Accident rate and degree of consistency on roads in a mountainous area of Perú

En el Perú, según los reportes históricos, la infraestructura vial no constituye un motivo de accidentes de tránsito; a pesar de que, según el estado del arte, los accidentes de tránsito se encuentran entre los diez primeros motivos de accidentes mortales a nivel mundial, hecho que es aún más visible en los países subdesarrollados. Los estudios sobre relieves montañosos (realidad de los países andinos) y para vehículos de carga son escasos. Por esta razón, se tomó como unidad de análisis una vía principal correspondiente a la red vial nacional, el objetivo fue establecer el nivel de consistencia de las vías de estudio y su incidencia en los accidentes de tránsito. Para ello, se establecieron los tramos críticos y su correspondencia con los accidentes de tráfico; se incorporaron al análisis tres tipos de vehículos (ligeros, de pasajeros y de carga); se utilizó la metodología de análisis de consistencia, en su modalidad de velocidad de operación para establecer los tramos críticos; se analizó la carretera bajo el criterio local y el criterio continuo. Los resultados muestran que existen tramos inconsistentes; el criterio local explica mejor la inconsistencia de la unidad de análisis respecto al criterio continuo. Con la regresión de Poisson, el modelo integral es significativo; las variables independientes optimizan conjuntamente el modelo. In Peru, according to historical reports, road infrastructure does not constitute a reason for traffic accidents; despite the fact that, according to the state of the art, traffic accidents are among the top ten reasons for fatal accidents worldwide, a fact that is even more visible in underdeveloped countries. Studies on mountainous reliefs (reality of the Andean countries) and for cargo vehicles are scarce. For this reason, a main road corresponding to the national road network was taken as the unit of analysis, the objective was to establish the level of consistency of the study roads and their incidence in traffic accidents. To this end, the critical sections and their correspondence with traffic accidents were established; three types of vehicles (light, passenger and cargo) were incorporated into the analysis; the consistency analysis methodology was used, in its operating speed modality to establish the critical sections; the road was analyzed under the local criterion and the continuous criterion. The results show that there are inconsistent sections; the local criterion explains better the inconsistency of the unit of analysis with respect to the continuous criterion. With Poisson regression, the integral model is significant; the independent variables jointly optimize the model.

A Stochastic Frontier Approach Applied to Farms to Selected Andean Countries

In this paper, we estimate a stochastic production function for Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru to investigate whether road infrastructure affects farm technical inefficiency. We use agricultural censuses of Colombia and Bolivia in 2013 and 2014, respectively; national agricultural surveys in 2017 of both Ecuador and Peru; and data on the road network and travel time to the nearest town with 50,000 inhabitants or more. Our main findings are that irrigation increases the value of production and road network decreases farm technical inefficiency, that is, road density (travel time) increases (decreases) farm technical efficiency.

Agricultural Total Factor Productivity and Road Infrastructure in South American Countries

In this working paper, we estimate agricultural total factor productivity (Ag TFP) for South American countries over the period 19692016 and identify how road density affect technical efficiency. In 2015, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia, the Andean countries, had 205,000; 166,000; 96,000; 89,000; and 43,000 kilometers of roads, respectively. A poor-quality and limited road network, along with inaccessibility to markets, might limit the ability of farms to efficiently manage production inputs, raising technical inefficiency. We find that the Ag TFP growth rate per year for South American countries, on average, is 1.5%. For the Andean countries, we find an even smaller growth rate per year of 1.4% on average. Our findings suggest that higher road density is associated with lower technical inefficiency.

The Effect of Extension Services and Credit on Agricultural Production in Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia

In this paper we estimate the average treatment effect from access to extension services and credit on agricultural production in selected Andean countries (Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia). More specifically, we want to identify the effect of accessibility, here represented as travel time to the nearest area with 1,500 or more inhabitants per square kilometer or at least 50,000 inhabitants, on the likelihood of accessing extension and credit. To estimate the treatment effect and identify the effect of accessibility on these variables, we use data from the Colombian and Bolivian Agricultural Censuses of 2013 and 2014, respectively; a national agricultural survey from 2017 for Peru; and geographic information on travel time. We find that the average treatment effect for extension is higher compared to that of credit for farms in Bolivia and Peru, and lower for Colombia. The average treatment effects of extension and credit for Peruvian farms are $2,387.45 and $3,583.42 respectively. The average treatment effect for extension and credit are $941.92 and $668.69, respectively, while in Colombia are $1,365.98 and $1,192.51, respectively. We also find that accessibility and the likelihood of accessing these services are nonlinearly related. Results indicate that higher likelihood is associated with lower travel time, especially in the analysis of credit.

State transformations and welfare models: the significance of the return of public institutions in Ecuador of the Citizen Revolution (2007–2017)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between estate transformations produced during the governments of the Citizen Revolution (CR) in Ecuador (2007-2017) and welfare regime transformations.Design/methodology/approachThe CR’s project registers an array of specificities that make it a relevant case study to understand it. Among them, it articulated the transformation of the development model with a comprehensive state reform: emphasized both the modernization of the state and the productive structure, and the creation of the basic pillars of a welfare state. The ambitious project materialized in an ambivalent manner, revealing accomplishments and limitations.FindingsThe recovery of resources for the state, the efficient organization of resources, decentralization and deconcentration processes, public administration transformations and policy de-corporatization processes accompanied and even propelled important achievements in the social sphere in terms of decommodification, stratification, commodification and defamiliarization. Ecuador’s starting point, as a small and impoverished country with pubic and communal goods and services dismantled through neoliberal reforms, was quite precarious. But, progress was made. Beyond the identified limitations, its accomplishments must be highlighted because they are novel in comparison to other progressive government experiences, especially in the context of Central Andean countries.Originality/valueThis article vindicates the need to link state transformation processes to welfare regime transformations, as well as the academic literature that informs both fields. The description of what took place in Ecuador in the field of social welfare during the ten years of the CR continues to confirm the theoretical potential of the concept of welfare regime with the necessary translations and appropriations that allow for the analysis of countries in the region. It enables an approach to a more theoretically and methodologically elusive object that is at the same time tremendously potent in analytical terms and in its contributions to social transformations. An object that alludes to areas gravely affected during neoliberal hegemony, linked to public institutionality, state capacity and state autonomy. This is why everything that affects the state and the management of public goods and services must be incorporated into the analysis.

Gender and History in the Andes

In Andean academia, a highly conservative environment, gender as a category of analysis has been an elusive and poorly understood concept. Despite the fact that in many countries of the Northern Hemisphere (where Euro-American knowledge is constructed), as well as South American countries, historians and anthropologists working from feminist perspectives have used gender theory since the 1980s, it is only in the 2010s that Andeanist scholars have begun to fully acknowledge that almost all historical narratives (from the Pre-Hispanic, Colonial, Republican and Contemporary Periods) excluded women as actors in all-important historical processes. As many Andean countries reevaluate their national republican discourses while celebrating the bicentennial of their independence, this flaw has become more evident. Hegemonic and historical accounts of South American independence movements, which highlight critical events and important historical figures, have focused on male figures and republican ideals mostly based on masculine values. Disseminating history from a masculine viewpoint, these narratives ignore women and other marginalized social groups, including indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, and fail to recognize their role as agents of political change. Consequently, using these narratives in the construction of national identities and citizenship has created social inequalities. The exclusion of women and nonbinary gender identities from the narrative has been noticed and acknowledged not only by academics, but also by society in general. Therefore, academic institutions and nonprofit organizations have promoted the publication and investigation of gender topics in history. However, archaeology, an isolated discipline immersed in its own discussions and dynamics, has developed in its own way. In general, opportunistic discoveries of “great and powerful women” have positioned archaeologists (mostly men) and their interpretations of the Andean past and power in an uncomfortable position. How to interpret these contexts using societal models that envision female bodies and feminine collectivities in a perpetually subordinated role? How to understand them without the tools of feminism and decolonial and anthropological theory? How to construct complex roles for Andean women in the past from a place in the present where that seems impossible and unimaginable (or even subversive)? From an Andean political awakening that takes a deep historical perspective, gender theory is under (de)construction. The topic of gender and history in the Andes is not about placing some female figures and mixing them up in an already hegemonic history; it is about creating innovative visions of the past, where multiple historical voices from the past and present appear.

Anastrepha grandis (South American cucurbit fruit fly).

A. grandis is a pest of various cultivated species of Cucurbitaceae, especially pumpkin (Cucurbita spp.), squash (Cucurbita spp.) and melon [Cucumis melo]. It occurs in the Andean countries, Paraguay, southern Brazil, and northern Argentina. It has been intercepted at ports in the USA, indicating its potential for spread via infested fruits.

The Effect of Diet Interacting With Temperature on the Development Rate of a Noctuidae Quinoa Pest

The quinoa pest Copitarsia incommoda (Walker, Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a cause of significant damage, and it is thus critical for Andean countries to have access to phenological models to maintain production and food safety. These models are key components in pest control strategies in the context of global warming and in the development of sustainable production integrating agroecological concepts. Phenological models are mainly based on outlining the relationship between temperature and development rate. In this study, we investigated the combined effect of protein content within the diet (artificial diet; artificial diet with −20% protein; artificial diet with +20% protein; natural quinoa diet) and temperature (12, 16.9, 19.5, 22.7, 24.6°C) as drivers of the development rate. Our study supports the literature, since temperature was found to be the main driver of the development rate. It highlights the significant role played by protein content and its interaction with temperature (significant effects of temperature, diet, and diet:temperature on development time using GLMs for all foraging life stages). We discuss the implications of such drivers of the development rate for implementing and applying phenological models that may benefit from including factors other than temperature. While performance curves such as development rate curves obtained from laboratory experiments are still a useful basis for phenological development, we also discuss the need to take into account the heterogeneity of the insect response to environmental factors. This is critical if pest control practices are to be deployed at the optimal time.