Colombian Municipalities Research Articles

Do Campaign Contribution Limits Curb the Influence of Money in Politics?

AbstractOver 40% of countries around the world have adopted limits on campaign contributions to curb the influence of money in politics. Yet, we have limited knowledge of whether and how these limits achieve this goal. Using a regression discontinuity design that exploits institutional rules on contribution limits in Colombian municipalities, we show that looser limits increase the number of public contracts assigned to donors to the elected candidate. This is explained by looser limits increasing the influence of top donors over the elected candidate, rather than reducing electoral competition or changing who is elected to office. We further show that looser limits worsen the quality of public contracts given to the winner's donors: These contracts are more likely to run over their stipulated costs. Overall, this article links looser campaign contribution limits, donor kickbacks, and worse performance of contracts awarded to donors.

Coalitions for land grabbing in wartime: state, paramilitaries and elites in Colombia

ABSTRACT This analysis considers two contrasting trajectories of coercive and illegal land accumulation across two northern Colombian municipalities in wartime. Together they reveal how the state established strategic alliances of indirect rule with paramilitaries, local elites and non-local investors. In return, these groups gained access to institutions and incentives, using them to undertake processes of massive and rapid land accumulation. How these strategies of indirect rule interact with the agrarian structures of the rural territories – as well as the changing dynamics of war – is crucial to understanding the varying patterns of land accumulation seen in contexts affected by protracted armed conflict.

Economic and Political Effects of Fiscal Rules: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Colombia

Fiscal rules are a promising policy tool to address fiscal indiscipline, but their effectiveness and political feasibility remain unclear, particularly in weakly institutionalized settings. To answer this question, we leverage exogenous variation across Colombian municipalities in exposure to a subnational fiscal rule that set a cap on operating expenses as a share of current revenues. We show that the fiscal rule was highly effective at reducing operating costs and the probability of a current deficit, with no changes in capital spending (i.e., no creative accounting). This large reduction in operating expenses came at no meaningful cost in terms of local public goods and living standards, as proxied by education and health indicators, nighttime lights, and sanctions for corruption. Adoption of the rule increased electoral support for the party of the incumbent mayor and weakly reduced protests against the municipal government. This suggests that fiscal rules can improve political agency in settings, like Colombia, with weak political parties and limited career concerns for local politicians.

Political competition, electoral participation and local fiscal performance

ABSTRACT Existing literature argues that political competition and electoral participation influence government efficiency. However, empirical evidence on the matter for developing countries is scant and mixed. This paper contributes to the literature by exploring the impact of political competition and electoral participation on the fiscal performance of 1,098 Colombian municipalities during four government periods (2000-2015). Using a fixed effect panel data model, we find a significant positive relationship between political competition and electoral participation and a composite fiscal performance index. To be more precise, our results indicate that municipalities that have a lower concentration of council seats in the hands of few parties (i.e. a lower Herfindahl-Hirschman Index) and higher voter turnout rates tend to perform better. These results are explained by the positive impact of political competition and electoral participation on operating expenses, local revenue generation, investment and savings. Overall, these findings support political accountability theories, which argue that electoral participation and political competition incentivize career-concerned politicians to perform well and to reduce rent-extraction behavior.

Political openness and armed conflict: Evidence from local councils in Colombia

In this paper, I empirically investigate how the openness of political institutions to diverse representation can impact conflict-related violence. Regression discontinuity estimates that exploit plausibly exogenous variations in the number of councillors in Colombian municipalities show that political openness substantially decreases conflict-related violence, namely the killing of civilian non-combatants. Empirical evidence suggests that the lower level of political violence stems from parties with close links to armed groups having greater representation on larger municipal councils. Using data about the types of violence employed by these groups, and government representation, I argue that armed violence has decreased not because of power-sharing arrangements involving armed groups linked to the parties with more political representation, but rather because armed groups with more political power deter other groups from initiating certain types of violence.

The natural resource curse: Evidence from the Colombian municipalities

AbstractThis paper evaluates the effect of natural resource revenue on expenditure efficiency. Using a panel of Colombian municipalities over 2003–2011, we use a two‐step procedure to estimate the effect of natural resource revenue on municipal efficiency. First, the technical efficiency of local governments is calculated through a robust non‐parametric method. These estimates are then used in a second step to evaluate how the local government's efficiency varies with exogenous variation in royalties. Our findings indicate that royalties reduce efficiency in the provision of education and health care services, providing evidence of one of the mechanisms explaining the natural resource curse.

Estrategias de Afrontamiento y Nivel de Resiliencia Presentes en Adultos Jóvenes Víctimas del Conflicto Armado Colombiano: Un Estudio Correlacional

El conflicto armado en Colombia ha generado por décadas afectaciones a la población. El objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar la relación entre las estrategias de afrontamiento y entre estas y el nivel de resiliencia de una muestra de adultos jóvenes víctimas del conflicto armado colombiano. Con un enfoque cuantitativo de alcance descriptivo correlacional y muestreo por conveniencia en los municipios de Bucamaranga, Piedecuesta, Girón y Floridablanca de Colombia, se trabajó con 70 adultos jóvenes (23 hombres y 47 mujeres), utilizando una entrevista semiestructurada, la Escala de Estrategias de Coping-Modificada y la Escala de Resiliencia. Respecto a los resultados descriptivos, se identificó altas puntuaciones en las estrategias de afrontamiento de apoyo social, religión, reacción agresiva y expresión de la dificultad de afrontamiento y bajas puntuaciones en las estrategias de solución de problemas, espera, evitación emocional, búsqueda de apoyo profesional, evitación cognitiva, reevaluación positiva, negación y autonomía. En cuanto a la escala de resiliencia, se evidencia bajas puntuaciones en la muestra. Por último, se encontraron correlaciones entre las estrategias de afrontamiento y entre la evitación emocional con la ecuanimidad y sentirse bien solos, categorías de la resiliencia. Se discute que en esta situación de conflicto los sujetos presentan estrategias de afrontamiento no adaptativas que pueden influir en el desarrollo de trastornos psicopatológicos, al no potenciar la resiliencia.

The Association of Blood Banks Per City with Mortality Due to Traumatic Hemorrhagic Shock in Colombia: A Population-Based Analysis

Background: Hemorrhagic shock is the second leading cause of death for injured patients and disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries facing blood product scarcity. The potential role of spatial allocation of blood banking systems and the unmet transfusion needs of injured patients are yet to be characterized. We estimated the association of number of blood banks with mortality due to traumatic hemorrhagic shock (THS) at city level in Colombia. Methods: Population-based cross-sectional study using secondary data from the Colombian Government: annual reports of Blood Network, mortality, and population estimates for 2015-2016. International Classification of Disease 10th code T79·4 identified THS as the primary cause of death. A city-clustered multivariate negative binomial regression, weighted by violent deaths rate, was used to obtain incidence rate ratios (IRR) of death due to THS with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Findings: Of the 59,030 violent deaths in Colombia in 2015-2016, 36·76% were due to THS. Only 3·13% of Colombian municipalities had a blood bank. THS incidence decreased as the number of blood banks in a city increased, and the smallest incidence was observed at ten banks (IRR:0·18, 95%CI:0·15-0·22). Receiving medical care in a city with blood banks has a lesser incidence of THS (IRR:0·85; 95%CI:0·76-0·96). Interpretation: The number of blood banks per city were associated with reduction in incidence of THS deaths. These findings may highlight the inequitable distribution of blood systems and its association with preventable deaths. Further studies with granular clinical and geographical data might clarify the geographic determinants of blood products’ availability. Funding Statement: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Declaration of Interests: None to declare. Ethics Approval Statement: Ethical approval to conduct this study was granted by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Pittsburgh, code HRP-723.

The unit extended Weibull families of distributions and its applications

In this paper, two new general families of distributions supported on the unit interval are introduced. The proposed families include several known models as special cases and define at least twenty (each one) new special models. Since the list of well-being indicators may include several double bounded random variables, the applicability for modeling those is the major practical motivation for introducing the distributions on those families. We propose a parametrization of the new families in terms of the median and develop a shiny application to provide interactive density shape illustrations for some special cases. Various properties of the introduced families are studied. Some special models in the new families are discussed. In particular, the complementary unit Weibull distribution is studied in some detail. The method of maximum likelihood for estimating the model parameters is discussed. An extensive Monte Carlo experiment is conducted to evaluate the performances of these estimators in finite samples. Applications to the literacy rate in Brazilian and Colombian municipalities illustrate the usefulness of the two new families for modeling well-being indicators.

Venezuelan migrants in Colombia: COVID-19 and mental health

Venezuelan migrants in Colombia: COVID-19 and mental health

Reasons for absenteeism in rural primary schools in two Colombian municipalities

Background: School absenteeism is a considerable problem generally related to higher dropout rates, poor academic achievement and school lag. This study determined the frequency and causes of overall and illness-related absenteeism of students in rural schools from two Colombian municipalities.
 Methods: A prospective and descriptive study was conducted in a population of 948 school children from 34 rural schools. Absenteeism data were collected for 2013 academic year consisted of the number of students registered and absent by grade, school, day and reason for absence. Absence rates (overall and illness-related absenteeism) were recorded, based on full or partial days absence, measured both as episodes, and accumulating the number of days.
 Results: From the students included in the study, 55.1% were male and 71.6% were between 5 and 9 years old. The overall absence rate was 5.7 episodes per child-year (95% confidence interval 5.5 to 5.8) and 8.6 days per child-year (8.4 to 8.9). The main reasons for non-attendance were illness (24.4%), medical or dental check-up (12.9%), travel (12.3%), lack of motivation to attend school (10.0%) and bad weather (9.3%). The illness-related absence rate was 1.4 episodes per child-year (95% confidence interval 1.3 to 1.5) and 2.5 days per child-year (2.4 to 2.6). The main reasons for illness-related absence were cold (37.0%), nonspecific fever (10.9%) and stomach pain or vomiting (8.4%).
 Conclusions: In this study, the most common reasons for non-attendance were illness-related. The importance of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in absenteeism was evident, showing rates similar to other urban school studies. Then, the results of this study provide knowledge on the magnitude and reasons for absenteeism in rural schoolchildren.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of VECTOS software for the control of diseases transmitted by Aedes aegypti in two Colombian municipalities

ResumenIntroducción. Las enfermedades transmitidas por Aedes aegypti son un problema de salud pública. VECTOS es un programa novedoso de integración de estrategias de control de vectores. Objetivo. Evaluar el costo-efectividad del uso del VECTOS en los programas de control rutinario de enfermedades transmitidas por el vector Aedes aegypti en el municipio de San Juan de Girón (Santander).Materiales y métodos. Se evaluó el costo-efectividad del programa empleando un modelo de análisis de decisiones desde la perspectiva de las autoridades locales de salud. Se estudió la integración de las estrategias de control de vectores mediante el programa VECTOS utilizado en el municipio de San Juan de Girón durante el 2016, con el control rutinario llevado a cabo sin VECTOS en el municipio de Floridablanca. Se calculó la razón incremental del costo-efectividad (RICE), usando como medida de efectividad los años de vida ajustados por discapacidad (AVAD).Resultados. El uso del programa VECTOS fue rentable a una tasa de ahorro de USD$ 660,4 por cada AVAD evitado en comparación con el control de rutina en Floridablanca. El modelo probabilístico indicó que el sistema fue costo-efectivo en el 70 % de las 10.000 iteraciones para un umbral entre 1 y 3 PIB per cápita.Conclusiones. El programa VECTOS fue muy costo-efectivo en el municipio de San Juan de Girón. Su uso puede adoptarse en otros municipios del país donde las enfermedades transmitidas por A. aegypti son endémicas.

Efficiency of local public education in a decentralized context

This paper estimates the local efficiency of the public provision of education in Colombia between 2008 and 2013. Since the decentralization process in 1991, local authorities have spent an increasing amount of resources in the provision of education services. The empirical analysis relies on a multiproduct function that assesses public performance considering two types of education products: quality and enrolment. Results for Colombian municipalities show efficiencies that vary between 26% and 98%, suggesting that better results in quality and enrolment in public education could be accomplished using the same resources. Possible sources of inefficiency are explored, such as institutional environment and fiscal autonomy. Differing regional patterns are observed for the cases of education quality and enrolment.

Cities drifting apart: Heterogeneous outcomes of decentralizing public education

Abstract Looking at the decentralized provision of public education in a middle-income country, this paper estimates the impact of local autonomy on service quality, finding large heterogeneity in the effect across different levels of local development. In the year 2002, Colombian municipalities were entrusted with autonomous management of their local public education based solely on a population threshold. I estimate the impact that autonomy has had on education performance across the territory, using a municipality and time fixed-effects model. I find a quality gap arising between highly developed and low-developed autonomous municipalities, in a trend that reinforces over time: the reform has induced regional inequality in education quality. I am able to support the hypothesis that autonomous and nonautonomous municipalities were on similar performance trends before decentralization was implemented, even when looking within different local development ranges. Based on the analysis of detailed municipal balance sheet data and administration indicators, I argue that local administration capacity represents the most likely explanation of why the autonomy-related discrepancies have been arising.

Determinantes sociales de la mortalidad infantil en municipios de frontera en Colombia, 2005-2011

Introducción. En Colombia, las tasas de mortalidad infantil de los municipios fronterizos presentan diferencias significativas en comparación con el promedio nacional, por lo que resulta prioritario identificar sus determinantes en estas zonas, con el fin de orientar el desarrollo de políticas en salud pública.Objetivo. Identificar algunos determinantes sociales de la mortalidad infantil en municipios fronterizos de Colombia en el periodo 2005-2011.Materiales y métodos. Estudio ecológico en el que se construyeron tres modelos de regresión para las siguientes categorías: 1) determinantes estructurales; 2) determinantes intermedios de condiciones de vida y trabajo, factores de tipo comportamental y biológico, y factores psicosociales, y 3) determinantes intermedios del sistema de salud colombiano.Resultados. Los datos encontrados sugieren que la mortalidad infantil de los municipios fronterizos se relaciona con condiciones de etnia, raza, educación, índice de dependencia infantil, bajo peso al nacer, calidad del agua, ruralidad, jefatura femenina del hogar, cobertura de vacunación, cobertura de control prenatal, satisfacción con los servicios de salud y afiliación al sistema de salud.Conclusiones. La mayoría de determinantes de la mortalidad infantil en estos municipios se sale del alcance del sector salud; por tanto, el Estado enfrenta dos desafíos importantes: implementar un abordaje transectorial y transfronterizo, y dar una respuesta institucional con un enfoque de equidad en salud que se adapte a las necesidades y a la cultura de cada municipio y región.

Immigration and Violent Crime: Evidence from the Colombia-Venezuela Border

This paper investigates the link between violent crime and immigration using data from Colombian municipalities during the recent episode of immigration from Venezuela. The key finding is that, following the closing and then re-opening of the border in 2016, which precipitated a massive immigration wave, homicides in Colombia increased in areas close to the border with Venezuela. Using information on the nationality of the victim, we find that this increase was driven by homicides involving Venezuelan victims, with no evidence of a statistically significant increase in homicides in which Colombians were victimized. Thus, in contrast to xenophobic fears that migrants might victimize natives, it was migrants, rather than natives, who faced risks associated with immigration. Using arrests data, there is no corresponding increase in arrests for homicides in these areas. Taken together, these results suggest that the increase in homicides close to the border documented here are driven by crimes against migrants and have occurred without a corresponding increase in arrests, suggesting that some of these crimes have gone unsolved. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.

Exploratory spatial analysis of diabetes mortality and its relationship with the socioeconomic conditions of Colombian municipalities.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus prevalence has increased worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to evaluate in the Colombian context whether the geographic variations of mortality due to type 2 diabetes mellitus are random or statistically significant and to measure the effect of the socioeconomic conditions of municipalities on these variations. An ecological study of trends for regions and subregions was undertaken considering two periods (2003-2009 and 2010-2016). The study population consisted of adults of 20 to 79 years old residing in each of Colombia's municipalities during the period 2003-2016. Smoothed and standardized mortality rates were obtained by fitting a hierarchical Bayesian model, which considers the spatial structure of the data. Four socioeconomic variables related to municipal deprivation and development were included into the model to obtain their relative risk (RR) and 95% credible intervals. Mortality due to type 2 diabetes mellitus decrease between 2003 and 2016 in Colombia, both nationally and regionally. In addition, there was a clear positive association between mortality due to diabetes mellitus and the level of municipal development; the wealthiest and most developed municipalities had higher mortality risks.

Tourism Implementation, an Issue of Territoriality: National Approach and Local Action Methods and Resources

This article analyses the tourism implementation process in two Colombian municipalities, La Mesa (Cundinamarca) and Villavieja (Huila), based on a two-tier observation at national and local levels. First, we review how territorial public action is implemented to develop tourism (Négrier 2007; Duran 2011) at a national level by the most important stakeholder involved, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (MINCIT). This involves examining how this government body intervenes in sub-national authorities, based on the decentralisation and planning policy for tourist activity. At a local level, we address the specific dynamics in both municipalities and the progress they have made in implementing the national tourism policy. This two-tier observation reveals tensions between the national facilitators’ view on what needs to be done and local facilitators’ view on what can be done. We highlight the major local challenges this activity involves, in terms of administration and management in the municipalities, and also considerations linked to the construction of territoriality (Sack 1986; Raffestin 1982) and territory, which are crucial for the process in question.

Correlation of the basic reproduction number (R0) and eco-environmental variables in Colombian municipalities with chikungunya outbreaks during 2014-2016.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) emerged in Colombia in 2014 into a population presumed fully susceptible. This resulted in a quick and intense spread across Colombia, resulting in an epidemic that affected an estimated 450,000 people. The reported Colombian cases accounted for over 49% of all the cases reported to the PAHO. Eco-environmental factors are known to be associated with the spread of arboviruses such as CHIKV, and likely contribute to the differences in transmission profiles that were observed across several municipalities. To determine the association of eco-environmental factors and CHIKV, the basic reproduction number (R0) in 85 municipalities, which accounted for 65.6% of reported CHIKV cases in Colombia, was estimated. Estimates of R0 ranged from 1 to 9, where over 76% of municipalities had R0 values between 1 and 2. When we looked at the distribution of R0, the cumulative proportions were 20% with R0>2, 14% with R0>3, and 9% with R0>4. Next, we determined that there were different patterns of correlation between environmental and/or ecological variables and R0 when we considered different R0 lower-thresholds. Broadly, we found that temperature-related variables are significantly and positively correlated to R0 regardless of the lower threshold, while other variables like duration of outbreak and size of the urban area are inversely related to R0. Specifically, we conclude that high values of temperature-related variables where R0 > 1 will result in a fast growth of cases in a shorter time period (with faster cessation of outbreak transmission) but will result overall in a fewer total cases compared to outbreak areas (R0 > 1, but classified as lower). Thus, in the absence of vector control, a less explosive outbreak may be more advantageous for the virus in terms of transmission.

Gastrointestinal and pulmonary parasites of working horses from Colombia

Working equids are used in different countries for numerous purposes and regularly are crucial for multiple communities' income and profit. Historically, in Bogotá D.C. they were used as animal-powered vehicles but in 2013 it was initiated a substitution and adoption program as a result of society pressure and lawful processes. Infectious diseases and mainly parasitic diseases, poses a threat in the health and productivity of these animals. Our aim was to identify, by coproparasitological methods, the gastrointestinal and pulmonary parasite species infecting working horses submitted to the mentioned substitution and adoption program. Between May and December 2013 and February and July 2014, fresh faecal samples were obtained from 1004 and 648 horses from Bogotá D.C. and other Colombian municipalities, respectively. They were processed by flotation and Baermann tests in order to visualize faecal parasitic forms (eggs, oocysts, and larvae). Prevalences were calculated for each gastrointestinal parasite at origin and one year after, at destination, and analysed by age group and coinfection. At origin (Bogotá D.C.), prevalence for at least one parasite species was 87.5% and one year later, at destination (other municipalities), was 89.5%. The most prevalent species were strongyles (86.4-89.4%) followed by Parascaris spp. (0.7-6.2%), cestodes (Anoplocephalidae) (3.7-4.9%) and Oxyuris sp. (2.8-4.3%). Other species detected were Eimeria sp., Strongyloides sp. and Dictyocaulus sp. Coinfection by two or more species ranged between 14.4 and 38.3% being strongyle, Parascaris spp., Oxyuris sp. and cestodes (Anoplocephalidae) the most common species involved. Some parasitic infections commonly associated with younger animals (e.g. Parascaris spp.) were detected in all age groups. Flow patterns of parasites linking Bogotá D.C. and other municipalities are presented. Finally, these results support the widespread distribution of most of species and the plausible health and welfare impact of this infections in working equids submitted to particular epidemiological risks.