This paper analyzes the implementation of Fiscal Rules (FR) in Argentina. Several clear attempts to establish a FR at the national level are identified. The analysis suggests that the environment matters. The only FR that was binding in the period was approved in 2004 during an economic boom,...

This study examines the impact on human mobility of the national social distancing policies implemented in 18 Latin American and Caribbean countries in March 2020. To do so, it uses georeferenced data from cellular phones and variation between countries with regard to whether these measures were...

This study examines the impact on human mobility of the national social distancing policies implemented in 18 Latin American and Caribbean countries in March 2020. To do so, it uses georeferenced data from cellular phones and variation between countries with regard to whether these measures were...

We show that some types of fiscal rules can mitigate the well-known procyclical bias in public capital expenditures. Past research has found that fiscal adjustment episodes coincide with large public investment cuts, a pattern we also document in a sample of 75 advanced and emerging economies...

We study the effect of media coverage on individual behaviour during a public health crisis. For this purpose, we collect a unique dataset of 200,000 newspaper articles about the Covid-19 pandemic from Sweden - one of the few countries that did not impose mandatory lockdowns or curfews. We show...

By studying the interaction between social capital and decentralization, we show that political decentralization can be a source of divergence across heterogeneous regions. In particular, we claim that since the local endowments of social capital display their effect on the economy mainly...