Ayer mi amiga barranquillera Oriana Torres me escribió por Twitter diciendo “@vladimirolarte ridículo cuan inconsistentes son las noticias recientes sobre las cifras de pobreza en Colombia ¿a quién creerle? – hazme un brief.” Como sé que Ori no es la… Leer más ›
Language/Idioma
The state of Colombian children compared to other countries
This post has the objective of developing an international comparative descriptive review of the situation of children in Colombia, based on international development data from the United Nations System, particularly from UNICEF and DevInfo. To answer the title’s question, I… Leer más ›
Una actitud renovadora por lo que es nuestro
“Nunca dudes que un pequeño grupo de ciudadanos pensantes y comprometidos pueden cambiar el mundo. De hecho, son los únicos que lo han logrado” – Margaret Mead. La desconfianza en los políticos colombianos. Hace unos días de Julio 2011, varios… Leer más ›
A critical analysis of evidence on the effects of microcredits on household material well-being
The following post aims at conducting a synthesis and critical assessment of evidence on the impact of microfinance programs on poverty reduction. Specifically, it will assess the effects of access to microfinance products on the material wellbeing of poor rural and… Leer más ›
El reto fundamental de acabar con la pobreza
A pesar de Colombia haber disminuido la incidencia de pobreza por ingreso en 8,7 puntos porcentuales en los últimos ocho años, el país aún registra la mayor tasa de pobreza, una de las peores distribuciones del ingreso y el sexto… Leer más ›
Are recent performance and trends of New York State’s finances sustainable?
Are recent performance and trends of New York State’s finances sustainable? The following post will argue that New York’s finances are in a non-sustainable path, facing major projected budget deficits that require fiscal reform. To answer this question, we’ll go… Leer más ›
Desempleo ¿cómo disminuirlo?
La tasa de desempleo colombiana disminuyó en los últimos ocho años del 17,7% en 2002 al 12,5% en 2010, pero aún es una de las más altas de América Latina y del mundo. En términos generales, la región con el… Leer más ›
Could fiscal rules and performance budgeting have avoided some recent government budgeting disasters?
“The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced (…) lest Rome become bankrupt.” Marcus Tullius Cicero (64 B.C.)[1] Could fiscal rules and performance budgeting have avoided some of the recent government budgeting disasters?… Leer más ›
A new industrial policy for economic development
Industrial policy (IP) is government’s support to specific economic sectors and regions. There is plenty of evidence demonstrating that IP has played an essential role in economic development of current high-income countries, successful catch-up countries such as the “Asian Tigers”, and thriving developing… Leer más ›
The decade of emerging market economies
While US and Western Europe are still going through a painful adjustment, slow recovery, and some feelings of pessimism, a number of emerging market economies are booming and optimistic. Here is a good recent video from the American TV program… Leer más ›
Towards a more stable global reserve system
Paper co-authored by Christopher Reim (US), Mariam El Hamiani Khabat (Morocco), Vladimir Olarte Cadavid (Colombia), Deepika Sharma (India), and Bill Papadakis (Greece) from Columbia University for the symposium ‘New World, New Capitalism’ hosted by the French Ministry of Economy, Industry… Leer más ›
The limitations of capital market liberalization in developing countries
Capital market liberalization, the international free flow of money and investments, was the most debated policy issue of the 1990s (Stiglitz, 2007) and became an important feature of contemporary globalization. However, this liberalization has also been a catalyst, an intensifier,… Leer más ›
¿Qué hacemos con la violencia?
El reciente editorial del periódico El Tiempo «¿Cómo nos matamos?» ¡me dejó impresionado y reflexivo! Según este, el más reciente informe «Forensis» del instituto colombiano de medicina legal y ciencias forenses describe que en 2009 se registraron más de 29.000… Leer más ›
Educação na América do Sul
Qual é a situação do acesso e da qualidade da educação na América do Sul em relação a outras regiões do mundo? Segundo o Instituto de Estatística da UNESCO, na América do Sul a taxa média de matrícula das crianças na idade… Leer más ›