This dissertation contains three chapters on international trade and investment in children's human capital in developing countries. The first chapter examines the effects of changes in labor market opportunities for women on the bargaining power of women within households and, ultimately, on investment in children's human capital. I show that a positive demand shock for female labor in a woman's age category increases her bargaining power, and this raises investment in the health of girls relative to that of boys within the household. To identify this effect, I exploit the geographic heterogeneity in demand for younger versus older female labor within the Mexican export manufacturing sector and its differential changes across municipalities between 2002 and 2005. I find that a 1 percent increase in labor demand for older (mostly married) women, caused by a demand shock to the export manufacturing sector, raises the share of decisions made by the wife in a household by 1.3 percent and the chance of a daughter being in good health by 1.1 percent. Previous research has shown that school enrollment in developing countries responds to a change in the return to education generated by a change in demand in the export sector, that pays higher wages for a given skill level. In the second chapter of my dissertation, using data from Mexico, I show that the negative effects of a lower return to education are not limited to lower rates of school enrollment. Parents also respond to a decrease in the return to education for children, as a result of an increase in labor market opportunities for very young, unskilled labor in the export sector, by reducing spending on children's education even while they are enrolled at school. This suggests that parents respond along the intensive margin as well as on the extensive margin. Firm level studies offer mixed results on the effect of ex-ante liquidity constraints on firms' export status. The third chapter of my dissertation explores the same matter using a new methodology. I predict that, controlling for the firms' productivity level and given that firms were not exporters in the previous period, a larger appreciation of the real exchange rate should have a larger positive effect on the probability of less-liquidity-constrained firms becoming exporters. I test this prediction using a panel of Mexican manufacturing firms and find robust evidence in its support. / text

Questa tesi mette in evidenza e studi una possibile trade-off tra stabilità e l'efficienza economica che un ente governativo può affrontare quando si cerca di costruire un progetto di valore sociale in un paese in via di sviluppo instabile. Nel primo capitolo, i rivedere l'attuale stato di avanzamento in materia di appalti in cui espongo le sfide con i processi di approvvigionamento attuali nei paesi in via di sviluppo. La revisione dimostra infatti che l'assunzione di acquiescenza militare è una grande svista nel tentativo di ottenere un sistema di appalti solido ed efficace in un paese in via di sviluppo. Come espone Laffont che nella letteratura di appalto la necessità per le spese di revisione è stata presa in considerazione con attenzione all'impegno imperfetta delle procedure di controllo e della corruzione dei revisori dei conti. Questo contributo esamina le varie situazioni di sviluppo e di appalti all'interno di un paese in via di sviluppo e gli effetti dello stato attraverso il suo esercito. Particolare esposizione è data per selezionare gli stati africani. / This thesis highlights and studies a possible trade-off between stability and economic efficiency that a government agency may face when trying to build a socially valuable project in a unstable developing country. In the first chapter, i review the current progress made in procurement where I expose the challenges with the current procurement processes in developing countries. The review indeed shows that the assumption of military acquiescence is a big oversight in the endeavor to obtain a solid and effective procurement system in a developing country. As Laffont exposes that in the procurement literature the need for auditing costs was taken into account with attention given to imperfect commitment of auditing procedures and to the corruption of auditors. This contribution surveys the various situations of development and procurement within a developing country and the effect of the state through its military. Particular exposition is given to select African states.

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