núm. 13 (2010)

This paper aims to demonstrate empirically the effects of fiscal policy on output and income distribution in Colombia for the period 1990-2006. It sought to establish whether fiscal policy has been effective in achieving stabilization of the economy and reducing distributive gaps. In order to carry out it uses a VAR model with quarterly reporting of spending and taxes from national government, real GDP and the Gini coefficient. This issue is relevant for at least two reasons. First, there appears to be no consensus among economist about the magnitude and the sign of the effects of fiscal policy, which is a good opportunity to provide evidence, marginally, on the subject for a developing country. Secondly, fiscal policy has been viewed as a good instrument to directly affect both in economic cycle as the inequality. Therefore, the inclusion of this latter variable in these models is a valuable manner to assess fiscal policy both from standpoint of their effectiveness in accomplishing this objective as to establish which instruments achieve this objective better.

The minimum monthly wage (SMMLV) in Colombia is analyzed since its fixation policy framework and its effects on the real purchasing power of workers during the period 1950-2009, and using basic conceptual principles of the Theory of Revenue. The results show that the SMMLV force in 2009 ($496,900) was in real terms slightly higher than 40% respect the first established in 1950 ($60), in turn equivalent to the average annual rate of inflation experienced during the period, which means that, despite the settings approach has been made, the wage policy applied in the country during the past 59 years has served, at best, to maintain the purchasing power of workers perceiving the (MMW), as well as, all those who have adjusted their monthly payment based on the latter, in practice the majority of Colombian workers. The negotiating policy On MMW in Colombia is based on processes of consultation between workers, producers and Government focuses exclusively on the wages question, without any explicit reference about the employment (unemployment) conditions in the country. It was therefore present some basic theoretical arguments about the practical implications of minimum wage policy in economies with high unemployment and Colombia. Therefore, as a complement, the document includes some theoretical arguments about the practical implications of applying minimum wage policies in economies facing high unemployment rates such as those currently present in Colombia.

In this article presents a brief overview of the development of the theory of hypothesis testing, and clarified the main differences between parametric and non-parametric tests. To illustrate the use of other tests, conducting a study of simulation shown errors incurred by researchers to make decisions when ignored the assumptions required by a wellknown statistical method.

The following is a working paper whose main objective of this work is to demonstrate the incidence in the cost of the families in relation to the public transport in the localities of Usme and Ciudad Bolívar of Bogotá since an analytical perspective descriptive way by means of the use of a econometric model that allows to determine it us and to verify it. In order to accomplish the objective, it was designed and implemented an instrument of data collecting based on 619 surveys conducted directly to the homes that use the collective service of public transport in the places of Usme and Ciudad Bolívar to move to their places of work and/or study, or to fulfill activities of its familiar nucleus. The work is sustained in addition, in the development of an historical brief of the use of transport in Bogotá,taking as base a model of consumption of the families and the ultimate tendencies found in the study of the economy of the transport, doing emphasis, as regards the collective public transport of passengers. By such reason, is in the development of the work the different contributions from specialists in the subject of the transport that has taken an excellent importance in the economic development and search from well-being of the families.

The author conducted a research which had as purpose to make empiric validation using an econometric regression model, that on the national occupation the following activities related to the external sector have had: Exports (X), Imports (M), net exports (XN) and direct foreign investment (IED). The results indicate a high association between occupation and exports. However, this effect almost vanishes with increased imports. As for FDI, which has a minimal share of GDP, its correlation with employment is not significant.

The design and implementation of a sustainable agribusiness model, within agricultural and rural development processes, has relationships in a global context with production, economic, social, administrative and environmental axes, among others, framed within a surrounding context. These aspects were considered in 2009 in some rural areas of the city of Bogotá, which present different situations that make life difficult for the peasants, who gain their low incomes through the exploitation of their lands. To help provide solutions to these problems, the University of La Salle and the District Secretary of Economic Development (SDDE) of the city of Bogota, signed the agreement 034 (2008) by which was intended to help give producers in the localities of Ciudad Bolívar and Usme and entrepreneurial vision of the milk supply chain in its phases of production, processing and marketing. Among the various components of the agribusiness model, this article emphasizes the economic and administrative elements that comprise it, trying to carry out a support process that sought the ownership by the peasants of concepts that help them to plan, organize, direct and control their farms in a more appropriate way towards optimizing revenue, both individual (family), and communal. With such purposes it was used a process of Participatory Action Research (PAR) based on specific diagnoses that were analyzed together with the community through methods designed to cover three basic areas of rural development: Farm (symbolizing the technical, economic and administrative production units), family (emphasizing the social aspects of their business) and community (with emphasis on the processes of improving the living conditions at regional level). According to the results of this process were generated and implemented remedial actions represented in training methods and processes, business consultancy and social outreach that helped the overall improvement of the communities involved.

In addition to the socio demographic studies that focus on the determinants of health system affiliation, this work is incorporated into the analysis the heterogeneous characteristics of the labor market in order to assess specifically what the impact on the probability to be affiliated or not a particular health system, variables such as informality, the condition of unemployment, permanent disability of a person, the type of contract, the company size by number of employees etc. Since the affiliation with the General System of Social Security in Colombia is segmented into three alternatives, without any definite order, the question boils down to model the probability that the person takes a decision and choose one of them, so the information Quality of Life Survey 1997 and 2003, the paper analyzed by multinomial logistic models stylized facts and the evolution of the probability of affiliation to the subsidized regime and the probability of no affiliation.