This note provides evidence on how immigration costs affect school performance of immigrant children exploiting the information provided by the CDI; a standardized exam for all students enrolled in the last year of Primary education in the Madrid region. For a given socio-economic background and parent characteristics, school performance of immigrant children improves with parental immigration costs.

The Argentine wheat value chain was subject to considerable policy interventions during the last decade. The measures adopted by the government included export duties from 2002 onward, quantitative wheat export restrictions since 2006, and domestic price ceilings and subsidies introduced in 2007. These policy instruments aimed to limit the increase in domestic prices of cereals during a period of high international prices and to keep an adequate provision of grains in the domestic market. Export restrictions implicitly intended to avoid an increase in the prices of basic consumption goods derived from wheat. However, these non-tariff measures could also distort farmers’ incentives to produce. Using non-parametric techniques, this study contributes to the policy discussion of the effects of non-tariff measures in the cereals market by evaluating the welfare impact of wheat export restrictions on Argentine urban households. Focusing on the effects of changes in prices of final consumption goods during 2006 - 2011, the study finds that prices of wheat derivatives would be only 1 per cent higher in the absence of quantitative restrictions, with negligible welfare effects on consumers. If both export restrictions and subsidies to millers were removed, prices would be 6.4 percent higher. This would imply modest welfare losses ranging from zero to 1.5 percent, mainly affecting the poorest households.

Wage inequality decreased significantly in the Russian Federation over the 2000s. The economic expansion experienced throughout the decade led to an improvement in social indicators, with a large reduction in poverty rates and an increase in higher education. In this context, wage inequality showed a sharp decline, with the Gini index on labor income decreasing by 18 percent between 2002 and 2012. Using data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey, this paper documents the reduction in wage inequality and explores potential factors behind the trend. The analysis uses a decomposition technique proposed by Fortin, Lemieux, and Firpo (2011) to disentangle the main drivers behind changes in the wage distribution. The results suggest that wage structure effects are more important than composition effects for explaining changes in wage inequality. Institutional factors, such as minimum wage policies and changes in the returns to employment in different sectors and types of firms as well as the reduction of the skill premium, emerge as the most relevant factors for explaining changes in the wage structure.

Traditional benchmarks to assess performance rely on unconditional rankings or regional averages. This paper uses a recently developed methodology based on quantile regressions and initial conditions to propose alternative benchmarks for social sectors in Kyrgyz Republic. Covering a wide set of indicators, the analysis reveals mixed results for Kyrgyz Republic. The country has made important strides in many social areas, with outstanding results in reducing child mortality and undernourishment. However, other areas are still key challenges and demand further attention and resources, as evidenced by the underachievement in maternal mortality, educational performance, and increasing informality in labor markets.