(Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Fondo Editorial, 2010) Petrecolla, Diego; Martínez, María Fernanda
This paper analyses competition conditions in the natural gas market in Argentina since the early 90 when the sector was privatized. These reforms aimed to improve efficiency. In order to achieve this goal, assets where privatized, the market was deregulated and competition was promoted. This paper analyses the effects of these reforms on competition conditions in the natural gas market. Concentration indexes show a high degree of concentration both at the national level and at the different basins. Also concentration has not decreased since the privatization process was launched. Finally, this market also presents high sunk costs that create barriers to entry for the entrance of new competitors.Competition conditions are more consistent with the performance of an oligopoly market. The Competition Authority and the Sectorial Regulator should monitor this performance since this market is not as competitive as it was thought when the sector was privatized.
(Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Fondo Editorial, 2010) Maletta, Héctor
Since its beginnings, and more clearly since the mid 1800, Economics has been resting on the assumption that economic agents make rational decisions, maximizing their utility or well-being according to their own preferences and interests. The economic order resulting from that plurality of rational decisions is regarded as an efficient and Pareto-optimum one. Several authors have questioned the validity of those assumptions, and this has entailed a gradual transformation of the assumptions. This paper discusses the problems faced by the idea of a fully rational Homo economicus, the adjustments and defensive measures adopted by various tendencies within Economics to overcome those problems and counter various related theoretical and methodological criticisms. The paper also discusses more recent conceptions of economic reality that are at variance with the traditional view, especially those linked to behavioural, institutional and evolutionary Economics.
(Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Fondo Editorial, 2010) Jiménez Sotelo, Renzo
This paper highlights the amplifier mechanism that has the evolution of exchange rate on the credit cycle in an economy with high financial dollarization, one mechanism that has been called «the exchange rate accelerator». In this scenario, the natural procyclicality between the business cycle and credit cycle goes into the background, but perhaps not fade. The paper develops the theoretical framework underlying the transmission mechanism and shows some stylized facts of Peruvian credit system. The following presents an econometric model with panel data to estimate the effect of exchange rate accelerator on the evolution of credit default in the credit system institutions. From these empirical results, and under Basel II philosophy, the paper discusses how to implement, in banks and other credit institutions, prudential regulation that requires the allocation of provisions and capital for credit risk arising from exchange rate risk caused by foreign currency loans. The basic idea of these measures would help the system to internalize the externalities produced by this non-diversifiable risk factor.
(Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Fondo Editorial, 2010) Pereda C., Javier
This paper estimates the zero coupon yield curve for the Peruvian government bond market. We employ two methods of estimation proposed by Nelson y Siegel (1987) and Svensson (1994). Model performance is evaluated based on criteria of goodness of fit, flexibility and parameter stability, by using alternative objective functions for parameter estimation. The Svensson model shows on average a better adjustment; however, parameter estimates are more unstable when data availability is limited —for example when there is a small number of transactions in the secondary market— in which case is better to use the Nelson y Siegel estimates. At the end of the paper, yield curve estimates are used to derive market expectations of future short term interest rates, that are valuable sources of information for central bank’s monetary policy.
