We assess the role played by department rank and advisor-match on the early stage productivity of recent PhDs in economics using a tailor-made data set based on RePEc. After allowing for the potential influence of other factors, including gender and field of specialisation, we find as expected that both advisory quality and rank of the graduation institution are positively related to the academic productivity of graduates. However, in top institutions, students working with the most productive academics do not outperform others unless they co-author with their advisor. For students in non-top institutions, being advised by the best academics is always associated with a higher research output. Possible explanations for this difference are pointed out, including selection and differences in advising styles.

This paper proposes a set of five indicators to monitor the bioeconomy in Colombia and Antioquia, one of the main regions of the country. The proposed indicators encompass the dimensions of sustainability and emphasize the role of knowledge and scientific research as driving forces of the bioeconomy strategies. To estimate the contribution of the bioeconomy to value added, employment, and greenhouse gas emissions, an input–output analysis is carried out. In addition, text mining analysis techniques are implemented to identify the research groups with an agenda related to bioeconomy fields. Our results reveal an important slot to foster the growth of a sustainable bioeconomy that enables local economies to achieve inclusive growth.

In order to present an estimation of the internal rate of return (IRR) to higher education in Colombia, we take advantage of recent updates on the methodological approach towards earnings equations. In order to overcome the criticism that surrounds interpretations of the education coefficient of Mincer equations as being the rate of return to investments in education we develop a more structured approach of estimation, which includes more accurate measures of labor income and the role of education costs and income taxes. Our results imply a lower rate of return than the ones found in the Colombian literature, obtained through conventional estimation of Mincer equations, and show that the IRR for higher education in Colombia lies somewhere between 0.074 and 0.128. The results vary according to the year analyzed and the individual's gender.

This study proposes a new method for testing for the presence of momentum in nominal exchange rates, using a probabilistic approach. Using data for eight emerging economies, we show evidence of exchange rate inertia; however, the presence of momentum is asymmetric, being stronger in moments of currency depreciation than in moments of appreciation. This behavior may be associated with central bank intervention.