Costamagna-Arnaudo, R. (Rodrigo)

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    Initial informality as an obstacle to intellectual capital acquisitions: Empirical evidence from Latin America
    (2019) Mendi, P. (Pedro); Idrovo-Carlier, S. (Sandra); Costamagna-Arnaudo, R. (Rodrigo)
    Purpose: Most developing countries are characterized by large informal sectors. A substantial proportion of firms in these countries began operations in the informal sector, eventually becoming formal. The purpose of this paper is to study whether, after formalization, firms that began operations in the informal sector are more or less likely to use intellectual capital in the form of disembodied technology licensing than firms that began operations in the formal sector. The moderating roles of being a downstream firm, age and the country’s per capita income are also analyzed. Design/methodology/approach: The effect of initial informality on the probability of licensing is estimated using firm-level data from the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey, conducted in several Latin American countries in 2006–2017. Findings: Formal firms that began informally are less likely to use licensed technology, suggesting the existence of long-run effects of informality. The effect of initial informality is more negative among downstream firms. Research limitations/implications: The analysis uses cross-sectional data. Unobservable firm fixed effects could be controlled for using longitudinal data. Practical implications: Initial informality affecting the innovation strategies of firms should be considered when designing policies that incentivize formality. Social implications: If, in light of the results of this analysis, policies are designed which foster a better allocation of resources, there will be a tangible impact in the lives of many people in developing countries. Originality/value: This is the first paper that analyzes the relationship between initial informality status and technology licensing, a relevant channel for the international diffusion of technology.
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    Low-skilled labor markets as a constraint on business strategy choices: A theoretical approach
    (2019) Mendi, P. (Pedro); Idrovo-Carlier, S. (Sandra); Costamagna-Arnaudo, R. (Rodrigo); Parra-Torres, J.M. (Juan Manuel)
    The characteristics of the environment in which a firm operates may be constraining a firm's choice of strategy in order to create and sustain a competitive advantage. In particular, we focus on the fact that the level of development of local human capital may be an important factor constraining the set of strategies that the firm may actually choose. Next, certain feasible strategies in a high-skilled labor market may become unfeasible in a low-skilled labor market. To illustrate this point, we propose a theoretical model in which the level of quality of a firm's product depends on effort exerted by local high-productivity workers. We show that the firm may choose to produce a low-quality product for sufficiently high costs of finding high-productivity workers and inducing them to exert effort to increase the quality of the product.
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    Essays on real Exchange rate and competitiveness
    (Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Navarra, 2013) Costamagna-Arnaudo, R. (Rodrigo); Mendi, P. (Pedro); Cavallo, D.F. (Domingo F.)
    In the planning of a country's economic policy, exchange rate policy has a major role, especially in less developed countries where industrial policies and foreign trade are mainly based on the exchange rate competitiveness. Therefore, it is not surprising that the exchange rate policy is used by governments and policy makers to assess the country's competitive position in the world trade. In practice, the real exchange rate (RER) is associated with the evaluation of the external position of countries through the price elasticity analysis between exports and imports. However, the assessment of countries competitive position on the basis of price elasticity is a simplified overview for understanding reality. Despite the research efforts made to cast light on the field of concern, a causal relationship between the behavior of the RER and highest competitiveness indicators remain unclear. In fact, this relationship disregards the effects of non-price competitiveness, such as competitive advantages based on the value added like high technologies applied to new products developments and new processes designs. To round up, some authors and policy makers support the assumption that the overvaluation of a currency deteriorates the competitive position of a country and that competitive devaluations facilitate growth through its positive impact on the share of the tradable goods in the economy, especially in the industry. Nevertheless, there is vast empirical evidence supporting that an appreciation of the RER will not always result in a loss of competitiveness and, conversely, RER depreciation will not always imply a higher competitiveness performance. Thus, competitiveness policies strongly based on the RER evolution through time can lead to misleading conclusions. This thesis is focused on the effects of the real exchange rate as an instrument of macroeconomic policy aimed at achieving higher indicators of competitiveness in the business sector. Theoretical and empirical evidence is offered to business decision-makers as useful information.