Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Saving Lives With Stem Cell Transplants, Damien Sheehan-Connor, Ted C. Bergstrom, Rodney Garratt

Ted C Bergstrom

Blood stem cell transplants can be life-saving for some patients, but the chances of finding a matching donor are small unless a large number of potential donors are evaluated. Many nations maintain large registries of potential donors who have offered to donate stem cells if they are the best available match for a patient needing a transplant. An alternative source of stem cells, umbilical cord blood, is stored in banks. Everyone faces a small probability of needing a transplant which will increase their likelihood of survival. The registries and cord blood banks are thus an interesting example of a pure …

Undergraduate Public Finance (Bepp 201), Matthew Freedman

Matthew Freedman

This course will examine the role of the government in the economy and its impact on individuals and firms. The aim of the course is to provide an understanding of the reasons for government intervention in the economy, the extent of that intervention, and the response of individuals and firms to the government’s actions. A wide variety of topics will be covered, including (but not limited to) environmental regulation, education, health care, social insurance programs, budget deficits, and the taxation of both individuals and firms.

The syllabus is posted here.

Course materials are posted on Canvas.

Taught Spring …

Saving Lives With Stem Cell Transplants, Damien Sheehan-Connor, Ted Bergstrom, Rodney Garratt

Ted C Bergstrom

For patients with certain diseases, blood stem cell transplants can be life-saving. But a transplant is likely to be successful only if the immune systems of the donor and recipient are a close genetic match. Human immune systems are extremely diverse and a patient's chances of finding a matching donor would be small without the ability to search a very large number of possible donors. For this reason, most advanced nations maintain large registries of potential donors who have offered to donate stem cells if they happen to be the best available match for a patient needing a transplant. In …

Una Propuesta De Crédito Tributario Al Ingreso Para Chile, Claudio A. Agostini, Marcela Perticará, Javiera Selman

Claudio A. Agostini

En 1975, Estados Unidos estableció un sistema de crédito tributario reembolsable focalizado en familias de bajos o moderados ingresos denominado Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). La recepción del crédito es condicional en trabajar, y si este es mayor a lo que una familia debe pagar por impuestos, entonces se le hace una transferencia monetaria. Esta política ha tenido un impacto positivo en la participación laboral femenina, sobre todo de mujeres madres solteras, y se ha constituido en el programa más importante de ese país en la reducción de la pobreza. Este documento simula el efecto que tendría implementar un esquema …

La Incidencia Distributiva Del Impuesto A Las Gasolinas En Chile, Claudio A. Agostini, Johanna Jimenez

Claudio A. Agostini

En este trabajo se analiza la incidencia distributiva del impuesto específico a las gasolinas en Chile, usando para ello la V y VI Encuestas de Presupuestos Familiares. La incidencia se calcula tanto respecto a la distribución de ingreso como de gasto, de tal forma de considerar las potenciales diferencia entre ingreso transitorio y permanente. Se estima el Índice de Suits como medida de la progresividad del impuesto y utilizando bootstrapping se calculan intervalos de confianza que permitan comparar estadísticamente cambios en la incidencia frente a cambios en el impuesto. Los resultados muestran que el impuesto es leve o moderadamente progresivo, …

Interjurisdictional Capitalization Of A New Metro Line On Housing Values, Claudio A. Agostini, Gaston Palmucci

Claudio A. Agostini

Many governments continue constructing new subway lines with the goal of reducing congestion and pollution in large cities. Besides the potential global effects on reducing negative externalities in the city, there are some local positive effects in terms of lower commuting time and distance for residents living close to the subway stations. These benefits of the public transport services should capitalize totally or partially on housing prices. Most of the empirical work has estimated the effects on housing prices after the public transit infrastructure is operating and implicitly assumed homogeneous capitalization across jurisdictions. However, due to differences on local public …

Estimando Indigencia Y Pobreza Indígena Regional Con Datos Censales Y Encuestas De Hogares, Claudio A. Agostini, Philip H. Brown, Andrei Roman

Claudio A. Agostini

While indigenous Chileans are believed to experience higher poverty rates than non-indigenous Chileans, evidence is typically based on surveys that are not representative by ethnicity. We adapt poverty mapping methodologies to estimate poverty and poverty gaps for eight indigenous groups more precisely. We find that indigenous people experience higher rates of poverty and also greater depth of poverty. These results hold within regions, suggesting that geographic variation in economic opportunity cannot fully explain the differences. We also find that the poverty burden is not equal across indigenous groups and argue that ethnicity should be included as a criterion for antipoverty …

Pobreza, Desigualdad Y Segregación En La Región Metropolitana, Claudio A. Agostini

Claudio A. Agostini

En general, hay consenso respecto a cómo medir pobreza y desigualdad. Es por ello que existe un grado importante de acuerdo sobre su evolución en el tiempo, tanto en Chile como en la Región Metropolitana. Sin embargo, no existe igual grado de acuerdo respecto a la segregación. No hay una definición clara de qué es segregación ni cómo medirla, ni hay datos validados que permitan ver su evolución en el tiempo. No obstante, la ciudad de Santiago suele ser percibida como una urbe muy segregada y se piensa que ello tiene efectos negativos. En general, no hay buenos argumentos para …

Differential Fuel Taxes And Their Effects On Automobile Demand, Claudio A. Agostini

Claudio A. Agostini

Fuel taxation policy in Chile has always been to keep taxes on diesel lower than those on gasoline. The proportion of automobiles with diesel engines has grown considerably as a result. Just 20% of diesel engine emissions are equivalent to 80% of gasoline engine emissions, and this affects the level of externalities associated with automobile use, especially in cities such as Santiago where pollution levels are high. This study estimates the effect of the fuel tax differential on automobile demand. The findings indicate diesel automobile demand elasticities of -3.4 and 2.1 with respect to the price of the vehicle and …

El Mercado De Valores Chileno: Análisis Y Propuestas En El Ámbito Tributario, Claudio A. Agostini, Carlos Budnevich

Claudio A. Agostini

A partir de un marco tributario que considera tanto los objetivos de la política tributaria de un país como sus efectos, en este trabajo se analizan los distintos impuestos que afectan al mercado de capitales en Chile. Dicho análisis, junto a una exhaustiva revisión de la literatura económica en este tema, tanto teórica como empírica, dan lugar a un conjunto de propuestas que permitirían reducir las potenciales distorsiones que introducen los impuestos en el mercado de valores en Chile actualmente, y que harían más eficiente su funcionamiento.

One Chance In A Million: Altruism And The Bone Marrow Registry, Ted Bergstrom, Rod Garratt, Damien Sheehan-Connor

Ted C Bergstrom

Transplants of donated stem cells save the lives of many patients with blood diseases. Donation is somewhat painful, butrarely has lasting adverse effects. Patients can accept transplants only from donors with compatible immune systems. Those lacking a sibling match must seek donations from the population at large. The probability that two persons of the same race are compatible is less than 1/10,000. Health authorities maintain a registry of several million genetically-tested potential donors who have agreed to donate if asked. We study the peculiar structure of voluntary public good provision represented by the registry, and compare the marginal benefits and …

Capitalización Heterogénea De Un Bien Semipúblico: El Metro De Santiago, Claudio A. Agostini, Gaston A. Palmucci

Claudio A. Agostini

In this work we estimate the degree of capitalization of the Santiago Subway (Metro) network on housing prices, analyzing price the differences among lines and counties. For this purpose, we combine hedonic price regressions with simple difference estimators. The results show that apartments located near the Metro stations have, on average, a larger value of 8.84%, 27.16% y 6.72% for Lines 1, 2, and 5 respectively. The degree of capitalization is not uniform within a county but depends on the distance to the subway station and the specific line providing the service.

Distribución Espacial De La Pobreza En Chile, Claudio A. Agostini, Philip H. Brown, Diana Paola Gongora

Claudio A. Agostini

Chile ha sido particularmente exitoso en la reducción de la pobreza durante los últimos 20 años, disminuyendo el porcentaje de la población bajo la línea de pobreza de un 38,6% en 1990 a un 13,7% en 2006. Con tasas de pobreza más bajas el esfuerzo de focalización necesario para el diseño de políticas públicas que permitan reducir aún más o erradicar la pobreza es mucho mayor y se requiere información más desagregada a nivel geográfico.\nLos mapas de pobreza pueden cumplir este rol, ya que entregan una descripción detallada de la distribución espacial de la pobreza, lo cual permite adicionalmente estudiar …

Desigualdad Geográfica En Chile, Claudio A. Agostini, Philip H. Brown

Claudio A. Agostini

Despite success in reducing poverty over the last twenty years, inequality in Chile has remained virtually unchanged, making Chile one of the least equal countries in the world. High levels of inequality have been shown to hamper further reductions in poverty as well as economic growth and local inequality has been shown to affect such outcomes as violence and health. The study of inequality at the local level is thus crucial for understanding the economic well-being of a country. Local measures of inequality have been difficult to obtain, but recent theoretical advances have enabled the combination of survey and census …

Un Modelo De Equilibrio General Dinámico Del Impuesto Al Activo, Rodrigo Garcia-Verdu

Rodrigo Garcia-Verdu

Un Modelo De Equilibrio General Dinámico Del Impuesto Al Activo, Rodrigo Garcia-Verdu

Rodrigo Garcia-Verdu