Oportunidades Públicas

Evidence-based Policy and Innovation Research Lab

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The green tax on vehicles. Does it work?

Every new car that is sold in Chile must pay a tax to the “green” that depends on their emissions of NOx and CO2 (the exact amount for each vehicle can be calculated in https://www4.sii.cl/calcImpVehiculoNuevoInternet/internet.html ) . Although the origin of this tax is the levy (it was part of the Tax Reform of 2014 to fund free university), can have a positive environmental impact. This research aims to estimate the effect of this tax on the emissions of the new car fleet. What has changed the average emission of the fleet? That is to say do You sell cars more clean today than yesterday? The brands are ahead of the compliance with future standards for their models to pay less tax?
All of these questions are very important to assess the impact of the tax, and to assess its performance as an instrument of environmental regulation.

CO2 Emissions quotas in the Climate Change Framework Law

La Ley 21455 - Ley Marco de Camblio Climatico - Art. 5(b) define “ Presupuestos sectoriales de emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero al año 2030 asignados a los sectores señalados en el artículo 8°, de acuerdo a criterios de costo efectividad y equidad.” Esto se logra a traves de normas de emision para cada sector.
Esta investigacion indaga en como aterrizar estos conceptos considerando los dos criterios, y cuanto pueden cambiar los presupuestos segun qué criterio se considere.

Asignar los presupuestos es vital para que cada sector defina sus esfuerzos de mitigacion. El resultado de la investigacion puede ayudar a la politica publica. Ideal que hayan cursado ICS3742. (esta oportunidad se ofrece en 5 o 10 créditos)

Optimización de procesos de selección en una exportadora

Se analizará y desarrollará un algoritmo para la asignación de personal a las bocas de salida de una máquina de selección automática de fruta. Se evaluará el beneficio de contar con mejor información de la condición de recepción de la fruta en packing.

Probabilistic Analysis of Linear Programming Hierarchies

Linear programming hierarchies offer a systematic way to strengthen the feasible region of a linear relaxation, and consequently, a potential improvement in the integrality gap. These hierarchies guarantee convergence to the value of the integer problem; however, this convergence can be very slow, or the hierarchy might even fail to certify infeasibility for simple problems. The objective of this research is to study the behavior of the integrality gap in these hierarchies for random or typical instances. These probabilistic models offer an alternative to the various worst-case results found in the literature, deepening our understanding of the optimality guarantees for this type of relaxation. During this research, we will use linear optimization tools and stochastic analysis.

Public Policy Monitor

Through the analysis of surveys and modern econometric statistics, students will work on the preparation of reports applied to labor economics, migration, and the control of criminal activity.

Although the grade will be individual, opportunities for pair or group work will be offered. Applied Econometrics (ICS2563) is a fundamental requirement, and priority will be given to those with Advanced Econometrics (ICS3564) or similar coursework in Database Management or Machine Learning. Please indicate your experience in one of these areas in your application.

Estimation of Emission Reductions from Bus Electrification in Chile

Chile has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, a goal that requires significant transformations in the transport sector. Among its targets, the country has established that all new vehicles must be zero-emission by 2035, that the entire urban bus fleet must be zero-emission by 2040, and that the energy consumption of the transport system must be reduced by 25% by 2035, with one-third of that energy coming from renewable sources.

In this context, the electrification of urban public transport has advanced significantly through the renewal and tendering of electric bus fleets, supported by Law No. 20,378, associated with the National Public Passenger Transport Subsidy. Santiago currently has more than 4,000 electric buses, while 11 regions have already incorporated this technology.

The objective of this project is to quantify the environmental impact of incorporating electric buses into urban public transport in Chile by comparing the emissions avoided through the replacement of diesel buses with the additional emissions generated by the electricity demand required for their operation.

To this end, an hourly database will be developed, integrating bus activity levels by route and technology, fuel consumption of the diesel fleet and its associated greenhouse gas emission rates, charging profiles and electricity consumption of electric buses, electricity generation, and power system emissions. A central component of the study will be the estimation of hourly marginal emission factors, which will make it possible to identify the emissions attributable to electricity generation for bus charging with greater precision, rather than relying on average emission factors for the electricity mix.

Using this information, the study will estimate unit emissions per bus and aggregate emissions for the entire fleet under both the baseline and project scenarios, considering local pollutants and greenhouse gases. Finally, the study will quantify the social costs and benefits of electrification, including emission reductions, health benefits, and potential operational savings.

Innovation, AI Technologies, and Sustainability in Companies and Startups 2026-2

- Topic options: Innovation, digital transformation, and the use of artificial intelligence in companies; eco-innovation as a response to sustainability challenges; factors influencing the success of fintechs and technology-based startups; wage gaps and sustainability.
- Methodological options: Econometric analysis, analysis based on natural language processing, database construction, and systematic literature review.
- The specific topic and methodology will be discussed with the applicant during the interview. Each IPre addresses only one of the topic options and, at most, two methodological techniques.
- To apply, please send me a CV and "ficha académica" to gvaldesu@uc.cl by July 14.