Social Discount Rates for Seventeen Latin American Countries: Theory and Parameter Estimation

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-71
Author(s):  
Mark A. Moore ◽  
Anthony E. Boardman ◽  
Aidan R. Vining

This article presents new estimates of social discount rates (SDRs) for seventeen Latin American countries for use in public project evaluation. We derive the SDRs based on the social rate of time preference method and provide the required parameter values. These rates range from 2.14 percent for Paraguay to 5.83 percent for Chile. The unweighted average recommended rate is 3.77 percent, which is close to the rates mandated by most European countries. We also review current governments’ SDR practices worldwide, including Latin America, and find that the proposed country-specific SDRs are significantly lower and less dispersed across countries than the rates most Latin American countries currently recommend. Using four archetypal projects profiles, we show the potential impact on the net present values of varying important parameters, including growth rates.

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (06) ◽  
pp. 19-34
Author(s):  
Luis Mauricio Escalante Solís ◽  
Carlos David Carrillo Trujillo

Las sociedades comparten un serie de formas a través de las cuales se pueden identificar, conocerse y re-conocerse, sin hacer mucho caso a la especificidad, latitud o cultura que las caracterizan y las unen. Lo primero que comparten es una memoria social, entendida como un significado compartido por los miembros que lo conforman, sin importar su veracidad o autenticidad. El recuerdo es necesario para mantener unido a los integrantes de un grupo, es por ello que se manifiesta constante e intermitentemente en el transcurso de la existencia del grupo social, se vuelve un significado adoptado por dicho colectivo que debe ser manifiesto en las actividades y la cotidianidad.El presente trabajo describe y analiza tres prácticas sociales de conmemoración denominadas alternativas que se realizan en países latinoamericanos (Argentina, Chile y México), se fundamentan sus orígenes, causas sociales y formas de organización, así como sus acciones principales. El eje rector que unifica a estas tres prácticas conmemorativas es el hecho de que reivindican la lucha social y ejemplifican mecanismos contrahegemónicos de demanda social, antes las falencias, omisiones y acciones del Estado. El estudio y el análisis de las conmemoraciones abren la posibilidad de entender distintos usos del pasado. Los eventos históricos construyen un relato que otorga identidad y sentimiento de unidad. Sin embargo, recuperar el pasado a través de la conmemoración no elimina el surgimiento de grupos contrahegemónicos que proponen una reflexión crítica sobre lo sucedido. The societies share a number of ways through which they can identify and meet. However, often irrelevant specifics of culture. It is much more important social memory. Social memory is something that is shared by members of a group regardless of their veracity or authenticity. The memory is needed to hold together the members of a group. Therefore, the memory becomes a meaning adopted by the collective manifested in everyday activities.This paper describes and analyzes three social practices of commemoration taking place in Latin American countries (Argentina, Chile and Mexico), describing their origins, social causes, forms of organization and main actions. The guiding principle that unifies these three commemorative practices is claimed that exemplify the social struggle and counter-hegemonic mechanisms of social demand, given the failures, omissions and actions of the state. The study and analysis of the commemorations open the possibility of understanding different uses of the past. Historical events construct a story that gives identity and togetherness. However, recovering the past, through the commemoration does not eliminate the emergence of counter-hegemonic groups that propose a critical reflection about what happened.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila Arza

Gender inequalities are a key issue for most pension systems in Latin America. Contributory pension schemes that link benefit entitlements to work and earnings tend to reflect in the benefits they offer the gender gaps that prevail in the labour market. This deepened with the implementation of individual private accounts as part of structural pension reforms in a number of countries. This article evaluates how recent pension policies, including measures geared to coverage expansion and so-called pension ‘re-reforms’, have addressed gender gaps in pensions in four Latin American countries. It shows that the expansion of non-contributory pensions and a greater emphasis on redistribution are important for the protection of older women in a context of gendered labour markets and the unequal distribution of paid and unpaid work between women and men. Looking at the cases of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Chile, the article identifies progress but also the persistence of gender gaps in pensions and emphasises the need for further measures to promote adequate social protection for older women.


Author(s):  
Jorge Garcés Ferrer ◽  
Francisco Rodenas ◽  
Gustavo Castillo Rozas ◽  
Carla Vidal Figueroa

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 557-566
Author(s):  
Marilea Pattison Perry ◽  
James A Beck ◽  
Martin K Luckert ◽  
William A White

Provincial governments across Canada rely on regeneration requirements and penalties to promote reforestation following harvesting. However, little has been written on how to determine optimal levels of penalties for noncompliance such that tenure holders have incentives to further social reforestation objectives. This paper shows how reforestation penalties may be calculated in the case of Alberta. The calculation of the penalty is shown to be dependent on (i) changes in the values of future annual allowable cuts caused by failure to promptly regenerate, (ii) the portion of stumpage values collected with stumpage fees, (iii) nontimber values influenced by reforestation, (iv) differences in private and social discount rates, (v) costs of detecting noncompliance, and (vi) the probability of detecting infractions. In the case of Alberta, (v) and (vi) are minor considerations, as detection costs are low and probability of detection is high. However, values of (i) through (iv) have large potential impacts on the optimal penalties. For example, if (i) annual allowable cuts drop by 99 m3 for a 3-year reforestation delay (vs. an acceptable 2-year delay) on a 783-ha forest, (ii) stumpage fees are $10 below stumpage value, (iii) nontimber values are zero, and (iv) the private discount is 9%, while the social rate is 6%, then the optimal penalty is $49.17CAN·ha–1. However, if we change (ii) and (iv) such that stumpage fees are $30CAN below stumpage value and the private discount is 9%, while the social rate is 3%, then the optimal penalty is $168.58CAN·ha–1. With zero nontimber values, zero monitoring costs, no divergence between public and private interest rates at 9%, and a probability of detection of 1.00, the current penalty of $30CAN·ha–1·year–1 would approximate the optimal amount if stumpage fees were $20CAN·m–3. The variability in values of (i) through (iv) across forests and over time suggests that problems will arise in establishing a constant penalty for all provincial forests and that penalties should be revised as values change over time.


Author(s):  
Benito Bisso Schmidt ◽  
Rubens Mascarenhas Neto

This article focuses on Red Latinoamericana de Archivos, Museos, Acervos y Investigadores LGBTQIA+ (AMAI LGBTQIA+), a network composed of researchers and institutions related to LGBTQIA+ memory in Latin America, founded in 2019. First, the authors analyse the network’s creation arising from the discontent of some participants of the June 2019 Archives, Libraries, Museums and Special Collections (ALMS) Conference, in Berlin, who felt bothered by the lack of attention given to subaltern perspectives on LGBTQIA+ history and memory. Next, the authors describe and analyse the network’s first year of activities communicated through its Facebook group. Multiple challenges arose from creating a network with members from different national origins, languages, and identities, especially considering the conservative political contexts of several Latin American countries and the social distancing measures imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Next, the authors present a general profile of the network’s members and a map of partner institutions. Finally, the article points out some challenges to the network’s continuity and its desire to render Latin America more visible in the broader panorama of global LGBTQIA+ history. The authors conclude by highlighting the importance of AMAI LGBTQIA+ in stimulating further discussions about the participation of global-south researchers and perspectives on global queer history initiatives.


2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (142) ◽  
pp. 7-22
Author(s):  
"Mónica Bruckmann ◽  
Theotonio Dos Santos

At the beginning of the 20th century, social movements in Latin America were heavily influenced by anarchist immigrants from Europe and then by the ideological struggles around the Russian revolution. Beginning in the 1930s, many social movements started to incorporate into leftwing and populist parties and governments, such as the Cardenismo in Mexico. Facing the shift of many governments towards the left and the 'threat' of socialist Cuba, ultrarightwing groups and the military, supported by the US, responded in many countries with brutal repression and opened the neoliberal era. Today, after 30 years of repression and neoliberal hegemony, the social movements are gaining strength again in many Latin American countries. With the anti-globalization movement, new insurrections like the Zapatismo in Mexico, and some leftwing governments coming into power in Venezuela, Brasil and other countries, there appears to be a new turn in Latin America's road to the future.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Nesticò ◽  
Gabriella Maselli

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to characterize an evaluation protocol of the social discount rate (SDR). This is based on the social rate of time preference (SRTP) principles, according to which the investment selection process must tend to maximize the utility of the community.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical reference of the evaluation protocol is represented by the Ramsey formula. It is widely used in many countries with advanced economics for the SRTP estimation, through the maximization of the Social Welfare Function (SWF).FindingsThe protocol structure and the protocol applications to the Italian and US economies explain how the SDR value is influenced by the socio-economic structure of the single nation.Research limitations/implicationsThe strong variability of the results of the SDR according to the theoretical approach of reference and the operating path that follows can lead to judgments decidedly divergent on the acceptability of the public project, hence, the important policy implications for the entire allocation process of public resources.Practical implicationsThe applications allow to highlight the important operational problems that must be resolved with regard to the choice of the time intervals of the evaluations, as well as logical-operational tools to be used to express estimates of parameters.Social implicationsThey are relevant in relation to the effects of a more equitable allocation of the resources.Originality/valueThe protocol for the SDR estimation is based both on solid disciplinary principles and on objective data of non-complex availability and representative of the economic and socio-demographic context of the country in which the decision-making process is implemented.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (16) ◽  
pp. 2847-2858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Bel-Serrat ◽  
Viktoria Knaze ◽  
Genevieve Nicolas ◽  
Dirce M Marchioni ◽  
Josiane Steluti ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveThe present study describes the procedure and approaches needed to adapt and harmonise the GloboDiet methodology, a computer- and interview-based 24 h dietary recall, for use in two Latin American pilot countries, Brazil and Mexico.DesignAbout seventy common and country-specific databases on foods, recipes, dietary supplements, quantification methods and coefficients were customised and translated following standardised guidelines, starting from existing Spanish and Portuguese versions.SettingBrazil and Mexico.SubjectsNot applicable.ResultsNew subgroups were added into the existing common food classification together with new descriptors required to better classify and describe specific Brazilian and Mexican foods. Quantification methods were critically evaluated and adapted considering types and quantities of food consumed in these two countries, using data available from previous surveys. Furthermore, the photos to be used for quantification purposes were identified for compilation in country-specific but standardised picture booklets.ConclusionsThe completion of the customisation of the GloboDiet Latin America versions in these two pilot countries provides new insights into the adaptability of this dietary international tool to the Latin American context. The ultimate purpose is to enable dietary intake comparisons within and between Latin American countries, support building capacities and foster regional and international collaborations. The development of the GloboDiet methodology could represent a major benefit for Latin America in terms of standardised dietary methodologies for multiple surveillance, research and prevention purposes.


1997 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL COPPEDGE

This article makes a fresh start in the attempt to explain the number of parties in party systems. It develops a simultaneous equations model to differentiate between the psychological and mechanical effects of district magnitude on party-system fragmentation. Both effects are statistically significant and approximately equal. However, neither effect is very large in comparison to underlying patterns of politicization, which are argued to be reflections of the number of political cleavages in society. These cleavages predispose each party system to converge toward a country-specific effective number of parties within 5 elections, regardless of the initial level of fragmentation, barring outside disturbances. Major devaluations may act as such disturbances, but the evidence so far is inconclusive. The analysis is based on new data from 62 elections in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela, supplemented by 30+ additional elections in Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, and Uruguay for the exploration of economic impacts.


2005 ◽  
Vol 44 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 521-555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Afrânio Garcia

Study abroad has long been a favorite strategy of the Latin American ruling classes for acquiring the credentials that will win them a choice position among the elites of their native country. The growth of the “globalization” theme has reinforced the importance of foreign study as a sort of attestation of one’s capacity for international mobility, thus increasing the interest of studies on the international circulation of academics, which enhance our understanding of the changes in science on a global scale. This article discusses the relative importance of the circulation of social science doctoral students and researchers inside and outside Latin America. It examines the statistics on the countries chosen by Brazilian doctoral candidates and shows that their choice of Latin American countries has dropped off in the last 15 years. This contrasts sharply with the importance of Santiago (Chile), headquarters of the CEPAL and home of the theories on development and dependence of Latin American countries. A study of the social trajectories of the economist Celso Furtado and the sociologist Fernando Henrique Cardoso makes it possible to analyze the social and cultural capital invested in the work of the CEPAL and the emergence of the theoretical tools constructed through the use of the concepts of development and dependence. However, Pinochet’s 1973 coup d’état seems to have tarnished Santiago’s appeal as one of Latin America’s top-ranking cosmopolitan centers.


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