On the basis of a broad sample of quantitative studies in comparative politics, published in leading academic journals between 1989 and 2007, this paper offers an empirical radiography of data usage in comparative empirical research. It provides systematic information about…

This article presents a Monte Carlo EM algorithm to estimate multivariate endogenous switching regression models with censored and/or discrete responses and heteroscedastic errors. Advantages of the algorithm include: (1) it does not require numerical integration; (2) it reduces the estimation…

This paper evaluates to what extent the end-of-sample problem inherent to the Hodrick-Prescott (HP) filter may be ameliorated when estimating the trend component of GDP. For that purpose, the filter of St-Amant and van Norden (1997) is proposed using Mexican…

This paper uses a cointegration approach to estimate the demand functions for imports and exports in Mexico. The especification of each function is derived from the model of imperfect substitute goods and are estimated using monthly data over the period…

Electoral authoritarian rulers face a potential strategic dilemma. They need to contain the uncertainty of national elections and they need to maintain a minimum of popular support. Yet, achieving the former through electoral manipulation may hurt the latter. In the…

This paper describes a long term risk index for agricultural disasters. The index is built upon the principle that agricultural disasters follow a self organized critical behavior, which implies that under a wide variety of circumstances, agricultural disasters exhibit a…

Using an original dataset of the prior career paths and ex-post political positions of 1,400 federal deputies from three legislatures (1997-2000, 2000-2003 and 2003-2006), this paper presents the first systematic study of political career choices after the democratic transition in…

When President Felipe Calderón took office he declared a war on drug lords, thus initiating a war of attrition which has claimed more than 40,000 lives in the last 5 years. In this paper I document how this escalation of…

This text uses the principle of proportionality to study the social, legal and moral justification of the current drug policy in Mexico. The text focuses on two senses of proportionality: relative and absolute. By relative proportionality, I refer to the…

Studies of authoritarian nations rarely consider the role and activities of regional officials. They are usually assumed to be the involuntary agents of national rulers, or the unwitting victims of local demands for political change. Instead, I argue that regional…