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Latin America

Selected e-articles

Abstract: One of the leading commercial drivers applied in developing countries, especially in economies with conservative policies, is free trade agreements or tariff preferences with strategic economic zones worldwide. The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are no exception. The United States is the region's leading trading partner; however, several countries have signed trade agreements with the European area in recent years. In this paper, we ask ourselves to what extent these agreements are beneficial. In addition, we evaluate the impact on exports with other world regions. Mainly, we analyze the effect of commercial firms in the European zone on the level of exports of the other partners, especially with the United States. The results consistently suggest that signing trade agreements with the European zone generates an export displacement effect. In other words, although the gross level of exports to the European zone increases, the level of exports to other regions of the world, especially to the United States, grows faster than other countries that do not even have agreements with the Europeans. Generally, exports do not have a statistically significant effect on signing trade agreements with the European zone.

Abstract: This article assesses how environmental issues have been incorporated into the strategic association between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean. It analyses whether the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals are reflected in the EU-CELAC declarations, and what bi-regional programmes and projects have been developed in relation to the environmental SDGs. The analysis shows how the environment has become a key priority in both the political dialogue and development cooperation pillars, although it has only recently been included in the trade pillar, and in an incipient way.

Abstract: International collaborations show asymmetries and imbalances that influence how countries take part in international relations. In this context, science diplomacy (SD) could offer possibilities towards building partnerships and meaningful engagement between Europe and Latin America. The purpose of this article is to analyse how scientific collaborations between Latin American and European researchers are carried out, observing trends, behaviours, and perceptions. Qualitative methodologies and the analysis of empirical data collected through a survey allow the extraction of relevant experiences from real cases of international joint projects. Findings indicate that addressing the asymmetries in the collaboration between partnering researchers from Europe and Latin America is essential, and SD approaches may facilitate such endeavour. SD may not represent a panacea; however, it seems to facilitate the internationalisation of research in terms of mobility, international scientific collaborations, and knowledge exchange with under-represented actors in traditional international scientific schemes, such as indigenous communities.

Abstract: In this paper, we explore the role of trade in the evolution of labor share in Latin American countries (LAC). We use trade agreements with large economies (US, EU, and China) to capture the effect of sharp changes in trade. During the last two decades, the countries that signed these trade agreements experienced a negative trend in labor share, while in the remaining countries there is an average increase in this share, generating a gap of 7 percentage points. We apply synthetic control methods, combined with regression analysis, to estimate the average causal impact of trade agreements on labor share. While effects are heterogeneous in our eight case studies, the average impact is negative between 2 to 4 percentage points of GDP four years after the entry into force of the trade agreements. This result is robust to the specification used and to the set of countries in the donor pool. We find that trade agreements with more labor-abundant counterparts affect labor share more, in line with traditional Heckscher–Ohlin forces. We also find that, after trade agreements, exports of manufactured goods and the share of industry to GDP increase on average, most notably in the case studies where negative effects on labor share are significant, a fact compatible with enhanced participation in Global Value Chains. Finally, a decomposition shows that all the reduction in labor share is explained by a negative impact on real wages. •Since 1994 Latin American countries signed trade agreements with US, EU, and China•We use Synthetic Control to identify the effects of trade agreements on labor share•After implementing trade agreements, there is a reduction in labor share•We show that the fall in average real wages explains all the effect•Effect relates to counterpart’s factor abundance, and rising manufacturing exports

Abstract: The regulatory agencies all over the world have defined the pathway and the regulations for approval of simple small-molecule generics. In addition, the agencies are striving to form perspicuous regulatory frameworks for approval of biosimilar. According to this viewpoint, the approval of complex generics, also known as non-biological complex pharmaceuticals, is not subject to any clearly defined regulations (NBCDs). Although they differ from biologic products, complex medicines are constructed of huge, extremely complex, and synthetic components. The regulatory frameworks that are currently being used for complicated generics are opaque and uncertain. The market for complex generics is huge and there are fewer generic competitors in this area. In addition, the cost of bringing such generics into the market is high. Thus, there is a need for a well-defined pathway and guidance documents for the authorization of generic versions of complex drug products. The paper focus on the regulatory frameworks that the USA, EU, and Latin America have developed at this time to allow for the introduction of complicated generics to the market. In order to analyse regulatory policies in the USA, Europe, and Latin America for the marketing of NBCD copies, a case study of a product with an approved generic version is used. It also describes on the regulatory disparities existing among the three agencies in the light of complex generics.

Abstract: This article explains why only some post-neoliberal populists successfully keep themselves in power, thereby dominating political systems over the long term. Based on cross-regional dual paired comparisons of ‘crucial’ cases in the Andes and Central Europe, it advances a theory emphasizing societal reactions rooted in prior neoliberal critical junctures. I argue that where well-established and programmatic social democratic parties engaged in bait-and-switch reforms, subsequent populists mobilized extensive electoral coalitions with core support from former leftist constituents, based on which they built organizational capacities for the provision of national public goods that reinforced their popularity over the long term. By contrast, where personalistic leaders politicized regionally based divides through identity-priming appeals and then disproportionately hurt core supporters through bait-and-switch reforms, subsequent populists mobilized more segmented electoral coalitions, built less cohesive parties and provided limited public goods, which undermined their popularity as incumbents. By underscoring parallels in two different world regions, the article challenges institutionalist accounts of populist domination and offers a novel societally focused perspective.

Abstract: The expansion of mining and conflict violence are closely related phenomena, but there is widespread variation in the coercive responses state actors embrace to subdue resistance to mining. To explain this variation, we emphasize the interplay of motives (incentives) and opportunities (enabling conditions) available to state actors. Contrasting previous approaches, we provide a cross national analysis on the determinants of coercive responses for all Latin American countries. Our analysis also considers various forms of violent and non-violent coercive responses by the state. Our results support a motive-based explanation: state actors adopt coercive responses when the mobilizing capacity of communities as shown by indigenous involvement is the strongest, and when the economic potential of mining properties as indicated by their lootability is the highest. Our findings have implications for the expansion of extractive activities beyond mining

Abstract: This article discusses the challenges and potential policy choices for levying progressive taxes and taxing the rich in Latin America, a region known for its high-income inequality, limited tax-collection capacity, and low share of taxes collected from personal income and wealth. Factors such as high exemption thresholds, low top marginal tax rates, and limited administrative capacity undermine the redistributive ability and revenue collection of the tax systems in the region. Moreover, the income composition for the top percentiles largely comes from capital, and the effective tax rates they face are often low due to the preferential treatment of capital income and wealth. After discussing the evidence of how the rich in Latin America respond to progressive taxes on income and wealth and changes in enforcement policy, we provide some insights on potential policy choices to tax them effectively. These may include broadening the income tax base by lowering the number of exempt and non-taxable income items and the statutory exemption thresholds, reevaluating preferential tax rates on capital income, monitoring foreign income, addressing the abuse of tax treatment by business earners, and enhancing tax administration capacity. Additionally, wealth taxes may complement the tax system with updates to property registers and scrutiny of foreign assets

Abstract: In 1990, the participation of China in the global imports of Latin America (LAC) was incipient, while by 2019, China had become the second largest supplier of the region. This paper uses a sample of 14 LAC countries, estimates the effects of imports from China on each LAC country's economic growth, and verifies if these effects are evidenced in these countries' non-exporting or exporting sectors. This study proposes a Seemingly-Unrelated-Regressions (SUR) system for each sector. Results show that before China entered into World Trade Organization (WTO), LAC imports from China positively affected the economic growth of some LAC countries. However, beneficiary countries increased after China´s adhesion to WTO. Imports from China drive the economic growth of the non-exporting sectors of Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and El Salvador, the exporting sector of the Dominican Republic, and both sectors of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Except for the Dominican Republic, the countries whose export sectors benefit from China's imports are primary exporting countries. Adverse or null effects are estimated for the rest of the countries.

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