We exploit differences in casualties sustained in pre-modern wars to estimate the impact of fiscal capacity on economic performance. In the past, states fought different amounts of external conflicts, of various lengths and magnitudes. To raise the revenues to wage wars, states made fiscal innovations, which persisted and helped to shape current fiscal institutions. Economic historians claim that greater fiscal capacity was the key long-run institutional change brought about by historical conflicts. Using casualties sustained in pre-modern wars to instrument for current fiscal institutions, we estimate substantial impacts of fiscal capacity on GDP per worker. The results are robust to a broad range of specifications, controls, and sub-samples.

This thesis consists of three essays on public policy in the macroeconomy. Government Policy in the Formal and Informal Sectors quantitatively investigates the interaction between the …rms' choice to operate in the formal or the informal sector and government policy on taxation and enforcement. Informality is here de…ned as unregistered …rms in legal activities. Quantitative theory is developed, in general equilibrium, using the main determinants of informality: taxes, enforcement, and regulation. These features are incorporated in a model of heterogeneous …rms, where …rms di¤er in their productivities. A static version of Ghironi and Melitz's (2005) industry model is used to show that …rms with lower productivity endogenously choose to operate in the informal sector. I use crosscountry data on taxes, measures of informality, and measures of regulation (entry and compliance costs, red tape, etc) to back out how high the enforcement levels must be country by country to make the theory match the data. The model quantitatively accounts for the keys aspects in the data and allows me to back out country-speci…c enforcement levels. Some policy reforms on taxation and enforcement are analyzed. The result is that the welfare gains can be fairly large. I compute the shadow value of decreasing regulation and perform some counterfactual experiments. I …nd that welfare gains from reducing regulation are almost twice those computed for the policy reform. Finally, distortions associated with informality account for a factor of 1.5 of the output per capita di¤erence between the richest and the poorest countries. Determinants of Capital Intensive and R&D Intensive Foreign Direct Investment studies the determinants of capital intensity and technology content of foreign direct investment, an important economic driving force for developing countries. For this purpose, we use sectoral industry data on U.S. foreign investment abroad, and data on host countries'institutional characteristics, like investment climate, protection of property rights, labor standards and constitutional arrangements. Our regressions show that better protection of property rights has a signi…cant positive e¤ect on R&D but not on capital intensive capital ‡ows. There is evidence that an increase in workers' bargaining power results in a reduction of capital and technologically intensive foreign investment. And although the evidence with respect to constitutional arrangements is not very strong, presidential regimes appear to be less able iii iv than parliamentary ones to deliver policies attracting R&D intensive capital ‡ows. This is consistent with recent research on the e¤ects of constitutional arrangements on economic growth. Ambiguity Aversion, the Equity Premium, and the Welfare Costs of Business Cycles examines the potential importance of consumer ambiguity aversion for asset prices and how consumption ‡uctuations in ‡uence consumer welfare. First, considering a simple Mehra-Prescott-style endowment economy with a representative agent facing consumption...

The aim of this paper is to quantitatively investigate the interaction between the firms' choice to operate in the formal or the informal sector and the government policy on taxation and enforcement. Informality is here defined as unregistered firms in legal activities. I develop quantitative theory, in general equilibrium, using the main determinants of informality: taxes, enforcement, regulation. I incorporate these features in a model of heterogeneous firms, where firms differ in their productivities. I use Ghironi and Melitz's (2005) industry model to show that firms with lower productivity endogeneously choose to operate in the informal sector. The model accounts quantitatively for the keys aspects in the data and allows me to back out country-specific enforcement levels. I analyze some policy reforms on taxation and enforcement and conclude that welfare gains can be fairly large. I compute the shadow value of decreasing regulation. And some counterfactual experiments are considered. Finally, I found that distortions associated to informality account for a factor of almost 2 of the output per capita difference between the richest and the poorest countries.JEL Classification Numbers: E26,E62,H32,O17

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How can governments attract entrepreneurs and their businesses? The view that new business creation grows with the optimal level of government investments remains appealing to policymakers. In contrast with this active approach, we build a model where governments may adopt a passive approach to stimulating business creation. The insights from this model suggest new business creation depends positively on factors beyond government investments-attracting high-skilled migrants to the region and lower property prices, taxes, and fines on firms in the informal sector. These findings suggest whether entrepreneurs generate business creation in the region does not only depend on government investments. It also depends on location and skilled migration. Our model also provides methodological implications-the relationship between government investments and new business creation is endogenously determined, so unless adjustments are made, econometric estimates will be biased and inconsistent. We conclude with policy and managerial implications.Plain English Summary. Governments can attract entrepreneurs and their businesses by offering incentives such as lower property prices, taxes, and fines on firms in the informal sector, as well as by encouraging skilled migration to the region. Thus, a policy implication is that the government can create a favorable environment for business creation, as opposed to solely relying on government investments.

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La WebQuest es un recurso didáctico basado en el aprendizaje constructivista que está teniendo mucho éxito en el contexto educativo. Sin embargo, se han presentado falencias al momento de incorporar las nuevas tecnologías en los procesos de enseñanza – aprendizaje, específicamente en el nivel de formación superior ya que no se cuenta con recursos digitales específicos para las diferentes asignaturas que se imparten en la formación de los futuros profesionales de pregrado. Por ello, en el presente estudio se plantea como objetivo integrar la actividad de la WebQuest a través de la creación de la herramienta didáctica que permita desarrollar destrezas individuales y colaborativas tanto en el aula como fuera de ella, la cual permite potenciar el proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje en la institución educativa superior. En esta investigación se utiliza un enfoque mixto donde a través de los instrumentos de recolección de datos como la observación directa, la revisión bibliográfica y la encuesta, dirigido a 34 profesionales en formación en el nivel superior.  Permitiendo describir la importancia del uso de esta herramienta didáctica Webquest en el ámbito educativo y como esta favorece al desarrollo de las habilidades cognitivas en los estudiantes. Dentro de los resultados de esta investigación se puede evidenciar el desarrollo de 6 herramientas Webquest elaboradas por grupos de trabajos conformados por los 34 participantes. Se puede concluir que la implementación de esta herramienta didáctica facilita las posibilidades didácticas, las cuales potencian las habilidades cognitivas promoviendo el pensamiento crítico, generando un aprendizaje significativo por medio de la creación de recursos digitales. Además, es necesario sugerir qué para conseguir todos estos progresos se recomienda potenciar las competencias digitales de los profesionales en formación.