos hedge funds con activos en la banca— para cancelar parte de la deuda familiar. En este sentido, el informe señala que hay poco espacio fiscal para aliviar el endeudamiento de las familias. Por eso propone mejorar los mecanismos de reestructuración existentes y acelerar los procesos judiciales que clarifiquen la naturaleza de los créditos.

El Fondo también alaba el propósito que se ha marcado el Ejecutivo —para el que los islandeses volvieron a elegir en abril a los mismos partidos que gobernaban antes de la crisis— de cumplir por fin con el presupuesto en 2014 y animan a continuar con el ajuste fiscal. Para ello piden mayor eficiencia en el gasto en educación y salud, reducir los subsidios agrícolas e identificar mejor las necesidades sociales.

A los bancos —aquellos que Reikiavik decidió que no respondieran más allá de los depósitos de los ahorradores— el Fondo les pide mantener colchones de capital y liquidez suficientes y abordar la morosidad e insta a crear un marco entre los distintos agentes para controlar los riesgos sistémicos. El HFF, el fondo gubernamental que concede hipotecas, vuelve a ser objeto de preocupación, y el FMI pide que se reestructure para proteger al Tesoro islandés de posibles pérdidas.

Una serie de propuestas y recomendaciones para apuntalar la recuperación y protegerla de la herencia recibida, de los efectos de una burbuja financiera que aún amenaza la economía islandesa.

lunes, 10 de febrero de 2014

Elevar el salario mínimo reduce la pobreza

Economists agree: Raising the minimum wage reduces poverty


Washington Post

One funny part of watching journalists cover the minimum wage debate is that they often have to try and referee cutting-edge econometric debates. Some studies, notably those lead by UMass Amherst economist Arin Dube, argue that there are no adverse employment effects from small increases in the minimum wage. Other studies, notably those lead by University of California Irvine economist David Neumark, argue there is an adverse effect. Whatever can we conclude?
There are full-time and part-time openings at the Thai Kitchen restaurant in Silver Spring that pay the minimum wage. The openings represent the toughest part of the slow economic recovery occurring in the United States: Many of the new jobs are for low pay.<br />(Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post)
There are full-time and part-time openings at the Thai Kitchen restaurant in Silver Spring that pay the minimum wage. The openings represent the toughest part of the slow economic recovery occurring in the United States: Many of the new jobs are for low pay.
(Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)
But instead of diving into that controversy, let’s take a look at where these economists, and all the other researchers investigating the minimum wage, do agree: They all tend to think that raising the minimum wage would reduce poverty. That’s the conclusion of a major new paper by Dube, titled“Minimum Wages and the Distribution of Family Incomes.”
Let’s first highlight the major results. Dube uses the latest in minimum-wage statistics and finds a negative relationship between the minimum wage and poverty. Specifically, raising the minimum wage 10 percent (say from $7.25 to near $8) would reduce the number of people living in poverty 2.4 percent. (For those who thrive on jargon, the minimum wage has an “elasticity” of -0.24 when it comes to poverty reduction.)
Using this as an estimate, raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, as many Democrats are proposing in 2014, would reduce the number of people living in poverty by 4.6 million. It would also boost the incomes of those at the 10th percentile by $1,700. That’s a significant increase in the quality of life for our worst off that doesn’t require the government to tax and spend a single additional dollar. And, given that this policy is self-enforcing with virtually no administrative costs while challenging the employer’s market power, it is a powerful complement to the rest of the policies the government uses to boost the living standards of the worst off, including the Earned Income Tax Credit, food stamps, Medicaid, etc.
Now, this is normally the part where we’d have to go through the counter-arguments, using different data and techniques from different economists, to argue that the minimum wage wouldn’t do this. But this is the fun part: Dube’s paper finds a remarkable consistency across studies here. For instance, in a 2011 paper by minimum-wage opponent David Neumark, raising the minimum wage 10 percent would reduce poverty 2.9 percent (an elasticity of -0.29) for 21-44-year-old family heads or individuals. That’s very similar to what Dube finds. Neumark doesn’t mention this directly in the paper however; Dube is able to back out this conclusion using other variables that are listed.
Indeed, Dube digs out the effects of the minimum wage on poverty from 12 different studies in the new wave of literature on the topic that started in the 1990s with David Card and Alan Krueger field-creating research. Of the 54 elasticities that Dube is able to observe in these 12 papers, 48 of them are negative. Only one study has a sizable positive one, a 2005 one by David Neumark, a study that stands out for odd methodology (it lacks state and yearly fixed effects, it assumes quantiles are moving in certain directions) that isn’t standard in the field or in his subsequent work. (Indeed, it is nothing like Neumark’s standard 2011 study, mentioned above, which finds that the minimum wage reduces poverty.) Including that study, there’s an average elasticity of -0.15 across all the studies; tossing it, there’s one of -0.20 across the 11 studies, similar to what Dube finds.
However these previous studies also have issues which Dube’s new study examines. This paper uses data up through 2012, so there is much more substantial variations to examine between states’ minimum wages compared to earlier studies from the 1990s. Meanwhile there are additional controls added, including those that deal with the business cycle as well as regional effects. The range of controls provide 8 different results, all of which are highlighted.
Now, as a general rule with these numbers, you should never observe too far away from the mean — that is, you shouldn’t take the effects of small changes to see what would happen if we, say, increased the minimum wage 500 percent, or to levels that don’t actually exist right now. But the results are promising.
Indeed, they are promising on three different measures of poverty. There’s the normal definition of poverty established in the 1960s as a result of how much food costs takes up in your family budget. But the relationship is both relevant and even stronger for the poverty gap, which is how far people are away from the poverty line, and the squared poverty gap, which is a focus on those with very low incomes. The elasticities here are -0.32 and -0.96 respectively, with the second having an almost one-to-one relationship because the minimum wage reduces the proportions of those with less than one-half the poverty line.
What should people take away from this? The first is that there are significant benefits, whatever the costs. If you look at the economist James Tobin in 1996, for instance, heargues that the “minimum wage always had to be recognized as having good income consequences….I thought in this instance those advantages outweighed the small loss of jobs.” Since then there’s been substantially more work done arguing that the loss of jobs is smaller or nonexistent, and now we know that the advantages are even better, especially when it comes to boosting incomes of the poorest and reducing extreme poverty.
The second is that this isn’t a thing that people proposing an inequality agenda just happened to throw on the table. A higher minimum wage is a substantial response to the challenges of inequality. Opponents of a higher minimum wage focus on the idea that it largely won’t benefit the worst off. However, look at this graphic from the study:
A higher minimum wage will lead to a significant boost in incomes for the worst off in the bottom 30th percent of income, while having no impact on the median household.
As many economists have argued, the minimum wage ”substantially ‘held up’ the lower tail of the U.S. earnings distribution” through the late 1970s, but this effect stopped as the real value of the minimum wage fell in subsequent decades. This gives us an empirical handle on how the minimum wage would help deal with both insufficient low-end wages and inequality, and the results are striking.
Charles Darwin once wrote, “If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin.” One of the key institutions of the modern economy, the minimum wage, could dramatically reduce the misery of the poor. What would it say if we didn’t take advantage of it?


domingo, 9 de febrero de 2014

Con 36 minutos de salario mínimo te comprás una birra en Argentina

¿Cuántas horas de trabajo de salario mínimo se necesitan para comprar una cerveza?
Por Roberto A. Ferdman y Ritchie Rey


Echando hacia atrás una fría puede ser un asunto costoso, especialmente si usted está viviendo fuera del salario mínimo en un país como Georgia o Bangladesh.

¿Cómo sabemos eso? Porque hicimos un Índice de cerveza.

Numbeo, una base de datos de multitud de fuentes del precio de los bienes de todo el mundo, mantiene una lista completa de los precios medios de un proyecto de la cerveza nacional en diferentes países. Y la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT), mantiene una amplia biblioteca de datos de salarios mínimos mensuales. Así que combinamos los dos - en un indicador de la cerveza , de todo tipo.

Al dividir el precio promedio tiene un local para pagar para conseguir una cerveza por el salario mínimo por hora (suponiendo una semana laboral de 40 horas) que una persona hace en cada país, hemos sido capaces de aproximar el tiempo que tarda una persona haciendo el salario mínimo a ganar lo suficiente para comprar una cerveza en un bar local . The Economist hizo algo similar en 2012, pero los salarios medios de los países usados ​​, y sólo incluyó 27 países. Éste es un poco más amplia (y un poco más acerca de la gente que hace lo menos.)

Algunos salarios mínimos comparan muy favorablemente con los precios nacionales de cerveza , mientras que otros hacen justo lo contrario . En Georgia, por ejemplo , se necesita un valor de más de la mitad de un día de trabajo para ganar lo suficiente para pagar por una pinta. En Puerto Rico , se tarda sólo 12 minutos.

Corrección: Una versión anterior de la infografía en este artículo incluye datos sobre los salarios mínimos para Eslovaquia proporcionadas por la OIT, que era incorrectos. Hemos actualizado con datos precisos.

QZ

Como dejar caer los bancos para emerger económicamente

Islandia, o cómo dejar caer a los bancos
El Gobierno del país nacionalizó las entidades Kaupthing, Glitnir y Landsbanki
En lugar de inyectar miles de millones de euros, decidió que suspendieran pagos



“Si no hacemos esto ya, el lunes no habrá economía”. La frase del exsecretario del Tesoro estadounidense, John Paulson, pronunciada poco después de la quiebra de Lehman Brothers, supuso hace tres años y medio el pistoletazo de salida a la política de nacionalizaciones bancarias (de socialización de pérdidas) que se ha impuesto en el Atlántico Norte, incluso en la primera potencia económica mundial, Estados Unidos, con un Gobierno, el de George W. Bush, muy poco amigo de la intervención del Estado en la economía.

Poco antes o después, los Gobiernos de otros países de todo el mundo tuvieron que intervenir su sistema financiero: el banco franco-belga Dexia tuvo que ser rescatado (por primera vez: luego vendría una segunda) con dinero de ambos países; Bélgica, Holanda y Luxemburgo salieron al auxilio de Fortis; Suiza de UBS; Alemania, del Hypo Real Estate; Holanda, de ING. Hay una clara excepción: Islandia, un pequeño islote cerca del Ártico con una burbuja financiera sin parangón. Los tres principales bancos llegaron a acumular activos que sumaban 13 veces lo que producía ese país en un año. En medio de la debacle financiera internacional, el Gobierno islandés nacionalizó Kaupthing, Glitnir y Landsbanki para evitar el colapso financiero y la ruina total del país.

Pero en lugar de inyectar miles de millones de euros, decidió que suspendieran pagos. Garantizó los depósitos de los islandeses y decidió que no pagaran sus deudas externas. Eso fue en octubre de 2008, y la primera reacción fue brutal. En noviembre de ese mismo año, la corona islandesa ya había perdido un 58% de su valor, la inflación se disparó hasta el 19% en enero de 2009 y ese mismo año la economía se contrajo un 7%. El primer ministro, Geir Haarde, fue obligado a dimitir en enero de 2009 y ahora se enfrenta a los tribunales.

El país sufrió, además, la emigración más grande en 150 años. Pero la economía se ha ido recuperando, en gran parte gracias a la ayuda exterior del FMI, Rusia y de los países nórdicos, a una industria pesquera pujante y a algunos polos industriales exportadores. Aunque Islandia tiene un problema grave a la espera: Reino Unido y Holanda han denunciado al país por el impago de Icesave, una cuenta que uno de sus grandes bancos tenía en estos dos países y que captó miles de millones de euros gracias a apetitosos tipos de interés. Los islandeses votaron dos veces en referéndum para devolver esa deuda: las dos veces salió no. Las dificultades, sin embargo, pueden llegar por la vía de los tribunales internacionales. El castigo podría ser sobresaliente y sumir de nuevo al país en una depresión de aúpa. Pero, de momento, Islandia ha capeado su crisis bancaria –pese a que aún hay corralito, por ejemplo--, en gran parte porque pudo desairar a los acreedores de sus bancos en quiebra (su presidente reconoce que eso sucedió porque, sencillamente, no había suficiente dinero para pagar, pero esa es otra historia). En un país de la eurozona, eso es más difícil. El ejemplo de libro es Irlanda.

El País