Martin Cicowiez

• PhD
• Professor at National University of La Plata

epurposing public support to food and agriculture has gained significant global attention. However, resources allocated to support the food and agriculture sector may not be high enough for significant repurposing in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper shows that most governments in 18 sub-Saharan African countries have allocated small shares of their b...

At the beginning of 2020, the world experienced the COVID-19 pandemic in which several countries all around the world closed their borders and established isolation measures. These types of measures, in line with the spread of the virus, mainly affected those sectors where face-to-face interaction and mobility were central, as it was the case in th...

Agriculture is under transformation in sub-Saharan Africa where millions still do not have access to a healthy diet. Policy makers in this region should find ways to accelerate agricultural transformation while increasing access to healthy diets. Optimizing agriculture’s public budget stands out as a handy option. By combining a dynamic computable...

In post-conflict Colombia, the government has prioritized resettlement of displaced people through development of strong rural livelihoods and the sustainable use of natural capital. In this paper, we considered government proposals for expanding payment for ecosystem services (PES) and sustainable silvopastoral systems, and private-sector investme...

The Republic of Korea is characterized by rapid growth of its elderly population, a stagnant working-age population, the world’s lowest total fertility rate, and the largest gender wage gap among the OECD countries. The heavy domestic and care work performed by women who receive little or no help from male household members constrains their labor f...

In recent decades, Colombia has made significant progress towards achieving gender equality in its labor market. However, persistent inequalities in unpaid care work remain a significant challenge, resulting in heavy care workload for women. This study evaluates the impact of three government policy options that can help reduce women's unpaid work:...

Integrated Economic-Environmental Modeling linked with spatial land use land cover and ecosystem services modeling. Capacity building resources.

En este estudio se investigan los impactos, tanto económicos como aquellos sobre el capital natural y servicios ecosistémicos, de tres programas de conservación en México. Más precisamente, se analizan el programa de pago por servicios ambientales, el programa para reducir las emisiones en el sector agrícola, silvicultura y otros usos de la tierra,...

Objectives We analyse the employment effects of increasing tobacco taxation in Argentina by building a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. Methods In line with recent changes in tobacco taxation in the country, the CGE model simulates an increase in excise tax on cigarettes. Results The results show that even a substantial increase in tob...

In the modeling of imports, most CGE models use Armington functions with symmetric responses to increases and decreases in the ratio of prices of imports and domestic products. In this paper, we extend this by permitting asymmetric responses to changes in this price ratio. Specifically, we assume that it is easier to substitute imports for domestic...

The Amazon biome is being pushed by unsustainable economic drivers towards an ecological tipping point where restoration to its previous state may no longer be possible. This degradation is the result of self-reinforcing interactions between deforestation, climate change and fire. We assess the economic, natural capital and ecosystem services impac...

Paraguay mostró un crecimiento económico importante entre el 2010 y el 2019, a pesar de cierta contracción en el 2019, en el cual la agricultura contribuyó significativamente. Las proyecciones apuntan a una recuperación económica desde el año 2021, pero surge la pregunta de cuáles podrían ser los motores del nuevo crecimiento. Las carencias de la...

Agricultural transformation has been ongoing for decades in Ethiopia where the agenda to improve nutrition has also gained momentum. We use a dynamic computable general equilibrium model combined with a multicriteria decision-making technique to assess ways in which the government could coherently pursue the objectives of reducing the cost of the l...

Policymakers seek objectives that can be conflicting under a budget constraint. Solving this problem requires a multi-criteria decision-making technique whereby equations of a dynamic computable general equilibrium model are constraints to a policy optimisation problem. We illustrate this approach in the framework of agricultural transformation obj...

This video provides an overview of IEEM and how it supports evidence-based decision making.

This paper investigates the potential impacts of the Nigerian Rural Electrification Fund (REF-1) on the development of rural communities and specifically assesses the policy's differential impacts on men and women's employment and income. It examines the best approach for the implementation of the subsidy grant that promotes economic activities in...

Mexico's economy contracted unprecedentedly in 2020. Agriculture remains important for the economy and job creation, but it lacks strong productive dynamism and exhibits high informality. We show that investing in agriculture’s infrastructure can contribute to economic recovery and welfare post-COVID-19. On the basis of a dynamic computable general...

This study highlights how, through a series of scenarios, public investments promoting agricultural productivity in Uganda could drive growth in agrifood production, with favourable impacts on the economy, on well-being and on poverty, especially in rural areas. Using a modelling tool to represent the Ugandan economy, with its multiple sectors and...

The OPEN IEEM Platform is now live online. https://openieem.iadb.org/#/home

An application of the IEEM+ESM framework to conservation strategies in Mexico

In this paper, we assess the economy-wide impact of Climate Change (CC) on agriculture and food security in 20 Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) countries. Specifically, we focus on the following three channels through which CC may affect agricultural and non-agricultural production: (i) agricultural yields; (ii) labor productivity in agricult...

Mexico's gross domestic product (GDP) contracted unprecedentedly as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. While the primary sector has relatively been the most resilient, the agriculture sector lacks sufficiently strong productive dynamism and has high rates of informal work and low wages. Investing more in the sector's productive infrastructure would h...

The overarching goal of the United Nations Food Systems Summit is to catalyze action for the transformations needed in food systems to accelerate the progress toward sustainable development goals (SDG). However, given the complexity of these interactions, gains in one area may determine losses in others. Using the Livestock Policy Simulation Model...

The Amazon biome, despite its resilience, is being pushed by unsustainable economic drivers towards an ecological tipping point where restoration to its previous state may no longer possible. This is the result of self-reinforcing interactions between deforestation, climate change and fire. In this paper, we develop scenarios that represent movemen...

We are approaching an tipping point in the Amazon. We apply Integrated Economic-Environmental Modeling (IEEM) platform to understand the costs of inaction and the benefits of a coordinated regional policy response.

El Producto Interno Bruto (PIB) mexicano se contrajo de una forma nunca antes vista como resultado de la crisis asociada a la COVID-19. Si bien el sector primario ha sido el más resiliente, la agricultura carece de un dinamismo más productivo y se caracteriza por su alta informalidad laboral y sus bajos salarios. Invertir más en la infraestructura...

We assessed the economic effects of the agricultural policy that is proposed as part of the 2016 peace accord in Colombia. We used a newly built social accounting matrix for Colombia to calibrate a computable general equilibrium model. We found that the value added, demand for labour and factor incomes increased in the areas most affected by the co...

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the most widely used measure of economic performance worldwide. Where long-run economic sustainability and human well-being are concerned, GDP can provide misleading policy advice. While the limitations of GDP are discussed conceptually in the literature, we provide a quantitative example demonstrating the implicatio...

Este artículo aplica el Modelo Integrado Económico-Ambiental (IEEM por sus siglas en inglés) al análisis del Plan de Descarbonización (PdD) de Costa Rica. Específicamente, IEEM se emplea para evaluar estrategias orientadas a la descarbonización de los sectores de transporte y energía. En esta modelación de escenarios de descarbonización, IEEM se al...

This paper evaluates the economic and environmental impacts of implementing Costa Ricas Decarbonization Plan, focusing specifically on the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Uses (AFOLU) sectors. To do so, we apply the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modeling (IEEM) framework for Costa Rica, linked with high resolution spatial land use land cov...

Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models are systems of equations that describe an entire economy. They are data intensive and require that the information used to solve those equations is organized in a particular manner in the form of a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM), which describes the circular flow of transactions between economic agents fo...

In this paper we evaluate the economic, natural capital and ecosystem services impacts of strategies for conserving Colombia’s rich natural capital endowment. Specifically, we consider Government program proposals for establishing Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), implementing more sustainable silvopastoral systems and expanding habitat banking...

The year 2020 is a critical year for sustainable development policy and practice with the review and renewal of various international commitments including the Sustainable Development Goals, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Paris Agreement. The post-2020 agenda needs to be informed by more robust analytical approaches that capture the...

This paper describes how Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) can be integrated into economy-wide analytical frameworks to enhance evidence-based decision-making. Examples from applications of the Integrated Environmental-Economic Modelling (IEEM) Platform show how explicitly accounting for the contributions of the environment to the economy in economi...

Nicaragua’s economy decelerated significantly from the second quarter of 2018, due mainly to exogenous elements or disruptions. This resulted in a changed economic environment characterized by important constraints and challenges, as well as a lack of foreign financing. In order to evaluate economic recovery options, this study analyses scenarios...

We develop and link the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modeling (IEEM) Platform to ecosystem services modeling (ESM). The IEEM+ESM Platform is an innovative decision-making framework for exploring complex public policy goals and elucidating synergies and trade-offs between alternative policy portfolios. The IEEM+ESM approach is powerful in its a...

Public investment in different types of tourism, from business to leisure tourism, has differentiated impacts on local economies, environment, people and government revenues. A fully integrated analytical approach such as the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modeling (IEEM) Platform is required to capture these multi-dimensional impacts. Applying...

This technical guide presents the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modeling (IEEM) Platform, a recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium model developed at the Inter-American Development Bank for the medium and long run analysis of public policies and investments. IEEM pays special attention to the modeling of the interaction between the ec...

We link the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modeling (IEEM) Platform to ecosystem services modeling (ESM). The IEEM+ESM Platform is an innovative decision-making framework for exploring complex public policy goals and elucidating synergies and trade-offs between alternative policy portfolios. The IEEM+ESM approach is powerful in its ability to sh...

This Technical Guide is the User Guide for the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modeling (IEEM) Platform, a recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium model developed at the Inter-American Development Bank for medium and long-run public policy and investment analysis. The IEEM Platform pays special attention to the modeling of the interactio...

Esta guía técnica presenta la Plataforma de Modelado Económico-Ambiental Integrada (IEEM por sus siglas en ingles), un modelo de equilibrio general computable dinámico recursivo desarrollado en el Banco Inter-Americano de Desarrollo para el análisis de políticas e inversiones públicas de mediano y largo plazo. La Plataforma IEEM presta especial ate...

La literatura señala la importancia de la buena gobernanza para el desarrollo de los destinos turísticos. En algunos casos, se advierte que la complejidad del entramado de los agentes implicados en el desarrollo turístico ha dificultado la consecución de modelos de gobernanza operativos en el sector. Este estudio viene a reducir esta brecha a travé...

This presentation presents a snapshot of final results of our analysis of a proposal for a Payment for Ecosystem Services Program in Colombia.

Martin Cicowiez presents IEEM fundamentals and its application to the evaluation of public investment projects in the tourism sector in Costa Rica.

The Integrated Economic-Environmental Modeling (IEEM) Platform provides powerful insights into the potential impact of public policy and investment. This infographic highlights an application of the IEEM Platform to tourism in Costa Rica. Our analysis with IEEM identifies: (i) the portfolio of investments that generates the greatest returns; (ii) s...

The Integrated Economic-Environmental Modeling (IEEM) Platform linked with spatial ecosystem services modeling (IEEM+ESM) is an innovative decision-making framework for exploring complex public policy goals and elucidating synergies and trade-offs between alternative policy portfolios. In this infographic, we present the IEEM+ESM approach applied t...

The Integrated Economic-Environmental Model (IEEM) fills an important gap in the economic development literature and practitioner’s toolbox. At the core of IEEM is a future-looking computable general equilibrium framework that enables the analysis of the impact of public policy and investment on indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), inco...

Various methods have been applied to evaluating the economic viability of public investments in tourism. In this article, we capitalize on the strengths of computable general equilibrium and cost-benefit analytical techniques and develop an integrated approach to evaluating public investments in tourism. We apply the approach to the evaluation of a...

The growth of cultural tourism globally has presented an important opportunity for public investment in tourism to drive economic development in developing countries. With Bolivia’s regional disparities in income and opportunity, it is critical to understand the regionally differentiated welfare impacts of public investment. We develop Bolivia’s fi...

In 2014, the United Nations published the first International Standard for environmental-economic statistics, known as the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA). As more countries adopt and implement the SEEA, the availability of consistent environmental and economic information increases the need for analytical tools that can use this...

This paper develops and operationalizes the integrated economic-environmental modelling (IEEM) platform which integrates environmental data organized under the first international system of environmental economic accounting with a powerful dynamic economy-wide modelling approach. IEEM enables the ex-ante economic analysis of policies on the economy...

This is an implementation in Stata of the Tic-Tac-Toe game (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tic-tac-toe). Enjoy!

¿Cuáles son los principales rasgos del crecimiento económico argentino en el pasado? ¿Cuáles podrían ser los escenarios futuros de crecimiento de largo plazo y qué requerirían términos de inversión, productividad e incentivos para la innovación productiva? ¿Cómo podrían ampliarse las mediciones convencionales del crecimiento económico para dar cuen...

In this paper, we use a computable general equilibrium model to simulate the effects of drought and a decrease in agricultural productivity caused by climate change in Guatemala. A reduction in agricultural productivity would mean a considerable drop in crop and livestock production, and the resulting higher prices and lower household income would...

Rwanda's Nyungwe National Park is a biodiversity hotspot with the most endemic species in the ecoregion and the highest number of threatened species internationally. Nyungwe supplies critical ecosystem services to the Rwandan population including water provisioning and tourism services. Tourism in the Park has strong potential for financing enhance...

The tourism sector’s contribution to economic development depends upon complex and dynamic socioeconomic, environmental, and institutional factors. Policymakers require objective evidence to base decisions on which public policies or investments to pursue. In this paper we develop an economy-wide approach to assessing public investments in tourism....

Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models are often combined with microsimulation (MS) models to perform distributive impact analysis for fiscal or structural policies, or external shocks. This paper describes a user-friendly Stata-based toolkit to perform MSs combined with CGE models in a top-down fashion. The toolkit is organized in various mod...

This paper provides an overview, macro application, and detailed documentation of GEM-Core, a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model designed for medium- and long-run policy analysis. GEM stands for General Equilibrium Model. GEM-Core can address the issues that typically are relevant for CGE analysis for developing countries, including...

This paper provides an overview, macro application, and detailed documentation of GEM-Core, a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model designed for medium- and long-run policy analysis. GEM stands for General Equilibrium Model. GEM-Core can address the issues that typically are relevant for CGE analysis for developing countries, including...

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call to action to end poverty and protect the environment. The Government of Guatemala is prioritizing the SDGs it will focus on and defining lines of action to make progress towards achieving them. In this paper, we apply the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modelling platform for Guatemala...

There is a debate in the literature on the appropriate methods and metrics for evaluating the economic impacts of tourism investments. Available analytical techniques include input-output modelling, computable general equilibrium modelling, cost benefit analysis, expenditure-based methods, and others. Metrics of benefits often include indicators su...

This chapter presents the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modelling (IEEM) platform. IEEM advances the state of the art in decision making frameworks, enabling policy makers to understand the full range of economic and environmental implications of public policy and investment alternatives. IEEM utilizes data organized under the first internation...

The purpose of the presentation is to demonstrate how integrated economic-environmental modeling and the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modeling Platform (IEEM) contribute to evidence-based policy making. The desired outcome is to inspire countries to develop their environmental accounting systems under the UN System of Environmental Economic Ac...

In effect since January of 2016, the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to end poverty and protect the environment. The Government of Guatemala is currently engaged in a prioritization exercise, defining specific lines of action and developing estimates of costs of implementation. In this Chapter we apply the Int...

In this study we develop an evidence-based tool to help to guide policy and investment choices, to maximize developmental returns from tourism. Specifically, we develop a tourism-extended social accounting matrix and computable general equilibrium and microsimulation models customized for tourism investment analysis. To demonstrate the approach, we...

This paper develops and operationalizes the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modelling (IEEM) platform which integrates environmental data organized under the first international standard for environmental-economic accounting with a powerful economy-wide modelling approach. IEEM enables the ex-ante economic analysis of public policies and investme...

Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park is a biodiversity hotspot with the most endemic species in the ecoregion as well as the highest number of threatened species internationally. In addition to great biological diversity, Nyungwe National Park supplies significant ecosystem services to the Rwandan population including water provisioning and tourism servi...

The Rwandan Government is considering revising Nyungwe National Park’s fee structure to generate more revenues for park management. This study builds a first Dynamic Regional Economy-wide Model for Rwanda’s South and West Provinces to estimate the regional economic impacts of a new fee structure, as well as improving park tourism opportunities. Res...

In this study we develop an evidence-based tool to help to guide policy and investment choices, to maximize developmental returns from tourism. Specifically, we develop a tourism-extended social accounting matrix and computable general equilibrium and microsimulation models customized for tourism investment analysis. To demonstrate the approach, we...

This paper makes two contributions to the debate on the compatibility of social cost benefit analysis and economic impact analysis. First we argue that benefits estimated through economic impact analysis are amenable to subsequent analysis in a social cost benefit framework when household utility is used as the measure of welfare. Second, economic...

Armington and Constant-Elasticity-of-Transformation (CET) functions are routinely used in Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Models to model foreign trade. The CET function is applied to producer decisions about whether to export and or sell at home. Decisions by domestic demanders whether to purchase imports or domestic output are covered by the...

This paper develops and operationalizes the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modelling (IEEM) platform which integrates environmental data organized under the first international standard for environmental-economic accounting with a powerful economy-wide modelling approach. IEEM enables the ex-ante economic analysis of public policies and investme...

This is an implementation in Stata of the Hangman paper and pencil guessing game (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangman_(game)). Enjoy!

Ex-ante economic impact analyses are required to demonstrate the development impact and viability of multilateral loans. These assessments are often performed under tight timelines, in data scarce environments and with limited opportunity for primary data collection. This paper develops a framework for assessing tourism interventions under these ch...

Economy-wide models such as computable general equilibrium (CGE) models are powerful tools that provide insights on policy impacts on standard economic indicators. With the recent publication of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), the power of this approach is amplified. This article addresses an important gap in economy-wide po...

Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Models are powerful tools that provide insights on policy impacts on standard economic indicators. With the recent publication of the first international standard for environmental-economic accounting, the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Central Framework (SEEA CF; UN et al., 2014), the analytical st...