This paper shows evidence on the level and distribution of household saving in Mexico for the period 1984-1996. We verify, whether the changes in household saving behavior are related to short or longer term decisions by controlling for cohort effects, changes in family structure and for...

Competing in the world economy does not automatically boost a nation's productivity and restructure its economy. Such progress requires mobilizing capital, employment, technology and knowledge. Opportunities beyond the business realm must be fully exploited to the benfit of society as a whole....

This report moves beyond the conventional scope of economics to examine three entrenched structural factors -demography, geography and institutions- that are closely connected to economic and social development. Historical in nature and slow to evolve, these variables are not always in the...

Abstract: High inequality has long been regarded as one of the main problems facing Latin American countries. To understand better the determinants of inequality and to help guide thinking about policy options, it would be useful to know whether inequality mainly reflects low intergenerational...

My dissertation focuses on partial identification of the distribution function of treatment effects. When treatment effects are believed to be heterogeneous, policy evaluation often requires knowledge of the distribution function of potential treatment effects. This function cannot be...

The main focus of this thesis is the study of distributional aspects of income and other dimensions of well-being. The first two essays pertain to the use of multidimensional poverty techniques. In the third essay I discuss a different distributional aspect, the middle class as captured by...

Over the past two decades, China has been the worlds fastest-growing economy. My dissertation focuses on several important issues in Chinas recent development and reform:(1) Financial development and economic growth. It is widely recognized that financial sector reform is crucial to Chinas...