Still puzzling: evaluating the price puzzle in an empirically identified structural vector autoregression

The price puzzle, an increase in the price level associated with a contractionary monetary shock, is investigated in a rich, 12-variable SVAR in which various factors that have been mooted as solutions are considered jointly. SVARs for the pre-1980 and post-1990 periods are identified empirically using a graph-theoretic causal search algorithm combined with formal tests of the implied overidentifying restrictions. In this SVAR, the pre-1980 price puzzle depends on the characterization of monetary policy, and the post-1990 price puzzle is statistically insignificant. Commonly suggested theoretical resolutions to the price puzzle are shown to have causal implications inconsistent with the data.     

The economics of taxes with equivalent effects to tariffs

Developing countries are faced with the issue of tariff replacement at an early stage of their development, due to their increased commitments through Free Trade Arrangements with developed countries. As tariff replacement through VAT, or more sophisticated tools such as income tax, is neither practically nor economically desirable in these economies, this paper investigates the effects of an alternative replacement tax that only affects categories of goods not produced locally. This tax, denominated tax with equivalent effects to tariffs (TEET), is indeed a consumption tax as it concerns all goods, whether imported or potentially produced in the country. Based on a simple diagrammatic approach, the study shows that this tool tends to generate more welfare than tariffs if final prices of goods are left unchanged. It shows that a government can continue to maintain its revenues and increase the welfare of consumers through this fiscal replacement. Additionally, the political and economic reserves associated with this tool are discussed. The TEET are therefore useful mainly for small and non-diversified economies. It also remains that the use of this tool is, in practice, conditioned by the level of tolerance of developed countries, which tend to prohibit it in bilateral agreements with developing countries.     

A family of measures of uncertainty involving utilities: Definition,properties, applications and statistical inferences

Consider an experiment involving the observation of a discrete random variable, or quantitative classification process. When, in addition to the probability of each value or class we know its “utility” (or, more precisely, we can quantify the “nature” of each value or class), the “uncertainty corresponding to the utilities” may be evaluated. In this paper, we are first going to introduce a family of Measures of Uncertainty involving Utilities and several properties of this family are studied. Then, some immediate applications are discussed: the definition of criteria for Comparing Experiments in Statistical Decision problems, and the quantification of the Inequality with respect to an economical attribute or the Industrial Concentration. Finally, we will analyze the asymptotic behaviour of the measures in simple random sampling, and some related problems. This work was partially supported by the Comisión Asesora de Investigación Científica Técnica (CAICYT) under the contract PB85-0401.     

Transmission of future prices of corn of the Chicago Board of Trade to the Mexican spot market

In Mexico, the use of the coverage program of the Bureau of Market Services and Agricultural Market Development (ASERCA for its acronym in Spanish) is a tool that has been used by corn producers (mainly for white corn) for the acquisition of derived products in the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade), the underlying element of which is US#2 grade yellow corn. In a high volatility environment regarding the prices of corn, the prices of CBOT should be adjusted with the spot domestic prices to incentivize Mexican producers to participate in the program. However, through a multivariate stochastic volatility analysis during the period of 2007–2012, it was shown that the future price of corn is not strongly related to the prices registered in some states of the country, therefore, it can be inferred that the coverage through the ASERCA program does not properly comply with its objective of protecting the national farmers that grow white corn, despite the fact that its use has increased.     

Effect of information quality due accounting regulatory changes: Applied case to Mexican real sector

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether changes in accounting standards improve value relevance of financial information on listed companies in Mexico. The research was conducted for the period 2000–2013 using a sample of 141 companies that report to the Mexican stock exchange using the methodology of panel data. Our findings show that changes in local regulations (generally accepted accounting principles) to internationally approved standards (Financial Reporting Standards and International Financial Reporting Standards) increase the value relevance and therefore the quality of information. The study shows that the accounting information with international Financial Reporting Standards is more trustworthy for foreign and national investors.     

Stimulating creative entrepreneurial initiatives: a flow diagram for strategic planning

This paper contributes to the organisational study of the creativity applied to business innovation through the analysis of three propositions: (1) there are substantial differences between Creative Entrepreneurial Initiatives (CEIs) and non-CEIs, with regard to human capital factors, structural capital factors, intellectual property, and creative value chain; (2) there are institutional, financial, and educational barriers that limit the creation of CEIs in South Europe (Portugal, France, and Spain); and (3) the adaptation of organisational measures of stimulus to the specificity of CEIs through a flow diagram can reduce the limiting effect of the barriers detected by CEIs. From this approach, researchers and policy-makers can obtain a better understanding of the specificities of the CIEs from a sectoral, strategic, and organisational focus.     

The population of Cuba: the growth and characteristics of its labor force

"This paper analyzes Cuba's current demographic picture, and emphasizes the characteristics of its labor force that will influence dynamic change. Overall, the contribution of the labor force to the development of a market economy is likely to be positive, given its low dependency ratio, the high level of education, and the value placed on entrepreneurship."     

Surprise and dispersion: informational impact of USDA announcements

We examine the role of information asymmetry on changes in bid‐ask spreads during major United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announcements. Our analyses, using corn, wheat, and soybean futures, indicate that information asymmetry is significantly higher on USDA announcement days compared to nonannouncement days. We further observe that the increased information asymmetry prior to news announcements is mainly driven by the divergence in private information possessed by market participants. However, once the USDA news is released, not only the dispersion in investors’ private information but also the surprises in news announcements contribute to increased information asymmetry and widening of bid‐ask spreads.