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publications
Misallocation and Productivity in Costa Rica
Published in OECD Economic Survey of Costa Rica: Research Findings on Productivity, OECD Publishing, Paris, 2018
This paper documents the effect of resource misallocation on Costa Rica’s aggregate total factor productivity (TFP) using the Hsieh and Klenow (2009) methodology. The model suggests theoretical TFP gains of around 50%-60%$ for the overall economy and 10%-15% for the manufacturing sector when the United States’ level of efficiency is used as a benchmark. Evidence of a deterioration in the efficiency of resource allocation over the period 2005-2015 was not found, and misallocation seems to be greater in the agricultural sector. Small and large firms face advantageous output distortions relative to medium-sized firms, and small firms tend to also face disadvantageous capital distortions. Furthermore, our results also suggest that small firms have experienced higher growth in both capital and output wedges. Finally, distortions create incentives for firms to exit the market and thwart the entrance of new participants in an industry.
Estimating Labor Market Slackness (In Spanish)
Published in BCCR Working Paper N. 02-2023, 2022
Working Paper. With Catalina Sandoval-Alvarado.
This article provides a set of labor market slackness indicators for Costa Rica. First, we provide an estimation of the NAIRU rate using a linear state-space model featuring a Phillips curve to capture the underlining relationship between inflation and unemployment. Next, we compute the natural rate of unemployment under the premise that the flow origins of the unemployment rate determine unemployment fluctuations and trends. Lastly, we compute an efficient unemployment rate, an unemployment level that maximizes welfare and that considers the unemployment-vacancy trade-off governed by the Beveridge curve. The three estimators coincide in showing positive employment gaps during the last decade, which translates to excess capacity at the aggregate level. Although the pandemic exacerbated the gaps, the results point that the unemployment rate has been converging to its natural rate, which is higher than its pre-pandemic level.
talks
Talk 1 on Relevant Topic in Your Field
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Tutorial 1 on Relevant Topic in Your Field
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Talk 2 on Relevant Topic in Your Field
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Conference Proceeding talk 3 on Relevant Topic in Your Field
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teaching
International Macroeconomics (In Spanish)
Undergraduate, University of Costa Rica, 2022
The course deals with recent theory on international macro to understand the main implications of increasing integration of the world economy. Topics covered in the course include theories and facts about the current account, exchange rate determination and the real exchange rate, international macroeconomic co-movement, comparison of the properties of alternative exchange rate systems (including currency unions), currency crises, macroeconomic policy in open economies, and international capital flows. Website.
Macro-Labor Economics (In Spanish)
Undergraduate, University of Costa Rica, 2022
The course presents important theories and methods for analyzing labor markets under frictional settings. The course emphasizes relationships between macro phenomena such as unemployment and agents’ behavior in the labor market. The course introduces building blocks for studying the relationship between the micro and the macro sides of the economy, to understand how unemployment and wage dispersion can arise as equilibrium phenomena. Website.
Macroeconomic Theory 2 (In Spanish)
Undergraduate, University of Costa Rica, 2023
This course emphasizes the microeconomic underpinnings of modern macroeconomics, maintaining tractability and a focus on policy. By the end of the course, students will have a thorough understanding of advanced methods in macroeconomics, including the neoclassical model, real business cycle model, and New Keynesian model with sticky prices, and will be well-prepared for further study or work in the field. Website.