Research

Current Research Project

Fondecyt Research Project Nº 1241633

Governance, the Political Economy of Intergovernmental Transfers, and the Flypaper Effect

The Chilean National Agency awarded me a Fondecyt Regular Grant (2024–2028) for Research and Development (ANID).

This research investigates the structural and political determinants of the flypaper effect in Chilean municipalities. It explores how fiscal transfers from the central government influence local public spending behavior, and how this dynamic is conditioned by institutional capacity, political alignment, and socio-economic vulnerability.

The study combines panel econometrics over 20 years of data across 345 municipalities with an institutional and behavioral reading of fiscal governance. It aims to contribute both to the empirical literature on intergovernmental transfers and to designing more responsive and equitable fiscal systems in decentralized contexts.

CORFO H2V

 "Empoderando a los sectores agroforestal y productivo con Hidrógeno Verde:

 Un Camino hacia el Desarrollo Sostenible en la Región de la Araucanía – Chile

CODESSER-UTALCA

Dr. Ernesto Santibañez: Investigador Responsable - Utalca

Dr. Carlos Villalobos: Coinvestigador - Utalca

Dr. René Bañares-Alcántara - Uni-Oxford

Este proyecto aborda el desarrollo del hidrógeno verde en La Araucanía mediante una metodología integral basada en la gestión de la cadena de suministro. Su enfoque fomenta la sostenibilidad, la descarbonización y el crecimiento económico regional. Se establecen líneas de base ambientales, se evalúan potenciales de producción y consumo, se desarrolla capital humano y se involucran actores clave para crear un ecosistema sólido y sostenible. El proyecto genera impacto en ámbitos regionales, agroforestales e industriales, promoviendo la sostenibilidad y la innovación. Alinea esfuerzos locales con prioridades nacionales para facilitar una transición energética eficaz. Su metodología se diferencia de estrategias internacionales por su enfoque participativo y adaptación regional, posicionando a La Araucanía como líder en hidrógeno verde y desarrollo sostenible.

Past Research Projects & International Collaborations

In addition to journal publications, my research activity has been shaped by collaborative and grant-funded projects across Latin America, Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa. These projects span multidimensional inequality, gender gaps, elder abuse, and knowledge transfer between emerging economies.

• 2016–2017 – ANID-FONDEF (Chile)
  Structural Abuse and the Elderly in Chile.
  Lead methodology designer for the Multidimensional Elder Abuse Index. Funded by CONICYT-FONDEF.

• 2014–2015 – University of Göttingen / ENEGE – European Commission
  Rising Income Inequality in Europe: What Role Does Gender Inequality Play?
  Researcher for the European Network of Experts on Gender Equality (ENEGE).

• 2013–2016 – University of Manchester / DFID (UK)
  Is Brazil's Success a Bright Light for Africa?
  Multi-country research on the transferability of Brazil’s development strategies to Sub-Saharan Africa.
  Budget: £1.2 million – brazil4africa.org

• 2012–2014 – UNU-WIDER (United Nations University)
  The New Policy Model, Inequality and Poverty in Latin America (Prof. Andrea Cornia).
  Regional comparative research on post-2000 Latin American development policies

• 2010 – DIW Berlin (Germany)
  Real Consumption Aggregate Construction for Mongolia.
  Researcher for the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), using HIES/LSMS 2002 data.
   

Research Areas

• Public finance and fiscal federalism, including behavioral responses to intergovernmental transfers and the flypaper effect (Fondecyt Regular, Chile).

• Income and gender inequality in, with comparative studies across Chile, Brazil, and Honduras and the European Union.

• Health economics, with a focus on healthcare access, nutrition, and vulnerability among children and adolescents and also COVID-19.

• A growing line of work on the epistemological foundations of economic systems, where I explore how institutions process contradiction, stabilize expectations, or collapse under cognitive rigidity.

Journal Publications

(* indicates corresponding author)

Villalobos, C*., & Riquelme, J.
Household constraints and dysfunctional rural–urban migration (2023)
Economic Analysis and Policy

González, L., & Villalobos, C.*
Degree of association between healthcare indicators and poverty measures in Chile over the period 1992–2017 (2021)
Revista Médica de Chile

Raffalli, S., & Villalobos, C.*
A retrospective analysis of stunting and wasting in Venezuelan children (2017–2020) (2021)
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

Villalobos, C*., Chávez, C., & Uribe, A.
Energy poverty measures and the identification of the energy poor: A comparison of approaches in Chile (2021)
Energy Policy

Klasen, S., & Villalobos, C.*
Diverging identification of the poor: A non-random process. Chile 1992–2017 (2020)
World Development

Villalobos, C.*
SARS-CoV-2 Infections in the World: An Estimation of the Infected Population and How Detection Saves Lives (2020)
Frontiers in Public Health

Sandoval, V., González-Muzzio, C., Villalobos, C., & Sarmiento, J. P.
Assessing disaster capitalism in post-disaster processes in Chile (2020)
Disaster Prevention and Management

Villalobos, C*., Klasen, S., & Vollmer, S.
Distribution dynamics of human development in Mexico, 1990–2010 (2016)
Review of Income and Wealth

Villalobos, C*., & Klasen, S.
The impact of SENAI’s vocational training program on employment, wages, and mobility in Brazil (2016)
The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance

Books and Book Chapters

• Villalobos Barría, C. (2013)
  Book: Economic Inequality in Latin America: Migration, Education, and Structural Change
  Göttingen Studies in Development Economics, Peter Lang
  
  

• Villalobos, C.* (2023)
  Chapter: The Dynamics of Poverty and Inequality in Chile and Honduras (1990–2020)
  In U. Wagle (Ed.), Research Handbook on Poverty and Inequality. Edward Elgar Publishing
  
  

• Villalobos Barría, C., Klasen, S., & Otter, T.* (2014)
  Chapter: The Dynamics of Inequality Change in a Highly Dualistic Economy: Honduras, 1991–2007
  In A. Cornia (Ed.), The New Policy Model, Inequality and Poverty in Latin America. Oxford University Press

Working Papers, Reports & Other Publications

(* indicates corresponding author)

• Villalobos, C*., Chávez, C., & Uribe, A. (2019).
  Energy poverty measures and the identification of the energy poor: A comparison between the utilitarian and multidimensional approaches in Chile.
  Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research (IAI), Discussion Paper No. 243, University of Göttingen, Germany.
  
  

• Klasen, S., & Villalobos, C.* (2019).
  Diverging identification of the poor: A non-random process. Chile 1992–2017.
  IAI Discussion Paper No. 241, University of Göttingen, Germany.
  
  

• Klasen, S., & Villalobos, C.* (2019).
  Diverging identification of the poor: A non-random process. Chile 1992–2017.
  OPHI Working Paper No. 128, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, University of Oxford.
  
  

• Villalobos, C., Klasen, S*., & Gehringer, A. (2014).
  Income Inequality in Europe: What role does gender inequality play?
  ENEGE Thematic Report, European Commission.
  
  

• Villalobos, C*., & Klasen, S. (2014).
  The impact of SENAI’s vocational training programme on employment, wages, and mobility in Brazil: What lessons for Sub-Saharan Africa?
  IRIBA Working Paper No. 5, University of Manchester.
  
  

• Villalobos, C.* (2014).
  Structural change, duality, and the disadvantaged rural population.
  Mimeo. Winner of the Young Researcher Best Paper Award 2013, International Society for Comparative Economic Studies.
  
  

• Villalobos, C.* (2012).
  Internal migration and its impact on reducing inter-communal disparities in Chile.
  IAI Discussion Paper No. 220, University of Göttingen, Germany.
  
  

• Villalobos, C.* (2012).
  Sectorial shifts and inequality: How to relate macroeconomic events to inequality changes.
  IAI Discussion Paper No. 219, University of Göttingen, Germany.
  
  

• Villalobos, C.*, Klasen, S., & Otter, T.* (2012).
  The dynamics of inequality change in a highly dualistic economy: Honduras, 1991–2007.
  UNU-WIDER Working Paper No. 2012/17, United Nations University.
  
  

• Villalobos, C., Klasen, S., & Otter, T. (2012).
  The dynamics of inequality change in a highly dualistic economy: Honduras, 1991–2007.
  IAI Discussion Paper No. 215, University of Göttingen, Germany.