Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

We study the employment effects of the collapse of Mexican exports to the USA due to the Covid-19 crisis and its recovery. The employment outcomes are broken down by gender and skill, which enables the investigation to assess how these employment categories were affected. The article finds that 33.6% of all the jobs lost at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in Mexico were exclusively due to the collapse of exports to the USA. Trade collapse was biased against female and unskilled workers, although all the jobs lost were re-gained during the recovery, being again biased against female workers. Gender-responsive policies are needed to ensure an inclusive recovery and resilience against future trade shocks.

This article seeks to examine the causal relationship between air cargo and the economic activity of Mexican states. Analysis was conducted using Pedroni/Johansen cointegration tests, followed by Granger tests to analyze the long term and Wald tests for the short term, as well as an error correction model (VECM). The analysis was carried out for total cargo, which was then divided into domestic cargo on the one hand and international cargo on the other. The findings suggest the existence of long-term equilibrium and bidirectionality when total cargo is aggregated, although the causalities become unidirectional when cargo is disaggregated. These findings are then discussed in light of possible public policies.

This article analyzes the challenges faced by women scientists in Mexico to participate in innovation activities during 1980-2015. Specifically, this article seeks to: i) describe the evolution and nature of inventive activity with female participation; ii) identify which factors influence the propensity of women to be inventors; and iii) contribute policy proposals to foster women’s equitable inclusion in the knowledge and innovation economy. Findings from the empirical study suggest that the following factors promote women’s propensity to become inventors: stock of technological knowledge, inventor team size, company or institutional patents, technological category, and presence of foreign inventors.

Versión ebook de Problemas del Desarrollo

Versión ebook de Problemas del Desarrollo

In Latin America, financial relations became more complicated and large companies were consolidated during the globalization phase. Interestingly, however, the capital market did not develop at the same pace, as the operations of large companies (multinationals and multilatinas) were not conducted via domestic financial institutions, but rather via bonds issued by international financial centers. In light of this, the article employs a panel data econometric model to measure the impact of capital flows (FDI and portfolio) on a set of financial and real sector indicators. Findings show that capital inflows did not contribute to financial development or economic growth.

The global value chain approach is currently the preeminent development paradigm. Although much of the literature on this approach tends to marginalize the role of the state in development strategies, recent years have seen greater interest in reviving the state’s role in development. The debate around the state and its role invalue chains has also been invigorated by attempts to reassess state-centric perspectives on development in contemporary capitalist economies. This article examines the implications of reconsidering the state’s role in the value chain approach and the potential impact this may have on efforts to achieve structural change in peripheralcountries.

Versión ebook de Problemas del Desarrollo

INTRODUCTION: Costa Rica has among the highest mortality rates from gastric cancer in the world, largely due to late detection. It is therefore important that economically and logistically sustainable screening is implemented in order to detect risk of developing cancer. We have previously shown that low pepsinogen (PG) values and infection with Helicobacter pylori-CagA+ are associated with risk of gastric atrophy and cancer in Costa Rican populations.  OBJECTIVES: To determine how markers for gastric cancer risk are distributed in an elderly population representative of Costa Rica in order to design a screening strategy. METHODS: The population studied consists of 2,652 participants in a nationally representative survey of ageing. Information concerning epidemiologic, demographic, nutritional and life style factors is available. Serum PG concentrations as well as H. pylori and CagA status were determined by serology. Possible associations were determined by regression analyses. RESULTS: Antibodies to H. pylori were present in 72% of the population and of those, 58% were CagA positive. Infection with H. pylori was associated with higher PGI concentrations (p=0.000) and infection with H. pylori-CagA+ with lower PGI concentrations (p=0.025). Both showed association with lower PGI/PGII (p=0.006 and p=0.000). Higher age was associated with lower prevalence of H. pylori infection (OR=0.98; p=0.000) and CagA+ (OR=0.98; p=0.000) but not with PG values. Regions with high risk of gastric cancer showed lower PGI (p=0.004) and PGI/PGII values (p=0.021) as well as higher prevalence of H. pylori infection (OR=1.39; p=0.013) but not CagA+. Using cut-off values of PGI<100 µg/L and PGI/PGII<2.0, 2.5 and 3.0, 7-15% of the population would be considered at risk. CONCLUSIONS: H. pylori alone is not a useful marker for risk of gastric cancer. Screening using serum pepsinogen concentrations and infection with H. pylori-CagA+ is feasible in the general elderly population of Costa Rica but appropriate cut-off values have to be determined based on more clinical data and follow up capacity.