Working Papers on Economics

In a small macroeconomic model of the Colombian economy I investigate the problem of selecting a policy rule that is consistent with inflation targeting. I spell out the characteristics of the optimal feedback and output parameters in the rule, as well as for the optimal forecasting horizon for…

In this theoretical report, the identifiability property of a coincident index model is studied.  As a result, characterization of the identifiability conditions solves a model specification problem, which was detected in the design of an earlier index for the Colombian economy.   Key…

In this paper, we propose a methodology for calculating a leading index of the economic activity based on a modification of Stock and Watson’s (1989, 1991, 1992) approach. We use Kalman filter techniques for estimating the state space representation of the leading index model. The methodology is…

At the end of the last decade, the real activity in Colombia underwent the sharpest recession of the last fifty years. We postulate a non-triangular structural VAR model (Amisano and Giannini, 1997) to describe the dynamics of output, prices, unemployment and wages during the last two decades.…

This paper tests for purchasing power parity (PPP) between Colombia and its main trading partners using the Johansen framework of multivariate cointegration. The tests shows that PPP does not hold in the strong sense, but a clear purchasing power relationship is, nevertheless, show to exist. The…

This study develops three exchange rate models as well as a simple statistical model defined as a random walk with a variable drift. The exchange rate models all use the purchasing power parity hypothesis to account for the long-term relationships between prices and the exchange rate, together…

This study uses two different econometric frameworks to study exchange rate pass-through to import, producer and consumer prices in Colombia. Both frameworks are based on vector autoregressive (VAR) models, the first using an unrestricted VAR model, and the second using the Johansen framework of…

The effects of capital destruction are endogenized in a neoclassical growth model where the economy can optimally allocate part of its labor force to defend capital from being destroyed. The purpose is to explain the optimal allocation of the labor force between productive and deterrence…

Political economists have traditionally been indifferent to the communicative construction of money and central banking in the public sphere. It does not matter to them whether monetary affairs are rendered as a rational game over the preservation of the value of the currency or, for example, as…

The World Bank has proposed an alternative hedging instrument to be offered by the FRECH, instead of the collar-swap currently available. The suggested derivative corresponds to a European Cap option for the real interest rate, which could give greater flexibility to the hedging mechanism,…

Se presenta evidencia clara a favor de la hipótesis de que la estructura a plazo real contiene información sobre las expectativas de la actividad económica en Colombia para los plazos entre 6 y 12, 6 y 24, y 12 y 24 meses adelante. Los signos de los coeficientes estimados son, en todos los casos…

In this paper the evolution in the average height of Colombians from 1910 to 1984 is analyzed. The anthropometric evidence reveals a sustained increase in the standard of biological welfare during this period.  A database with more than 8.000.000 observations from the national citizenship…

In this paper we discuss cost and profit efficiency for a sample of financial institutions on the Colombian financial market in the period 1989-2003, using stochastic frontier efficiency analysis. During the period, the cost efficient frontier deteriorates, but profit efficient frontier is…

This study uses a panel-data framework to identify the determinants of the spread over US Treasuries of emerging market sovereign issues as well as of the creditworthiness of the issuers, where the latter is represented by the Institutional Investor’s creditworthiness index. We use a sample of…

The study presented here is a follow-up study to Rowland and Torres (2004), who used a panel data framework together with data from 16 emerging market issuers to identify the determinants of the spread and the creditworthiness. Since many new issuers of emerging market sovereign debt have…

Some univariate time series properties of output Some univariate time series properties of output

Estimating credibility in Colombia's exchange rate target zone Estimating credibility in Colombia´s exchange rate target zone

Some evidence of smooth transition Some evidence of smooth transitíons nonlinearity in Colombian inflation

Dutch disease and banana exports in the Dutch disease and banana exports in the Colombian caribbean, 1910 - 1950      Resumen In 1994, the seven departaments of the Colombian Caribbean had a population of about 7.2 million, representing 21% of the conuntry's…

This paper examines the role of exchange rates in determining the short-and-long-run trade balance behavior for Colombia. Conventional wisdom says that a nominal devaluation improves the trade balance. This conjecture is rooted in the Bickerdike- Robinson-Metzler (BRM) and Marshall-Lerner (ML)…