F. Alejandro Villagómez

Monetary Policy Rules in a Small Open Economy: An Application to Mexico

We estimate a small-scale macro model for the Mexican economy under the New Keynesian (NK) framework and alternative interest rate rules for Mexico. With these results we evaluate the performance of the Bank of Mexico against a set of optimality principles derived in the NK literature. Our system estimation results show that the Bank of Mexico holds a preference for stabilizing not only inflation around target, but also acts to achieve an output gap close to zero. Furthermore, we find that the central bank responds non-linearly to real exchange rate depreciations. We also find that the central bank has actively attempted to neutralize demand and supply shocks through monetary policy that is consistent with the Taylor principle.

Trends and Characteristics of Economics Degrees in a Developing Country: The Case of Mexico

This article documents trends in enrollment in undergraduate economics programs in Mexico in 1970–2007 and discusses the characteristics of the programs—particularly the typical curriculum and graduation requirements—and the entry of graduates into the job market. Recent data show a pattern in enrollment rates surprisingly similar to those of developed countries. First-year enrollment has been decreasing relative to enrollment in other undergraduate programs, mostly because of the rise of substitute majors. This confirms a declining trend observed in the developed world. In contrast to other developed countries, Mexico has seen a steady increase in the participation of women, who currently represent more than 40 percent of total enrollment in economics programs. This trend is not exclusive to economics, but is similar to the average enrollment of women in other majors.

Alfabetismo financiero en jóvenes preparatorianos en la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México

In this paper we measure levels of financial literacy among Mexican high school students between the ages of 15 and 18, using a survey based on the OECD methodology and Lusardi and Mitchell’s focus, which we applied to these students in Mexico City and the State of Mexico. Our results show low levels of financial literacy. Using “L&M” questions, we found that 60% of the students surveyed understood the concept of inflation, 45.3% correctly answered the question about risk diversification, and only 22.2% correctly answered the question about compound interest. Similar results were obtained when using the OECD approach. Finally, gender differences were slight but favored men and differences by type of school were larger, generally favoring private schools.