This paper develops a model of deforestation and economic development in the Amazon. It is based on the determinants of demand for agricultural land, i.e. on the interactions between population dynamics, urbanization and the growth of local markets, land prices, and government policies. The...

This paper compares the Total Economic Value of standing Amazonian rain forest with the Net Present Value of alternative agricultural land uses. It is shown that, at the current level of deforestation, the potential benefits of deforestation are higher than the expected costs. As the level of...

The urban labor market in Bolivia can be divided into 4 main sectors: 1) the public sector, 2) the formal private sector, 3) self-employed informals, and 4) informal workers. Although incomes are generally higher in the public sector and in the formal private sector, there is a strong preference...

This document investigates the effectiveness of foreign aid in Bolivia. When comparing accumulated aid in each sector during the period 1998-2002 with the progress in each sector during the same period, it becomes clear that the four sectors receiving by far the most aid (Institutional...

Brazil has long ago removed most of the perverse government incentives that stimulated massive deforestation in the Amazon in the 70s and 80s, but one highly controversial policy remains: Road building. While data is now abundantly available due to the constant satellite surveillance of the...

Este documento presenta proyecciones detalladas de población y pobreza que consideren los cambios demográficos y económicos esperados (esto último en términos de fecundidad, mortalidad, migración, educación y crecimiento del PIB) y sus reflejos en la movilidad económica por tipo de...

Este informe analiza los cambios en población, pobreza y movilidad económica en Nicaragua entre los periodos 1998-2001 y 2001-2005, y usa los resultados para hacer proyecciones simultáneas de pobreza y población para Nicaragua hasta 2025. Además, el estudio hace proyecciones del gasto...

This paper estimates structural parameters of both a simple and an extended job separation model with the purpose of understanding constraints in the labor market in Bolivia. The results confirm the hypothesis that skilled labor is a scarce commodity in Bolivia, while unskilled labor is...

El corredor de conservación Amboró-Madidi es de prioridad global debido a su alta biodiversidad y endemismo. Al mismo tiempo, las tierras fiscales de la región son apreciadas por migrantes sin tierra del altiplano. En este documento contrastamos la necesidad de tierra para actividades...

This paper makes detailed population and poverty projections that take into account expected demographic changes (in terms of fertility, mortality, migration, and education) as well as differentials in social mobility by household type. Such projections could be useful for a variety of purposes...