Pablo Acosta - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Pablo Acosta

Journal of International Economics, 2009

Disturbance decoupling with stability using PID control laws

Proceedings of 1994 33rd IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, 1994

We consider a linear time-invariant system and solve the disturbance decoupling problem with stab... more We consider a linear time-invariant system and solve the disturbance decoupling problem with stability using PID control laws. We also present a way for synthesizing the ideal control law and show how to approximate such ideal control law by sequence of stable proper control law

Labor Supply, School Attendance, And Remittances From International Migration : The Case Of El Salvador

Policy Research Working Papers, 2006

Policy Research Working Papers, 2007

This paper explores the impact of remittances on poverty, education, and health in eleven Latin A... more This paper explores the impact of remittances on poverty, education, and health in eleven Latin American countries using nationally representative household surveys and making an explicit attempt to account for one of the inherent costs associated with migration: the potential income that the migrant may have made at home. The main findings of the study are the following: (i) regardless of the counterfactual used remittances appear to lower poverty levels in most recipient countries; (ii) yet, despite this general tendency the estimated impacts tend to be modest; and (iii) there is significant country heterogeneity in the poverty reduction impact of remittances' flows. Among the aspects that have been identified in the paper that may lead to varying outcomes across countries are the percentage of households reporting remittances income, the share of remittances recipient households belonging to the lowest quintiles of the income distribution, and the relative importance of remittances flows with respect to GDP. While remittances tend to have positive effects on education and health, this impact is often restricted to specific groups of the population.

Educational Upgrading and Returns to Skills in Latin America: Evidence from a Supply-Demand Framework, 1990-2010

Policy Research Working Papers, 2011

Abstract The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress t... more Abstract The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully ...

World Development, 2008

Workers' remittances have become a major source of income for developing countries. However, litt... more Workers' remittances have become a major source of income for developing countries. However, little is still known about their impact on poverty and inequality. Using a large cross-country panel dataset, we find that remittances in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries have increased growth and reduced inequality and poverty. These results are robust to the use of different instruments that attempt to correct for the potential endogeneity of remittances. Household survey-based estimates for ten LAC countries confirm that remittances have negative albeit relatively small inequality and poverty reducing effects, even after imputations for the potential home earnings of migrants.

The World Economy, 2008

This paper provides empirical assessments of one of the leading explanations for the increase in ... more This paper provides empirical assessments of one of the leading explanations for the increase in skill premium in Mexico and Argentina during the 1990s: trade liberalisation. We provide evidence that imports increase skill premium in Mexico, while exports reduce it. In Argentina, overall trade increased skill premium in the early 1990s (the beginning of trade reforms), although it reduced it later in the decade. These results are helpful for a comparison between South-South integration, FTAA or bilateral FTAs with Northern economies as alternative trade policy options for Latin American countries.

The Annals of Regional Science, 2010

The "flypaper effect", when an unconditional lump-sum grant to a local government increases spend... more The "flypaper effect", when an unconditional lump-sum grant to a local government increases spending in a greater proportion than an equivalent raise in local income, has been extensively documented in the literature. This paper shows new estimates in the presence of spatial dependence, when local spending is not independent from its neighbor jurisdictions' behavior. Using county-level data for Buenos Aires (Argentina), this study shows that while the "flypaper effect still holds true in the presence of spillover effects or mimic behavior across jurisdictions, it could be overestimated in the presence of spatial interdependence. JEL Classification H77 · R12 · C21

Labour Economics, 2010

The "Peter Principle" suggests that individuals are "promoted to their level of incompetence". A ... more The "Peter Principle" suggests that individuals are "promoted to their level of incompetence". A corollary of the "Peter Principle" prediction is that external hires should have an advantage when competing with incumbents for a higher position. Using five years of personnel records from a single large U.S. corporation, this paper contributes to the literature on internal labor markets and intra-firm job mobility by testing this prediction for career advancement. Results support the idea of differences in promotion dynamics among incumbents and external hires, since past career advancement within the firm result in a lower probability of subsequent promotion, even after controlling for workers' heterogeneity and tenure on the current job. The advantage for external hires does not hold once other job changes (lateral transfers, task reorganizations) are considered, highlighting that promotions are a very different job placement mechanism than transfers. Overall, the evidence points out towards declining performance following promotion, as opposed to alternative competing hypothesis of probation placement or "handicapping" external candidates. . 1 gives other examples in which the "Peter Principle" can be applied:

Journal of World Business, 2011

School Attendance, Child Labour, and Remittances from International Migration in El Salvador

Journal of Development Studies, 2011

International migrant remittances can increase household budget and reduce liquidity constraint p... more International migrant remittances can increase household budget and reduce liquidity constraint problems, generating consumption and investment opportunities for recipient households. In particular, remittances can enable investing in children's human capital and reduce child labour, key outcomes from the perspective of growth in a developing country. Using data for El Salvador, this article shows: a) a null or insignificant overall impact

Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2007

Capital accumulation can modify the relative productivity between skilled and unskilled workers, ... more Capital accumulation can modify the relative productivity between skilled and unskilled workers, leading to changes in the wage structure. In particular, if capital goods are relatively more complementary to skilled workers, a positive correlation between investment in physical capital and the wage premium would be expected. In this paper, we present evidence for this hypothesis by taking advantage of the variability in wage premia and capital investment across industries in the Argentina's manufacturing sector. We conclude that the wage premium for skilled workers increased more in those industries with higher investment in machinery and equipment. The overall evidence seems to indicate that industry affiliation is an important determinant of earnings differentials by skill group.

Journal of Applied Economics, 2005

2005 Pablo Acosta / Andrés Loza SHORT AND LONG RUN DETERMINANTS OF PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN ARGENTIN... more 2005 Pablo Acosta / Andrés Loza SHORT AND LONG RUN DETERMINANTS OF PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN ARGENTINA Journal of Applied Economics, noviembre, año/vol. VIII, número 002 Universidad del CEMA Buenos Aires, Argentina pp. 389-406 ... Red de Revistas Científicas de ...

A simple IM test for exponential distributions

Applied Economics Letters, 2009

We construct a simple information matrix misspecification test for exponential distributions that... more We construct a simple information matrix misspecification test for exponential distributions that can be applied in duration models. We evaluate the test performance using Monte Carlo simulation experiments. We found good empirical size properties and good power against ...

Dengue Bulletin

Roraima is the northernmost state of Brazil and its western and southern portion is covered by th... more Roraima is the northernmost state of Brazil and its western and southern portion is covered by the Amazon rainforest. This region is one of the most affected by dengue viruses in Brazil. Reports from 1999 to 2011 pointed out a high incidence of dengue epidemics, and the state evolved from hypoendemic to hyperendemic. This led to the isolation and identification of the four dengue virus (DENV) serotypes with a substitution pattern of one serotype for another until 2010, when simultaneous circulation of the four serotypes was detected. In line with the increased risk of secondary infection and entry of new serotypes/genotypes, the number of severe cases increased in recent years. Roraima borders Venezuela and Guyana, where all four dengue serotypes are in circulation, and so it is considered an important port of entry for new genotypes into Brazil.

Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, 2014

Serum samples from 150 NS1-negative (Platelia ELISA) patients presumptively diagnosed with dengue... more Serum samples from 150 NS1-negative (Platelia ELISA) patients presumptively diagnosed with dengue were analyzed by the TaqMan probed real-time reverse transcription PCR (TaqMan qRT-PCR) method. The qRT-PCR positive samples were tested for serotype by semi-nested RT-PCR and a qualitative immunochromatographic assay for IgG and IgM. Molecular detection methods showed 33 (22%) positive samples out of 150 NS1-antigen negative samples. Of these, 72% were collected up to day 2 after the onset of symptoms, when diagnostic sensitivity of NS1-antigen test assays is significantly enhanced. Most of the cases were not characterized as secondary infection. Twenty-eight samples were successfully serotyped, 75% of which for DENV-4, 14% for DENV-2, 7% for DENV-3 and 4% for DENV-1. These findings reaffirm the hyperendemic situation of the state of Roraima and suggest a lower sensitivity of the NS1 test, mainly when DENV-4 is the predominant serotype. Health care providers should therefore be aware of samples tested negative by NS1 antigen assays, especially when clinical symptoms and other laboratory data results show evidence of dengue infection.

Plant Cell Reports, 2007

Guarana (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis) is a plant native to the central Amazon basin. Roasted s... more Guarana (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis) is a plant native to the central Amazon basin. Roasted seed extracts have been used as medicinal beverages since pre-Colombian times, due to their reputation as stimulants, aphrodisiacs, tonics, as well as protectors of the gastrointestinal tract. Guarana plants are commercially cultivated exclusively in Brazil to supply the national carbonated softdrink industry and natural product stores around the world. In this report, we describe and discuss the annotation of 15,387 ESTs from guarana seeded-fruits, highlighting sequences from the flavonoid and purine alkaloid pathways, and those related to biotic stress avoidance. This is the largest set of sequences registered for the Sapindaceae family.