Juan Carlos Munoz-Mora

jmunozm1@eafit.edu.co

Office 26-902

Economics Department

Universidad EAFIT

Carrera 49 N 7 sur 50

Medellin-Colombia 050022

I am a development economist specializing in rural development, impact evaluation, and data science for applied economics. My expertise lies in understanding the dynamics of economic development and finding effective strategies to promote sustainable growth in vulnerables societies. I am passionate about using mixed method evidence-based approaches to inform policy decisions and drive positive change.

I believe that development should be inclusive and equitable, empowering communities to become self-sufficient and fostering economic opportunities for all. My work is guided by the principles of social justice and sustainable development, aiming to create a better future for individuals and societies.

I am professor of Development Economics and Chair of Policy and Development at Universidad EAFIT-Colombia. I’m also research associated at Institute of Development Studies (UK).

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selected publications

2023

II

Control, dispute, and concentration of land during civil war: Evidence from Colombia

J.C. Muñoz-Mora, S. Johansson, and J. Fortou

International Interactions, 2023

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How are patterns of armed control and dispute by armed actors related to land concentration, land property rights, and distribution? We argue that armed actors affect land tenure by using different land transfer mechanisms to distribute the land, which reflects the dynamics of control and dispute during civil conflict. We test this argument by studying the case of Urabá, a region in northwestern Colombia, using a mixed-method strategy. First, using extensive qualitative fieldwork, we find that armed actors systematically applied different land transfer mechanisms in areas where they held control. Armed actors strategically changed from employing one land transfer mechanism to another in relation to the level of dispute, political and economic objectives, and alignment with the state, among others. In our fieldwork, we identify how these land transfer mechanisms led to patterns of territorial control and land tenure structure. We then analyze an original dataset of rural plot ownership in Urabá, based on official cadastral information, to empirically verify our qualitative findings. We estimate a village-level fixed effects model that shows that disputed territories and those under paramilitary control had larger plots, higher land inequality, and fewer land transfers. In contrast, territories with established control by left-wing insurgents exhibit a small landholder scheme. These results offer important insights into the relationship between civil armed conflict and land and the logic of rebel governance.

2022

FFG

From immigrants to local entrepreneurs: understanding the effects of migration on entrepreneurship in a highly informal country

J. C. Muñoz-Mora, Aparicio S, Diego Martinez-Moya, and 1 more author

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 2022

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Purpose:Motivated by a lack of evidence regarding the effect of migration on entrepreneurship in a highly informal country, such as Colombia, this paper has a twofold purpose. First, it explores how Venezuelan immigration affects entrepreneurial activity in Colombian regions. Second, it intends to shed light on this relationship, by distinguishing between formal and informal sectors. Design/methodology/approach: With a sample of 1,776,063 individuals, from the Labor Survey Gran Encuesta Integrada de Hogares (GEIH) from the Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE), the authors employ an instrumental variable approach to account for the selection of immigrants into locations with more or less desirable conditions. Findings: The results suggest Venezuelan immigration positively influences self-employment and own-account workers, but negatively affects employers. However, once these immigrants proliferate in the informal sector, the effects increase. Originality/value: This paper brings new insights into the intersection between immigration, unofficial economies, and entrepreneurship. First, while the prior literature focuses on migration from developing to developed countries, migratory flows between developing economies and its effects on local entrepreneurial activity remain unexplored. Second, although informality is mostly common in developing countries, little (albeit growing) evidence of its role in the relationship between migration and entrepreneurship research exists. Finally, the authors bring together these two phenomena to enhance our understanding of different types of entrepreneurial activities when immigration and informality take place. Policy implications are derived from these insights.