Economic Shocks and Democratic Vulnerabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean

2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abby Córdova ◽  
Mitchell A. Seligson
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Economic Data ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
Country Level ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
The Individual

AbstractHistorical evidence suggests that bad economic times often mean bad times for democracy, but prior research has given us little guidance on how this process may work. What economic conditions are most threatening, and how might they weaken consolidating democracies? This article uses the AmericasBarometer conducted by the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) to answer these questions by focusing on core attitudes for the consolidation of democracy. We use survey data at the level of the individual and economic data at the country level to help detect democratic vulnerabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean. The study finds that conditions of low levels of economic development, low economic growth, and high levels of income inequality increase those vulnerabilities substantially, but the effects are not uniform across individuals. Some groups, especially the young and the poor, are particularly vulnerable to some antidemocratic appeals.

Key factors in tourism management to improve competitiveness in Latin America

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Manuel Guaita Martínez ◽  
Paula Serdeira Azevedo ◽  
José María Martín Martín ◽  
Rosa María Puertas Medina
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
Distance Method ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Synthetic Indicator ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Latin American Countries

PurposeThis paper analyzes tourism competitiveness in Latin America, providing a country-level ranking of tourism competitiveness. The study also identifies which areas of management to focus on in order to increase competitiveness in each case.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on the variables used by the World Economic Forum (WEF) to measure tourism competitiveness. The DP2 distance method is used to create a synthetic indicator. This method helps identify which areas best explain differences in competitiveness between countries.FindingsIn tourism, the most competitive Latin American countries are Costa Rica, Chile, Panama, Mexico and Uruguay. The areas that best explain the differences between countries relate to cultural and natural resources, the implementation of information and communication technologies (ICTs), international openness and transport infrastructure. These are therefore priority areas for tourism managers.Practical implicationsThis paper provides detailed analysis for each country. The situation in each country is presented in terms of the key areas highlighted by the analysis. This approach can aid the individual decisions of companies and public managers, thus enhancing tourism competitiveness. This greater competitiveness can strengthen the tourism sector, which is crucial in uncertain times.Originality/valueBased on a synthetic indicator, this research offers the first country-level analysis of tourism competitiveness in Latin America. The study is also novel in its ability to detect the areas where action should be taken to improve tourism competitiveness. This analysis offers an alternative to the WEF Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), which has certain weaknesses. The results can help enhance tourism competitiveness in Latin American countries through the specific recommendations presented in this paper.

Estimating Income Poverty and Inequality from the Gallup World Poll

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Gasparini ◽  
Pablo Glüzmann
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Income Poverty ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Poverty And Inequality ◽  
The World ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Latin American Countries ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Gallup World Poll

This article takes advantage of a new source of information, the 2006 Gallup World Poll, to estimate and characterize income poverty and inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) at the country level, and to compare LAC with other regions in the world. The Gallup survey has the advantage of being conducted in over 130 nations with almost the same questionnaire; it stands as a complement to national household surveys for international comparison purposes. Our results confirm that Latin American countries are among the most unequal in the world, but we also find, considered as a single unit, Latin America is less unequal than other regions.

scholarly journals Policy Regimes and Economic Accountability in Latin America

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (13-14) ◽  
pp. 2032-2060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan E. Carlin ◽  
Timothy Hellwig
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Presidential Approval ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Policy Regimes ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Time Series Analyses ◽  
The Individual

The shifts from state-led development to neoliberalism in Latin America have prompted debates on the quality of democracy. Although most discussions focus on responsiveness, we examine how economic policy regimes influence accountability. How do policy regimes affect citizens’ ability to hold executives to accounts? This ability, we argue, strengthens where policy regimes are more statist and weakens where policy regimes are more market oriented. Time-series analyses of policy orientations, economic conditions, and presidential approval in 17 countries support this proposition, whereas complementary analyses at the individual-level are consistent with claims that policy regimes influence accountability via a responsibility mechanism. Findings from this study imply that by embracing heterodox policy regimes, recent Latin American executives have improved accountability compared with the era in which the “Washington Consensus” held sway.

scholarly journals Mayaro virus in Latin America and the Caribbean

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niloofar Ganjian ◽  
Ana Riviere-Cinnamond
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Imported Cases ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Mayaro Virus ◽  
Health Organization

Objectives. To assess the distribution of Mayaro virus (MAYV) in Latin America and the Caribbean and evaluate existing country-level MAYV surveillance mechanisms. Methods. Research was conducted from May 2018 through May 2019 to collect data from academic literature on Mayaro fever in Latin America and the Caribbean. PubMed, ClinicalKey, Scopus, Nature, SciELO, LILACS, and Google Scholar were searched for peer-reviewed journal articles, and data from health authorities, including the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and ministries of health, was also sought. MAYV-related publications published from 1954 through 2019 were screened. Publications that added to the overall understanding of MAYV, including its geographical and epidemiological distribution, were included in this report. Results. A total of 901 MAYV cases have been reported in humans in countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since its discovery in 1954 in Trinidad and Tobago, MAYV has been isolated from individuals living in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Haiti, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. Of those 901 cases, 42 of them were reported exclusively by health authorities. In contrast, 843 confirmed and presumptive autochthonous cases and an additional 16 imported cases were identified in academic literature. No country-level surveillance mechanisms for MAYV were recorded in academic literature or by health authorities. Conclusions. This report demonstrates that MAYV surveillance efforts are limited in comparison to the virus’s presence in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting the importance of enhancing arboviral surveillance systems in the affected countries.

scholarly journals The performance of corporate bond issuers in times of financial crisis: empirical evidence from Latin America

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Berninger ◽  
Bruno Fiesenig ◽  
Dirk Schiereck
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Corporate Bond ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Corporate Debt ◽  
Market Reactions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financing Decisions ◽  
Theoretical Approaches

PurposeThe fundamental theory of Modigliani and Miller (1958) states that a firm's financing decisions are independent from the firm's value. Nevertheless, several empirical studies as well as theoretical approaches from the past decade impugn this relation for real markets with their immanent inefficiencies. However, these questions are rather than academic in nature: Especially the influence of macroeconomic conditions on the market perception of debt issues is from high economic importance, since the need for new liquidity usually becomes even more urgent when the economic conditions worsen.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyzes the reaction of shareholders to the issue of debt by Latin American firms under special consideration of the macroeconomic sentiment. To do so, a sample of debt issued by Latin American companies between 2003 and 2010 is empirically examined through an event study.FindingsThe authors empirically demonstrate that specifically in Latin America, debt issuing companies show a significant underperformance during recessionary periods and an overperformance during nonrecessionary periods. These findings differ from previous results for mature capital markets. The authors conclude that not only the overall economic conditions matter to explain stock market reactions on bond issues but also the maturity of the corporate debt market plays an important role.Originality/valueThe authors provide first evidence that the previously described changes in the returns on specific stocks depending on the economic sentiment (Baker and Wurgler, 2006) are under certain conditions also present in the market for corporate debt.

scholarly journals Maritime Piracy in the Modern Era in Latin America

2020 ◽  
pp. 121-128
Author(s):  
Amarilla Kiss
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
International Law ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Legal Aspect ◽  
Maritime Piracy ◽  
American States ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Domestic Law ◽  
Modern Era ◽  
Latin American Countries

Maritime piracy is an activity that was considered defunct long ago and that Latin American countries experience it again in the 21st century. Since 2016 the number of attacks has increased dramatically involving armed robbery, kidnapping and massacre. Modern day piracy has nothing to do with the romantic illusion of the pirates of the Caribbean, this phenomenon is associated with the governmental, social or economic crisis of a state. When it appears, we can make further conclusions regarding the general conditions of the society in these states. But do these attacks really constitute piracy under international law? Does Latin American piracy have unique features that are different from piracy in the rest of the world? The study attempts to answer the questions why piracy matters in Latin America and how it relates to drug trafficking and terrorism. Apart from that, the study presents a legal aspect comparing the regulation of international law to domestic law, especially to the national law of Latin American states.

scholarly journals Latin American Journalism: A Review of Five Decades and a Proposal for a Model of Analysis

Comunicar ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (33) ◽  
pp. 193-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Mellado-Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Value ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
American Journalism ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Individual

Based on an historical analysis of the last five decades of research, this article analyzes the elements that define the journalism in Latin America. The work is based on the common social structures and the fact that journalism mediates in the construction of reality throughout the region, proposing a model that describes the individual, organizational and social aspects that have influenced the development of the profession. The results indicate that the educational problems linked to both the identity and the autonomy of the profession, the cultural value associated to professional practice, the existence and reach of the Teachers Associations, political and economic peculiarities, and the considerable influence exercised by Europe and the United States, are all aspects that make Latin American journalism different journalism in the rest of the world. Still, despite these similarities, neither a shared conceptualization nor a homologated operationalization of the profession exists in Latin America.En base a un recorrido histórico de las últimas cinco décadas, este artículo analiza los elementos que hoy definen a la profesión periodística en Latinoamérica. El trabajo se sostiene en las estructuras sociales compartidas por la región, así como en la función de mediación que el periodismo cumple en la construcción de la realidad, proponiendo un modelo que describe los aspectos individuales, organizacionales y sociales que han influido en su desarrollo. Se concluye que los problemas de formación vinculados a la identidad y a la autonomía de la profesión, el valor cultural dado a la carrera profesional, la existencia y alcance de los colegios profesionales, las peculiaridades políticas y económicas, y la gran influencia extranjera ejercida por Europa y EEUU, son los aspectos que diferencian al periodismo latinoamericano del resto del mundo. Sin embargo, se plantea la inexistencia de una conceptualización y operacionalización homologada de la profesión en el sub-continente.

scholarly journals IDENTIDAD DE LA TEOLOGÍA LATINOAMERICA Y LA TEOLOGÍA DE LA LIBERACIÓN

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Jorge Costadoat Carrasco
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Theological Method ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Age Of Maturity ◽  
The Status ◽  
Original Speech ◽  
America Latina ◽  
The Church

RESUMEN: El objetivo de esta investigación es suministrar argumentos para identificar la Teología latinoamericana con la Teología de la liberación, y viceversa. Entre estos argumentos se debe considerar la conciencia de alcanzar la “mayoría de edad” de la Iglesia en América Latina en el postconcilio; la convicción de los teólogos de la liberación de estar elaborando una “nueva manera” de hacer teo­logía; una toma de distancia del carácter ilustrado de la teología; y la posibilidad de reconocer en los acontecimientos regionales, particularmente en los pobres, un habla original de Dios. Este artículo pretende hacer una contribución al status quaestionis del método teológico.ABSTRACT: The objective of this paper is to provide arguments to identify Latin American Theology with Liberation Theology, and vice versa. Among these arguments, one should consider the awareness of the Church in Latin America reaching its “age of maturity” in the post-conciliar period. Other arguments are the conviction of liberation theologians to be elaborating a “new way” of doing theology; a distance from the illustrated characteristic of theology; and, the possibility of recognizing in regional events, particularly in the poor, God’s original speech. This article aims to contribute to the status quaestionis of the theological method.

scholarly journals Interest in COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean: an infodemiological study using Google Trends

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Jesús Aragón-Ayala ◽  
Julissa Copa-Uscamayta ◽  
Luis Herrera ◽  
Frank Zela-Coila ◽  
Cender Udai Quispe-Juli
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Response Time ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Search Data ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
Google Search ◽  
Latin American And Caribbean

Infodemiology has been widely used to assess epidemics. In light of the recent pandemic, we use Google Search data to explore online interest about COVID-19 and related topics in 20 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Data from Google Trends from December 12, 2019, to April 25, 2020, regarding COVID-19 and other related topics were retrieved and correlated with official data on COVID-19 cases and with national epidemiological indicators. The Latin American and Caribbean countries with the most interest for COVID-19 were Peru (100%) and Panama (98.39%). No correlation was found between this interest and national epidemiological indicators. The global and local response time were 20.2 ± 1.2 days and 16.7 ± 15 days, respectively. The duration of public attention was 64.8 ± 12.5 days. The most popular topics related to COVID-19 were: the country’s situation (100 ± 0) and coronavirus symptoms (36.82 ± 16.16). Most countries showed a strong or moderated (r = 0.72) significant correlation between searches related to COVID-19 and daily new cases. In addition, the highest significant lag correlation was found on day 13.35 ± 5.76 (r = 0.79). Interest shown by Latin American and Caribbean countries for COVID-19 was high. The degree of online interest in a country does not clearly reflect the magnitude of their epidemiological indicators. The response time and the lag correlation were greater than in European and Asian countries. Less interest was found for preventive measures. Strong correlation between searches for COVID-19 and daily new cases suggests a predictive utility.

scholarly journals Influencia supranacional de la UNESCO en la educación superior Latinoamericana

2020 ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Ricardo Gaete Quezada
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
International Institute ◽  
American Higher Education ◽  
The Caribbean

Latin American higher education in recent decades has experienced the main world trends, relative to the massification of student access, insufficient state funding, increase of private institutions in the tertiary education system, as well as a regional debate on its consideration as a good public guaranteed by the State, increasing the relevance of the university mission in solving global needs. Through the comparative method developed through a documentary analysis, the influence in Latin America of the Supranational Policy on social responsibility of UNESCO higher education institutions is analyzed. The results show this influence in the Region, through the Declarations of the UNESCO World Conferences on Higher Education, materialized in the actions developed by the International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC), such as the holding of the Regional Conferences on Higher Education or the creation of the Regional Observatory of Social Responsibility for Latin America and the Caribbean (ORSALC). In addition, there is an academic debate between the concept of university social responsibility, established in the Region since the beginning of the new Millennium, related to managing the impacts of university work on its stakeholders, evolving towards the recognition of higher education as a good public and a human right as an expression of a territorial social responsibility, effectively contributing to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. It is concluded that the analyzed Supranational Policy must consolidate its influence in the Region in the long term, by implementing some actions key strategies, such as strengthening the Latin American Higher Education Area or research on the contributions that Latin American universities must make to effectively guarantee higher education as a common good in the Region. 

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