Colombian Policy Research Articles

Aspectos de Política Monetaria en Colombia: un Debate entre las Reglas y la Discrecionalidad

La credibilidad en la autoridad monetaria de cada país está determinada por asuntos relacionados con el manejo de su política, como la decisión entre emplear un enfoque de reglas o un enfoque discrecional. Este artículo presenta argumentos a favor de cada postura, así como algunos aspectos a considerar en el uso de las reglas o la discrecionalidad para el manejo adecuado de la política monetaria en Colombia. Además, se recalca el control de la tasa de inflación debido a la importancia de este indicador en la credibilidad futura de la autoridad monetaria, la cual de manera discrecional tomará las decisiones correspondientes.

Evaluating the impact of macroprudential policies on credit growth in Colombia

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of two macroprudential policies in Colombia: marginal reserve requirements and dynamic provisions. The first measure was implemented to control excessive credit growth, while the latter was designed to increase systemic resilience by establishing a countercyclical buffer through loan loss provision requirements. To perform this analysis, a rich dataset based on loan-by-loan information for Colombian banks during the 2006–2009 period is used. Our identification strategy closely follows Khwaja & Mian (2008), so that only those observations with multiple banking relations are considered. Estimations are performed applying firm and firm-time fixed effects to control for demand factors, thus appropriately isolating loan demand from credit supply. Results from the econometric model suggest that dynamic provisions, the countercyclical reserve requirement and an aggregate measure of the macroprudential policy stance had a negative effect on credit growth, which varies according to bank and debtor-specific characteristics. Particularly, effects are intensified for riskier debtors, suggesting that the aggregate macroprudential policy stance in Colombia has worked effectively to stabilize credit cycles and reduce risk-taking.

El enfoque de género y la Ley 1448 en Colombia

The Colombian armed conflict extends to all corners of the country; in that war, gender violence found a fertile place. This article analyzes the gender perspective based on the guidelines of Law 1448 of 2011, and interviews with state officials, it is an analysis of the narratives of these and the text of the norm, as well as other concomitant norms that not only they recognize the armed conflict but give necessary importance to the particular affectations on woman, added to this the novelty State presence and the advance that was necessary in the public policy in Colombia for the recognition of more than 8,000,000 victims of the armed conflict. It describes the vulnerable situation of women in the armed conflict, which sees the light in the normative recognition of their particular affectations. To conclude, the importance of recognizing the Colombian armed conflictin the construction of a nation is explored, as well as for the construction of a path towards peace through policies of reparation, forgiveness, truth and reconciliation, a context that was built on Juan Manuel Santos government.

Prosocial potentials in children and adolescents who abandoned illegal armed groups in Colombia

The aim of this study is to understand prosocial capabilities in unlinked children and teenagers from illegal armed groups and to reflect over the challenges that propose proso-ciality as a generative category in psychosocial research in order to contribute to the Co-lombian peace process. We worked with 25 unlinked children and teenagers from illegal armed groups and used a qualitative perspective. It was found that despite psychosocial vulnerability, it is also possible to find capabilities to build solidarity bonds, sensitivity over other´s welfare, guilt and regret. One of the challenges for social sciences and the reinstatement policies in Colombia it is to go far and beyond of psychological determin-ism, social dogma and other epistemologies. In that sense, it is necessary to establish gen-erative speeches to be able to promote social transformation and policies that welcome a pluralistic dialogue.

Designing Language Assessments in Context: Theoretical, Technical, and Institutional Considerations

The purpose of this article of reflection is to raise awareness of how poor design of language assessments may have detrimental effects, if crucial qualities and technicalities of test design are not met. The article first discusses these central qualities for useful language assessments. Then, guidelines for creating listening assessments, as an example, are presented to illustrate the level of complexity in test design and to offer a point of reference to evaluate a sample assessment. Finally, the article presents a discussion on how institutional school policies in Colombia can influence language assessment. The article concludes by highlighting how language assessments should respond to theoretical, technical, and contextual guidelines for them to be useful.

Life cycle assessment and socioeconomic evaluation of the illicit crop substitution policy in Colombia

AbstractThe peace treaty of Colombia contemplates a crop substitution policy seeking to replace coca crops with legal alternatives. Although crop substitution diverts funding of illegal activities and provides an income to farmers, it is important to understand how the change to a variety of legal crops (coffee, sugarcane, and cacao) affects the income of farmers, and whether there is an environmental advantage of a crop over another. This study applies life cycle assessment (LCA) coupled with socioeconomic indicators to two regions, Putumayo and Catatumbo, over different policy scenarios. LCA results show that a policy success does not ensure a lower environmental impact across the board. Legal crops consume less fuel than coca crops, which reduce fuel‐related impacts, but the use of fertilizer in coffee and pesticide use in sugarcane increase toxicity‐related impacts. The results, however, are affected by a lack of characterization factors of agrochemicals, but once these are replaced by proxies, coca crops appear to have greater toxicity impacts. In terms of individual crops, cacao crops have a lower environmental impact than coffee and sugarcane, but it also takes the longest to harvest, which may pose a financial risk to farmers. The socioeconomic analysis reveals that for Catatumbo farmers, a policy success reduces the income, whereas for Putumayo farmers, a policy success increases income and job generation. In general, it was observed that the dynamics of the illegal supply chain vary for each region, influencing the environmental and socioeconomic outcome of the substitution policy.

Regional and sectoral impacts of monetary policy in Colombia

Regional and sectoral impacts of monetary policy in Colombia

Impact of Road Safety Laws in Colombia on Road Traffic Collision Fatalities and Injuries

Introduction:Road traffic collisions (RTC) are the leading cause of preventable death among those aged 15–29 years worldwide. More than 1.2 million lives are lost each year on roads. Ninety percent of these deaths take place in low- and middle-income countries. The General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) proclaimed the period from 2011-2020 the “Decade of Action for Road Safety,” with the objective of stabilizing and reducing the number of deaths by 50% worldwide. In this context, the government of Colombia established the National Road Safety Plan (PNSV) for the period 2011–2021 with the objective of reducing the number of fatalities by 26%. However, the effectiveness of road safety policies in Colombia is still unknown.Aim:To evaluate the effect of road safety laws on the incidence of RTC, deaths, and injuries in Colombia.Methods:RTC data and fatality numbers for the time period of January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2017, were collated from official Colombian governmental publications and analyzed for reductions and trends related to the introduction of new road safety legislation.Results:Data analysis are expected to be completed by January 2019.Discussion:RTC remains the leading preventable cause of death in Colombia despite the PNSV. Data is being mined to determine the trends of these rates of crashes and fatalities, and their relation to the introduction of national traffic laws. Overall, while the absolute numbers of RTC and deaths have been increasing, the rate of RTC per 10,000 cars has been decreasing. This suggests that although the goals of the PNSV may not be realized, some of the laws emanating from it may be beneficial, but warrant further detailed analysis.

Políticas de salud bucal en Colombia. Tendencias y puntos críticos para la garantía del derecho a la salud

Antecedentes: En Colombia, la salud bucal se incorporó como contenido de la atención en el sistema de salud a partir de la Ley 100 de 1993. Este cambio modificó la forma liberal del ejercicio profesional, que fue predominante desde su origen. Objetivo: caracterizar y analizar críticamente las políticas de salud bucal en Colombia en el periodo 1994-2017, respecto a la universalidad, la integralidad y la equidad. Análisis de la política: Se realizó una revisión descriptiva que incluyó normas, documentos técnicos, artículos científicos y de opinión. Se utilizó un enfoque histórico hermenéutico y una lectura crítica para interpretar las políticas, clasificadas en relación a la atención individual, la salud pública, y la formación y ejercicio profesional. Conclusiones: la atención odontológica en el sistema de salud incluye un conjunto amplio de procedimientos y tecnologías; sin embargo, la cobertura de la atención es baja y la inversión es insuficiente para garantizar la universalidad. Se identificaron políticas relacionadas con la adopción de medidas preventivas poblacionales, la vigilancia epidemiológica, el desarrollo de estudios poblacionales, la implementación de acciones colectivas en entornos y más recientemente, la formulación de políticas públicas territoriales; sin embargo, las políticas no tienen una clara articulación entre sí, y de estas con la atención individual. Las políticas relacionadas con la formación y el ejercicio laboral están orientadas por el mercado y la capacidad reguladora del Estado es débil. El desarrollo de políticas públicas en salud bucal es incipiente y desarticulado. Se requiere un mayor impulso a la investigación en este campo.

Democratic Security Policy in Colombia: Approaches to an enemy-centric counterinsurgency model

Abstract: The purpose of this document is to reflect upon the Democratic Security Policy (PSD by its abbreviation in Spanish) that took place in Colombia under the presidency of Alvaro Uribe Velez, between 2002 and 2010. To this end, in the fight against the guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC by its abbreviation in Spanish) and the National Liberation Army (ELN by its abbreviation in Spanish), the PSD is understood, in these terms, not so much as a population-centric counterinsurgency strategy, but on the contrary, as a predominantly enemy-centric model. It is also theoretically presented as a hybrid model between the scheme of compulsion and accommodation proposed by Hazelton (2011, 2013, 2017), and the authoritarian model that Zukhov (2012), or Byman (2016) approach, among others. In this regard, the work draws on data from the database on the internal armed conflict expressly facilitated by the Vice-Presidency of the Republic, and by a set of in-depth interviews with the main actors involved in the conflict during the time of the study, from the Government, as well as from the Military Forces, the guerrillas and the paramilitaries.

Mercados institucionais e a construção de territórios de paz na Colômbia

Este trabalho faz parte da pesquisa Transbrasil financiada pelo CNPq a qual analisou as modalidades de disseminação na América Latina e Caribe de “modelos” brasileiros de políticas públicas para a agricultura familiar e, a partir da qual, foi possível estudar diferentes políticas públicas em diferentes contextos, entre eles as políticas de compras públicas na Colômbia. Particularmente, discute-se neste texto como iniciativas pontuais de inserção a mercados e fortalecimento da segurança alimentar, geram inventivos para a reconstrução de territórios fortemente afetados pela guerra. Este é o caso particular do município de Granada na Colômbia, um município pioneiro no tema de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional (SAN) por formular, em 2006, um acordo municipal para constituir uma mesa de diálogo em SAN (Acordo 35 de 14 de maio de 2006). Desde essa época, existiam nesta localidade ações direcionadas à compra de alimentos dos agricultores familiares (especialmente alimentos produzidos pela população vítima do conflito armado) como parte da estratégia da Agência da ONU para Refugiados/Departamento Administrativo do Sistema para Prevenção, Atenção e Recuperação de Desastres e das orientações do Plano de Desenvolvimento Municipal 2012-2015. Para os gestores públicos do município de Granada a compra de produtos da agricultura familiar é um caminho para dinamizar a economia local e, ao mesmo tempo, avançar na construção de um território de paz.

The Impact of Encouraging Social Promotion

I study the effects of encouraging social promotion in the context of a policy in Colombia that capped the number of failing students at 5% of the total school enrollment. I show that this reform decreased failure rates by 10 percentage points in schools with high initial failure. To estimate the impacts on school dropout and student academic achievement, I exploit variation in the extent to which the 5% cap was binding across schools based on their pre-policy rates. I find that average math and language test scores are lower for cohorts that had more years of exposure to the social promotion regime. In addition, I find that dropout rates decreased by 25%, suggesting an overall ambiguous effect of this policy. I provide suggestive evidence that the impacts might be driven by both a composition and an incentive effect.

La garantía constitucional de la autonomía universitaria: legitimidad en políticas públicas educativas en el estado social de derecho en Colombia

Since the Political Constitution of 1991, university autonomy has played an important role in the main education policies, in national development plans, as well as in jurisprudential precedents about the topic. This article analyzes the scope of university autonomy regarding the effective action of public higher education policies in Colombia according to the Law 30 of 1992 and the article 69 of the Colombian Political Constitution, addressing the way how this constitutional principle is traceable in higher education policies and its developmental challenges.

Arreglos neocorporatistas en la política habitacional. Un análisis de los Macroproyectos de Interés Social Nacional en Colombia

El Estado contemporáneo tiene varias facetas. La del neocorporatismo es una forma moderna de representación de intereses que, en el caso de la política habitacional en Colombia, tomó cuerpo en un arreglo para producir suelo edificable con proyectos habitacionales para hogares pobres que enfrentó el impasse de la autonomía local en el ordenamiento territorial. La manera como se resolvió tal inconveniente es analizada con el empleo de una periodización ad hoc que pone de manifiesto que el arreglo neocorporatista de los Macroproyectos de Interés Social Nacional se produjo para enfrentar la crisis recesiva del sector constructor ocurrida en la coyuntura de 2008.

La Agricultura Familiar frente al modelo extractivista de desarrollo rural en Colombia

La Agricultura Familiar se reafirma a partir del debate mundial sobre el campesinado y su papel fundamental en la sociedad respecto a intereses globales como la sostenibilidad ambiental, la seguridad y soberanía alimentaria, la creación de mercados de proximidad entre productores y consumidores, la alimentación sana basada en formas de agricultura sostenible y la superación de la pobreza rural. Dada su relevancia, diversas organizaciones y movimientos sociales promueven la Agricultura Familiar como forma alternativa de producción y organización social; este es el caso de la Red Nacional de Agricultura Familiar (RENAF) que busca visibilizar la importancia de esta categoría y respaldar la promulgación de políticas públicas diferenciales en Colombia. Este artículo proporciona una reflexión sobre la construcción multidimensional de la Agricultura Familiar en el país y sobre las posibilidades que ofrece para enfrentar la crisis generada por el modelo extractivista del régimen agroalimentario. Se resaltan las características particulares de los agricultores familiares, en especial su racionalidad productiva, social, ambiental y económica, que constituyen estrategias de resistencia frente al modelo extractivista y fuentes de autonomía para reproducir sus condiciones sociales de vida.

Crítica a la idea de Infancia y proyecto educativo en las políticas públicas de Colombia

(analítico): en este artículo se comprende el sentido de algunos lineamientos nacionales e internacionales sobre la infancia y su relación con el proyecto educativo para Colombia. Se hizo un estudio cualitativo, de tipo descriptivo, analítico y documental. La metodología empleada fue el análisis de contenido de tipo semántico, en tanto que la población estuvo conformada por un conjunto de documentos oficiales que orientan lineamientos para la formulación de políticas públicas en Colombia y Latinoamérica. Se concluyó que la infancia es solo una estrategia de inversión para contribuir al desarrollo económico del país, como una inversión que tiene su tasa de retorno en la etapa adulta. De este modo, la idea de desarrollo infantil se sustenta en una propuesta educativa instrumental, ligada a la lógica neoliberal del capital humano.

Knowledge and Perceptions of Open Science among Researchers—A Case Study for Colombia

Open science can provide researchers diverse opportunities to collaborate, disseminate their research results, generate important impacts in the scientific community, and engage in effective and efficient science for the benefit of society. This study seeks to analyse and evaluate researchers’ knowledge of open science in Colombia using a survey to determine adequate instruments with which to improve research in the framework of open science. The aim of the study is to determine researchers’ current awareness of open science by considering demographic characteristics to analyse their attitudes, values, and information habits as well as the levels of institutionalism and social appropriation of open science. A representative sample of Colombian researchers was selected from the National Research System. An anonymous online survey consisting of 34 questions was sent to all professors and researchers at Colombian universities and research institutes. Sampling was random and stratified, which allowed for a representative sample of different categories of researchers, and principal component analysis (PCA) was used for the sample design. A total of 1042 responses were received, with a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of 3%. The majority of respondents knew about open science, especially in relation to open science tools (software, repositories, and networks) and open data. Researchers consider open science to be positively impacted by factors such as the rise of digital technologies, the search for new forms of collaboration, the greater availability of open data and information, and public demand for better and more effective science. In contrast, a lack of resources to develop research activities within the open science approach and the limited integration between traditional and open science are identified as the most important barriers to its use in research. These results are important for building adequate open science policy in Colombia.

Universal coverage and effective access to health care: What has happened in Colombia ten years after Sentence T-760?

Public health policy in Colombia has been guided by the purpose of achieving universal coverage. Law 100 of 1993 set the goal of guaranteeing access to health services for the entire population, at all levels of care, with a plan of equal benefits for all. Despite this promise, universal coverage was not achieved in the year 2000 as established, and there have been barriers to effective access. In consequence, citizens have resorted to tutela (writ for the protection of fundamental rights) as a mechanism by which judges protect the right to health. In 2008, amidst an overwhelming growth in the number of actions for immediate protection of constitutional rights, the Constitutional Court issued Sentence T-760, by which health was recognized as a fundamental right and ordered several State agencies to guarantee its effective enjoyment and enforce universal coverage and effective access. After ten years, compliance with these orders is medium, with important advances in terms of coverage and equalization of the benefits plan, but there are still barriers to access and concerns regarding sustainability and the flow of resources.

The Monetary and Fiscal History of Colombia: 1960-2017

In this paper we characterize the joint history of monetary and fiscal policies in Colombia since 1960. We divide our analysis into three periods, which are differentiated by the finance structure of the fiscal deficit, the institutional framework of monetary and fiscal policies, and the levels of inflation: 1960-1970, when both inflation and the fiscal deficit were low on average; 1971-1990, when both inflation and the fiscal deficit increased; and 1991-2017, when despite the highest average fiscal deficit and the worst recession of the century, inflation kept a downward trend in the context of a newly independent Central Bank and increasingly flexible exchange markets. The first two periods were characterized by fiscal dominance, with larger fiscal deficits leading to increased inflation in the context of a nonindependent monetary policy. After 1991, the Constitution enshrined monetary dominance via an independent Central Bank. We observe that although large fiscal deficits, macroeconomic swings and monetary imbalances were rare in Colombia, average economic growth was comparable to other Latin American countries that experienced higher macroeconomic volatility.

La insoportable levedad de la política nacional de salud mental para Colombia : reflexiones a propósito de la propuesta de ajuste en 2014

La salud mental es una problemática de interés para muchos gobiernos. En los últimos veinte años, en Colombia se han hecho varios intentos de formular una política nacional, cuya recepción por la sociedad y sus instituciones ha sido fútil. Desde la perspectiva del equipo consultor para el ajuste de la Política Nacional de Salud Mental Colombiana en 2014, se elaboró un recuento de tales iniciativas desde 1994 hasta 2015, con énfasis en lo sucedido en 2014, y se analizaron diversos antecedentes que considerar para comprender las dicultades en la implementación de una política pública al respecto. Entre las dificultades afrontadas se encontraron la diversidad de conceptualizaciones sobre salud mental, la falta de voluntad política, las características propias de los sistemas de salud y el estigma social que rodea a los padecimientos mentales. Tales aspectos, entre otros, han hecho ardua y compleja la tarea de formular e implementar políticas nacionales de salud mental