Panama and Costa Rica to emerge as aviation hubs

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Central America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Domestic Market ◽  
Foreseeable Future ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Domestic Airlines

Subject Aviation in Central America. Significance Central America is becoming increasingly important as a Latin American aviation hub, seeing a recent wave of alliances and expansions. However, much of this activity is concentrated in just two of the region's seven countries -- Costa Rica and Panama. Impacts Copa and Avianca will be the dominant airlines in Central America for the foreseeable future. There may be some consolidation among recent entrants to Costa Rica’s domestic market. Avianca will focus increasingly on its core activities, seeking to divert from small domestic airlines in Central America.

Central America elections pose risks of unrest

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Central America ◽  
Economic Hardship ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Economic Damage ◽  
Political Expression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Opportunities ◽  
Public Events ◽  
Roll Out

Significance Campaigning will be muted, as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will constrain public events. Government handling of the crisis will be a consideration for voters, alongside more traditional issues such as insecurity, perceived corruption and poor economic opportunities. Dramatic improvements in such areas will remain elusive, whoever secures election. Impacts State weakness will hinder governments’ abilities to face health challenges and roll out vaccine programmes. Perceived impunity for politicians suspected of wrongdoing will drive unrest, especially if peaceful political expression is constrained. Costa Rica has no elections this year, but post-pandemic economic damage could hit government support ahead of 2022 polls. Economic hardship will drive more US-bound migration; an issue that will be formative for new governments’ relations with Washington.

Pandemic impact boosts Latin American food insecurity

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
North America ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Central America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Informal Employment ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Caribbean

Significance While the pandemic undoubtedly played a significant role, the situation also resulted from structural factors and was worsened by LAC’s high levels of economic inequality. Impacts Deteriorating food security will put further pressure on local health systems at a time when the pandemic is far from over. The prevalence of informal employment will make much of the population vulnerable to food insecurity as their income remains uncertain. The situation will add to the factors that fuel migration from Central America and the Caribbean towards North America.

US election will roil Latin American outlook

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Central America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
Trade Barriers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Weak Support ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
The Us

Subject The US election impact in Latin America. Significance Donald Trump's victory in the US elections was received with concern in Latin America, where most governments informally supported Hillary Clinton's campaign and were expecting continuity in US foreign policy. Trump's positions on migration are particularly worrying for Mexico and Central America. His agenda in other areas is not clear: during the campaign, he made few statements about the region and maintained some contradictory positions on several issues, including relations with Cuba. Impacts Trump's victory will have an impact on domestic policy debates in many countries. Backpedalling on climate change would represent a major regional concern. Already weak support for economic orthodoxy and reduced trade barriers will decline further.

Panama’s China shift may threaten Taiwanese diplomacy

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Central America ◽  
Panama Canal ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Diplomatic Recognition

Significance The visit follows Panama’s June 12 announcement that it had cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of establishing official relations with China -- the first such change in the region since Costa Rica switched diplomatic allegiances in 2007. Panama’s switch reflects China’s increasing economic links with Central America more generally and raises questions regarding the diplomatic stances of other countries in the Latin America/Caribbean (LAC) region, which is home to more than half of Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic partners. Impacts Taiwan will be more interested in unofficial but substantive ties than in retaining formal diplomatic recognition at high cost. Funding issues and domestic opposition to Nicaragua’s canal project could dissuade Ortega from any high-profile moves on China or Taiwan. Improved relations between China and Panama may concern Washington, given the level of US investment in the Panama Canal.

Prospects for Central America/Caribbean in 2018

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Central America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Public Debt ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Oil Prices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Caribbean

Subject Prospects for Central America and the Caribbean in 2018. Significance Most countries in Central America and the Caribbean (CA/C) grew above the Latin American average in 2017, with low oil prices and the recuperation of the US economy helping to drive positive economic outcomes. Challenges still facing the sub-region include corruption, high public debt and the negative impact of natural disasters.

Community-based tourism in a degrowth perspective.

2021 ◽  
pp. 42-63
Author(s):  
Ernest Cañada
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
El Salvador ◽  
Central America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Commercial Success ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Latin American Countries

Abstract This chapter highlights that despite the large body of existing literature on community-based tourism there is a lack of research adopting a degrowth perspective, as well as those conditions in which degrowth can happen in the case of community-based tourism. Based on the negligence of past research, the chapter explores the potentialities and limitations of community-based tourism experiences in Central America from the perspective of a socioecological transition. The chapter analyses three community-based tourism initiatives in three Latin American countries: Cooperativa Los Pinos (El Salvador), Ecoposada El Tisey (Nicaragua) and Stribrawpa (Costa Rica), and highlights both their commercial success and their potential to show possible emancipatory paths. In doing so, in-depth interviews were conducted with the members of the three initiatives, and systematization of their main characteristics and results, as well as the identification of the adopted strategies, were reviewed in order to be considered as examples for a debate on how tourism can be rethought in a degrowth perspective.

Climate change to hit Central America unevenly

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Central America ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World

Subject Climate change and Central America. Significance Costa Rica on February 24 launched an ambitious plan to achieve zero net carbon emissions by 2050. The announcement follows grave warnings by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the impending impacts of global warming and comes as the region suffers another season of drought. Extreme weather phenomena are becoming a regular occurrence across Central America -- a region local governments consider to be among the most vulnerable in the world to climate change. Impacts Extreme weather threatens tourism income, with hurricanes capable of crippling tourism sectors in a matter of hours. Costa Rica and Panama’s relative success in mitigating climate change impacts may encourage more of the region’s migrants to move south. Costa Rica’s efforts will ultimately prove meaningless if the rest of the world does not take drastic action to reduce carbon emissions.

Hurricane fallout to compound Central America poverty

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Central America ◽  
Content Type ◽  
President Elect ◽  
San Andres ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Significance Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama were also affected, as were the Colombian islands of San Andres and Providencia, the latter reporting damage to 98% of its infrastructure. The crisis revealed once again the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters and the effects of climate change. Impacts Economic struggles, damaged infrastructure and wider health pressures threaten to weigh on COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Damage to agriculture could see hunger and malnourishment worsen across the region. US President-elect Joe Biden may raise the prospects of aid and investment in regional efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

scholarly journals Being different matters! A closer look into product differentiation in specialty coffee family farms in Central America

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-188
Author(s):  
Allan Discua Cruz ◽  
Leonardo Centeno Caffarena ◽  
Marcos Vega Solano
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Product Differentiation ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Shared Vision ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Coffee Production ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategic Behaviour ◽  
Specialty Coffee

PurposeThere is a growing interest in understanding the strategic behaviour of family firms producing international commodities such as coffee, particularly in contexts where decisions about what products to sell, where to commercialise them and how to promote them appear to be highly based on both business and family aspects. The purpose of this paper is to explore product differentiation strategies in family firms in the specialty coffee industry across Latin American countries. Whilst the socioeconomic relevance of coffee production in Central America is unequivocal, the approach and rationale of families that engage in specialty coffee production remain underexplored.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines product differentiation in specialty coffee family farms across countries in Central America: Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The study relies on in-depth interviews, case studies and an interpretative approach to unpick the dynamics of product differentiation by families in business dedicated to producing specialty coffee.FindingsThe findings show that product differentiation in specialty coffee family farms is influenced by both business and family aspects and driven by entrepreneurial stewards. Coffee-farming families can engage in product differentiation through a shared vision, a combination of traditional and specialised knowledge, and through the continuous development of an exchange network. The findings reveal a connection between families in business balancing family and business interests, and the strategic intention to build up their assets entrepreneurially over time.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on stewardship and strategic behaviour in family firms when families in business engage in differentiating their products in a highly competitive industry. More specifically, this study focuses on companies across countries where coffee is of crucial socioeconomic importance, and where the said companies are owned and managed by families. The study expands understanding of product differentiation in family-enterprise-first businesses and suggests that the family elements in differentiation can be explained through an entrepreneurial stewardship perspective.

A comparative analysis of banking institutions: examining quiet life

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 726-743
Author(s):  
Mine Aysen Doyran ◽  
Zachary Roman Santamaria
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Public Good ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Dynamic Panel Data ◽  
Bank Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Banking Institutions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the performance of banking institutions in Costa Rica over the period 2004–2014. Design/methodology/approach This paper employs system GMM, dynamic panel data and traditional financial hypothesis framework to analyze bank performance and assess marketplace sustainability for a sample of commercial and cooperative banks from Costa Rica. In the assessment, the authors visit the relative market power, structure conduct performance (SCP) and efficient structure literature. Findings Market share (MS) is positively related to performance whereas the authors find a negative effect of market concentration (Herfindahl–Hirschman index) on bank profits, thereby refuting the SCP hypothesis. The authors accept the “quiet life” hypothesis within Costa Rican banks since a moderate level of profit persistence is detected. Commercial banks are less profitable. Yet when crisis is introduced to the models, it has a significant and negative impact on overall bank performance. Research limitations/implications The authors selected years and banks based on available data plus default information in the relevant database. More insights can be gained from post-2014 developments. Practical implications The current results and conclusions have implications for developing economies (and economic development, in general) by showing that the traditional understanding of cooperative bank model as better for the public good may not be necessarily true. They offer insight into the understanding of how different bank-type institutions affect the public good. Furthermore, expanding the research to Latin America in order to directly compare commercial and cooperative enterprises via a meta-frontier technique would help buttress this evidence. Originality/value This is the most recent study to provide such an investigation for a Latin American country with a sizable MS for cooperative and public sector banks. The paper offers analysis that has been limited in Latin American banking markets thus far.

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