Labor markets during COVID-19: gaps and challenges in Latin America.

Introduction: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Latin American labor markets continue to be quantified, to identify the social and economic impacts that this pandemic had, and to design more efficient public policies that would protect the most vulnerable groups. For this reason, the research question was as follows: what were the changes in the labor formality rates before and two years after the main contingency measures of the COVID-19 pandemic were implemented? Methods: Using data from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, the formality rate (τ) was analyzed, which was calculated using a weighted average between the formal employment rates of the number (i) of economic sectors (p) in a specific period (t). Results: The results suggest that the weighted labor formality rate increased in the countries of the region. These changes in formality could be the result of greater capital accumulation, the integration of productive processes, the integration of commercialization processes, and differentiated fiscal stimuli (i.e., the intrasectoral aspect), but it was not due to the displacement of workers from highly informal economic sectors to more formalized sectors (i.e., the intersectoral component). Discussion: The findings emphasized the precarious situation of women in the region, regardless of the country, particularly in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. These findings suggest the need to design public policies that reverse the current situation of the labor market and prevent future economic shocks, with special emphasis on the informal sector and women.

FT-MIR-ATR Associated with Chemometrics Methods: A Preliminary Analysis of Deterioration State of Brazil Nut Oil.

Brazil nut oil is highly valued in the food, cosmetic, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries, as well as other sectors of the economy. This work aims to use the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) technique associated with partial least squares regression (PLSR) and principal component analysis (PCA) to demonstrate that these methods can be used in a prior and rapid analysis in quality control. Natural oils were extracted and stored for chemical analysis. PCA presented two groups regarding the state of degradation, subdivided into super-degraded and partially degraded groups in 99.88% of the explained variance. The applied PLS reported an acidity index (AI) prediction model with root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC) = 1.8564, root mean square error of cross-validation (REMSECV) = 4.2641, root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) = 2.1491, R2cal (calibration correlation coefficient) equal to 0.9679, R2val (validation correlation coefficient) equal to 0.8474, and R2pred (prediction correlation coefficient) equal to 0, 8468. The peroxide index (PI) prediction model showed RMSEC = 0.0005, REMSECV = 0.0016, RMSEP = 0.00079, calibration R2 equal to 0.9670, cross-validation R2 equal to 0.7149, and R2 of prediction equal to 0.9099. The physical-chemical analyses identified that five samples fit in the food sector and the others fit in other sectors of the economy. In this way, the preliminary monitoring of the state of degradation was reported, and the prediction models of the peroxide and acidity indexes in Brazil nut oil for quality control were determined.

Modeling oil price uncertainty effects on economic growth in Mexico: a sector-level analysis.

This paper analyzes the impact of international oil price uncertainty on the different economic sectors (primary, secondary, and tertiary) in Mexico in the period 1993:1-2020:4 through a bivariate structural vector autoregressive (VAR) model with a generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) in mean to capture the impact of oil volatility on economic growth at the sectoral level of economic activity. The results show that the uncertainty of the international price of oil has a differentiated effect on the different sectors of economic activity in Mexico since it does not influence the primary sector; it negatively impacts the secondary sector, and there is mixed evidence in the tertiary sector. Additionally, evidence is provided that both positive and negative shocks to the international oil price have asymmetric effects at the sectoral level in Mexico. The results highlight the need to implement public policies, at the country level, that help mitigate the effect of uncertainty in the oil market and promote economic stability at the sector level.

Patents and Nanotechnology Innovation in Mexico.

BACKGROUND: This paper examines nanotechnology patents in Mexico to gain some insights into: a) the growth of patents over the last twenty years; b) the distribution of assignee patents between private and public institutions; b) the economic sectors engaged in nanotechnology R&D; and, c) whether R&D is oriented to basic research or more applied science and engineering. METHOD: The present research employs the DG concordance system. This approach establishes a procedure to match patents according to their potential use in economic sectors. The research incorporates a two-stage approach, each involving a different method: capturing basic information from Mexican nanotechnology patents; and, establishing concordance with economic sectors. RESULTS: 217 patents were identified; 153 were analyzed. Private companies and individuals registered 30 %. The largest concentration (41%) is found in the economic sector "Manufacture of Chemicals and Chemical Products". Most patents are located in basic research. There are virtually no patents related to the final place in the value chain (final products) or to nanotechnology instruments. CONCLUSION: The article provides an overview of nanotechnology in Mexico in terms of quantity and institutional allocation of patents; also with the economic sectors with which they are associated, and the relation with the place in a value chain. Patent concentration in public academic institutions suggests a lack of nanotechnology research and development capacity in firms. Most patents are related to electronics, an economic sector with significant development in the country.

Estrutura social e transmissão intergeracional de status: uma análise hierárquica / Estructura social y transmisión intergeneracional de status: un análisis jerárquico / Social structure and intergenerational transmission of status: a hierarchical analysis

A investigação dos mecanismos de transmissão de status tem correspondido à grande parte dos esforços dos estudos empíricos dos sistemas de estratificação. As diferenças organizacionais encontradas entre setores econômicos e as diferenças regionais inserem-se justamente na dimensão estrutural dos estudos de estratificação. Assim, o principal objetivo deste artigo é investigar em que medida o status ocupacional atual dos indivíduos foi afetado pela sua origem social, considerando-se o momento em que estes indivíduos se inseriram no mercado de trabalho e onde se inseriram. Foram utilizadas as bases da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD) de 1973, 1982, 1988 e 1996 e estimados Modelos Hierárquicos que representam, para os estudos de transmissão intergeracional de status, a possibilidade de um melhor controle de fatores estruturais. Observou-se que a segmentação do mercado de trabalho em diferentes setores econômicos e o nível de crescimento econômico no Brasil em diferentes coortes de entrada dos indivíduos no mercado de trabalho são mecanismos que funcionam como mediadores da transmissão de status, enquanto a segmentação regional não apresentou efeitos significativos.

Una gran parte de los esfuerzos realizados por los estudios empíricos de los sistemas de estratificación ha correspondido a la investigación de los mecanismos de transmisión de status. Las diferencias organizacionales encontradas entre sectores económicos y las diferencias regionales se insertan, precisamente, en la dimensión estructural de los estudios de estratificación. Así pues, el principal objetivo de este artículo es investigar en qué medida el status ocupacional actual de los individuos analizados se vio afectado por su origen social, teniendo en consideración el momento en el que estos individuos se insertaron en el mercado de trabajo y el lugar donde se produjo su inserción. Para ello, fueron utilizadas las bases de la Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD¹) de 1973, 1982, 1988 e 1996 y se estimaron los modelos jerárquicos que representan, para realizar los estudios de transmisión intergeneracional de status, y analizar la posibilidad de un mejor control de factores estructurales. Se observó que la segmentación del mercado de trabajo, en diferentes sectores económicos, y el nivel de crecimiento económico en Brasil, en diferentes cohortes de entrada de los individuos en el mercado de trabajo, son mecanismos que funcionan como mediadores de la transmisión de status, mientras que en lo que se refiere a la segmentación regional no se presentaron efectos significativos.

Empirical studies of stratification systems have concentrated in investigating the mechanisms of transmission of status. Organizational differences found between economic sectors and regional differences fall precisely in the structural dimension of stratification studies. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to investigate to what extent the current occupational status of individuals was affected by their social origin, considering the time when and where these individuals entered the labor market. We used the databases from the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD in Portuguese) of 1973, 1982, 1988 and 1996, and estimated the Hierarchical Models that represent, for studies of intergenerational transmission of status, the possibility of better control of structural factors. We observed that the segmentation of the labor market in different economic sectors and the level of economic growth in Brazil in different cohorts of individuals entering the labor market are mechanisms that function as mediators for the transmission status while regional segmentation had no significant effect.