SEMINARIOS Y WORKSHOPS

La Facultad de Economía lo invita al Seminario de Investigación

Environmental Upgrading in Global Value Chains: An Experiment

Seminario Presencial

Agosto 27, 9:00am.

Presentador: Giuseppe Danese   (University of Padua)

Abstract:

Recent legal innovations like the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) increasingly require business leaders to manage environmental sustainability across their value chains. While the extant literature discusses environmental upgrading strategies in global value chains (GVCs), establishing causal links between specific strategies and outcomes remains challenging. Our study addresses this gap through a novel controlled laboratory experiment simulating a sequential game between suppliers and a lead firm. The results show that environmental upgrading is more likely when suppliers’ decisions yield tangible environmental benefits. Surprisingly, the possibility of financial premiums from the lead firm to suppliers proved less effective in encouraging environmental upgrading. We conclude that GVC sustainability strategies should emphasize the link between upgrading choices and concrete environmental outcomes rather than focusing solely on financial incentives and power dynamics.  

La Facultad de Economía lo invita al Seminario de Investigación

Diseño Óptimo de Bonos de Catastróficos y sus Aplicaciones al Riesgo del Cambio Climático

Seminario Presencial

Agosto 22, 11:00am.

Presentador: Andrés Medina   (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

Abstract:

En esta charla, proporcionaré una introducción breve a los Bonos Catastróficos (CAT-Bonds) así como una visión general del mercado para este tipo de valores. También hablaremos del concepto de bursatilización de coberturas de seguros y reaseguros, y los beneficios que estos contratos ofrecen a los inversionistas, instituciones de gobierno y la sociedad en general. Discutiremos las condiciones necesarias y suficientes para establecer teoremas sobre la existencia y unicidad de soluciones tanto en la estructura de Indemnización mediante un Índice como en la estructura de Indemnización asociada a las pérdidas. Además, presentaremos casos que tratan con distribuciones de pérdidas catastróficas y funciones de utilidad particulares.  

La Facultad de Economía lo invita al Seminario de Investigación

"Standing in Prisoners’ Shoes: An Experiment on How Prison Experience Shapes Public Attitudes Towards Criminal Justice Policy"

Seminario Presencial

Martes 18 de Junio, 11:00am.

Presentador: Aljosha Henkel   (ETH Zurich)

Abstract:

Over the last decades, many parts of the world have witnessed a notable shift towards more punitive criminal justice policies. While public opinion is considered a key force in shaping criminal justice policies, most individuals possess very limited knowledge of the everyday realities of life behind bars. This study explores the impact of prison experience on public attitudes towards punitive justice policies. We take advantage of a unique randomized controlled trial offering regular citizens the opportunity to undergo up to two days of incarceration in a newly built prison, replicating the real-life journey of inmates. Our results reveal that subjects who received an opportunity to gain firsthand prison experience showed a significant change in punitive attitudes, becoming less supportive of harsh criminal justice policies and donating more money to organizations advocating for moderate justice policies. While participants generally overestimated prisoner wellbeing, this misperception was not significantly altered by the experiment. Our results underscore the crucial role of personal experience in shaping support for criminal justice reform.  

La Facultad de Economía lo invita al Seminario de Investigación

"Input allocation and investment in a jump-diffusion multi-factor productivity model"

Seminario Presencial

Jueves 6 de Junio, 11:00am.

Presentador: Camilo Castillo  (Universidad del Rosario)

Abstract:

We consider a continuous-time dynamic budgeting problem for a representative firm that allocates capital in multiple production inputs and invests in the financial market. Gains to the firm's productivity are subject to exogenous shocks modeled by a jump-diffusion process that captures both permanent capital fluctuations as well as transitory shocks. The firm is assumed to be self-financed as it reinvests internal gains in the production process and the financial market. Using dynamic programming, we find an explicit characterization of optimal input and risky asset holdings that maximize infinite-horizon expected utility from consumption, for both CARA and CRRA preferences. The optimality criteria resemble the classical long-run profit maximization problem with risk-adjusted costs that lead to a non-zero maximum value in the constant returns-to-scale case. Finally, we obtain one- and two-fund separation results for CARA and CRRA utilities, respectively. We illustrate our findings with several numerical examples. 

La Facultad de Economía lo invita al Seminario de Investigación

Colombia’s Peace Process and its Impact on Deforestation - A Synthetic Control Study

jueves 13 de Junio -hora 11:00am.

Seminario Presencial

 Presentador:  Alexander Ballesteros Quiroga

Abstract:

This paper examines the impact of the 2014 ceasefire and subsequent peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on deforestation patterns in Colombia. Using Synthetic Control Methods (SCM) to compare deforestation trends in Colombia and its territories to those in South American countries and Panama from 2000 to 2021, I observe a significant increase in deforestation after the peace agreement. This increase is particularly pronounced in territories previously controlled by FARC, especially where other armed groups, such as the National Liberation Army (ELN) or paramilitaries, also had a presence prior to 2014. The study finds that the deforested area in these territories increased by 0.49%, equivalent to 1,084.5 km²—an area comparable to Luxembourg—and disaggregates the effect to show increases of 3.576%, 1.441%, and 1.644% in areas with FARC and ELN, FARC and paramilitaries, and all three armed groups, respectively.

Whether the expansion of the financial sector affects greenhouse gas emissions, which are thought to be the main driver of climate change, is a topic of debate in the literature.  This research investigates whether the relationship between value-added in the services sector and financial development lowers carbon intensity in fossil fuels-rich countries.  Through their ability to foster fundamental changes in the economy, more advanced financial systems aid in the growth of the service sector, which ultimately lowers CO2 emissions per GDP unit. However, a lot of these nations subsidize the use of fossil fuels. The carbon and financial curses limit their ability to slow down climate change. Using a dynamic panel data set and a database of the top 45 countries producing greenhouse gases between 1990 and 2019, it is possible to find evidence that countries with less developed financial systems (those that subsidize the use of fossil fuels) have more difficulty reducing their CO2 intensity. Our findings offer proof that the impacts of financial development on greenhouse gas emissions are not uniform.  The CO2 intensity falls in countries without fossil fuel subsidies as financial growth increases. 

La Facultad de Economía lo invita al Seminario de Investigación

Does medical care improve health? The link between health utilization and health outcomes

Jueves 09 de mayo -hora 11:00am

Seminario Presencial

Presentador: Christian Posso (Banco de la República de Colombia)

Abstract:

This study investigates the relationship between health utilization and health outcomes leveraging the unique characteristics of the Colombian health system, with a particular focus on child mortality. We address endogeneity concerns by employing a shift-share instrument and an exogenous shock created by the random allocation of affiliates to new health insurers following an insurer's bankruptcy from 2019 to 2023. The results indicate a significant reduction of 4.9% in child mortality. The effect remains consistent across different age groups and municipality sizes but is only observed in males when analyzed by gender. These findings contribute to healthcare policy discussions and offer insights into how health utilization can enhance health outcomes among vulnerable demographics.

La Facultad de Economía lo invita al Seminario de Investigación

"Pension reform bill in Colombia: a critical analysis from a risk management approach"

Jueves 2 de mayo -hora 11:00am.

Seminario Presencial

Presentador: Oscar Espinosa (Universidad Nacional)

Abstract:

The government of Colombia 2022-2026 presented a pension reform bill that is currently being considered by the Congress of the Republic, which has generated a lot of controversy in society. Currently, pension fund savings are more than USD 100 billion. From an actuarial point of view, we carry out a critical analysis of the positive points and opportunities for improvement that the reform could have. Different points are addressed, grouped according to different types of risks defined by the authors, such as the updating of the mortality tables for male and female annuitants, the coverage of the minimum wage slippage, the strengthening of the corporate governance of the state pension administration entity, among other factors. We hope this document can help the government to make informed, evidence-based decisions that promote social equity with fiscal responsibility, as well as greater present and future well-being for Colombia’s elderly population.