Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

To Be Or Not To Be: An Assessment Of Latin American Airport Infrastructure And The Creation Of An Airport Infrastructure Index, Jess Elisha Cooley

Honors Theses

Latin American transport infrastructure underperforms the global standard across the board, and previous research indicates that deficient infrastructure deters economic and social development (Fay 2007). Using multiple research methods, this thesis explores how transport infrastructure relates to the economic global competitiveness of a nation. More specifically, the quantitative research includes regression analyses with quantity of varying infrastructure types (airports, roadways, railways, and navigable waterways) and the creation of an airport infrastructure index. The index attempts to determine what dimensions of airport infrastructure truly reflect “good infrastructure” because Latin America has a relatively large quantity of airports. As infrastructure mechanisms are …

Buenvivir - The Politics Of Living Well, Jeremy Caldeira

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Buenvivir is a development ideology that arose from Indigenous ideas of protecting nature, generating autonomy, and generally living well. This ideology rose to the forefront of South American politics through its placement into the constitutions of Ecuador and Bolivia, as well as through dynamic policies such as the Yasuní-ITT Initiative. Ultimately, the efficacy of buenvivir in both countries was mixed. This paper explores the reasons for this, while also evaluating Ecuador and Bolivia’s implementation of buenvivir using political analysis tools and frameworks. It also briefly considers future paths for success, such as the Pachamama Foundation’s Sacred Headwaters Plan, and holes …

Resource Nationalism And Energy Integration In Latin America: The Paradox Of Populism, Brian Hollingsworth

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the relationship between resource nationalism and energy integration, and uses Bolivia and Brazil as a test case. Essentially, does resource nationalism affect energy integration? The findings nest within more expansive questions on international political economy and export-driven models of development. Why do populist regimes, historically operating under an economic nationalist cum protectionist paradigm, simultaneously pursue policies of economic integration? What is the relationship between resource nationalists and open markets, especially in the hydrocarbons sector? What is the relationship between populists, who are typically resource nationalists, and their decision to choose policies of energy integration?

The most common …

Migration And Injustice In The Neoliberal Era: A Comparative Analysis Of Migratory Laws And Sweatshop Labor Conditions In Argentina And The United States, Kelly L. Johnson

Spanish Honors Papers

In the contemporary neoliberal era, the global phenomenon of migration dominates the international political discourse and generates empirical and normative questions regarding the admission, rights, and realities of migrants who leave their home countries to live elsewhere. Argentina and the United States are countries in which migration was, and continues to be, a main factor in shaping the nation’s identity. Despite the similar migratory phenomenon in both of these countries, their migratory policies vastly differ—Argentina considers migration to be a right, but the United States constantly strengthens its efforts to deter migrants from entering the country. Even though migratory policies …

Calcaneal Quantitative Ultrasound Indicates Reduced Bone Status Among Physically Active Adult Forager-Horticulturalists, Jonathan Stieglitz, Felicia C. Madimenos, Hillard Kaplan, Michael Gurven

ESI Publications

Six months of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is considered optimal for infant health, though globally most infants begin complementary feeding (CF) earlier—including among populations that practice prolonged breastfeeding. Two frameworks for understanding patterns of early CF emerge in the literature. In the first, maternal and infant needs trade-off, as “maternal-centric” factors—related to time and energy demands, reproductive investment, cultural influences, and structural barriers— favor supplanting breastfeeding with earlier and increased CF. A second framework considers that “infant-centric” factors—related to infant energetic needs—favor CF before six months to supplement breastfeeding.

We apply these two frameworks in examining early CF among the Tsimane—a …

A Market Study Of Organic And Fair Trade Coffee In Bolivia, Christopher L. Estevez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to study the commercialization of Fairtrade and Organic coffee in the Bolivia. Fairtrade and Organic coffee are alternative trade systems designed to promote the equitable and environmentally sustainable production of coffee. However, these alternative trading systems often fail to meet these goals. The producers and environment these systems are intended to protect remain marginalized. These failures are due to a number of local institutions. In order to better understand these institutions, this research conducted interviews of various stakeholders including producers, cooperative leaders, organic/Fair Trade certifiers, government agencies and private buyers. All these stakeholders influence …

Que Se Vayan Todos!: An Analysis Of Antineoliberal Social Movements In South America, Jeffrey Sybertz

Senior Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Transgenic Food: An Ethnographically Informed Analysis Of The Ban On Genetically Modified Crops In Bolivia, Kristin Gjelsteen

Summer Research

This research investigates a country that has recently committed itself to replacing all genetically modified crops with non-altered crops. Limitations and benefits associated with allowing or banning transgenic technology are examined through interviews with farmers, agricultural researchers, agronomists, biologists and environmental advocates in three diverse communities in Bolivia. This research explores how these stakeholders experience and understand the recent national rejection of this agricultural technology. Controversy surrounding development and use of transgenic technology illustrates moral, political, social and economic conflicts, presents risks and creates complex societal decisions with the potential to impact ecological systems, diversity of life, health (both natural …

Public And Private Firms In Natural Resource Industry: Comparing The Development Of The Lithium Industry In South America, Mike Knape

International Political Economy Theses

Literature on public and private firms has traditionally focused on the efficiency effects of differing firm ownership, although the literature has been largely dormant since the 1980s. State-led development models in Asia and Latin America warrant continued analysis of this fundamental issue in International Political Economy. This paper attempts to frame debate on natural resource governance by identifying the factors that affect the mix of public and private firms in extractive industry. Historical institutionalism is used as a framework for analyzing policy change, and political economy theory of governance institutions is compared to the traditional economic theory of the firm. …

Global Production Networks, Relational Proximity, And The Sociospatial Dynamics Of Market Internationalization In Bolivia's Wood Products Sector, James T. Murphy

Geography

This article advances conceptualizations of global production networks (GPNs) through an analysis of the relational processes that firms in Bolivia's growing wood products industry use to build ties to international markets. Both large- and small-scale manufacturers are increasingly internationalizing their operations in response to the global demand for tropical hardwoods and decentralization of control over the country's forest resources. These firms use four different types of production networks and networking practices to develop international market ties. Each of these networks is distinguishable by its entry barriers, value-creation possibilities, upgrading strategies, and the cognitive, social, and cultural factors that influence who …

Bolivia's Coca Headache: The Agroyungas Program, Inflation, Campesinos, Coca And Capitalism In Bolivia, John D. Roberts

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Bolivia in the 1980s was wracked by monetary inflation approaching levels of the German Weimar Republic. Immediately following this time of great financial crisis in Bolivia, the U.N. founded a project through the U.N.D.P. to encourage peasant farmers in Bolivia to switch from growing coca (the plant used manufacture cocaine) to growing other cash crops for market. This crop substitution and development program, called the Agroyungas Project, lasted from 1985 to 1991 and is the focus of this study. While many U.N. pundits and journalists considered the program’s initial small successes promising, it has been considered since its conclusion to …

An Agricultural Model For The Central And Sacaba Valleys In Cochabamba, Bolivia, Carlos A. Ibañez-Meier

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this thesis is to assess the impact of increasing the quantity of water supplied for irrigated agriculture in the Central and Sacaba Valleys. Specifically, this study examines the feasibility of Misicuni multiple-purpose project in Cochabamba, Bolivia. This project involves construction of a reservoir for the purpose of irrigating and the above mentioned areas, supply potable water to the urban areas, and produced electrical power. The Misicuni Survey, Ministerio de Agricultura y Asuntos Campesinos (MACA) bulletins, and information from other institutions were used as a source of data for the formulation of a linear programming model which represents …

Economic Analysis Of The Agricultural Sector In Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Enrique Gómez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A linear programming technique is used to calculate the land allocation that maximizes the returns to the agricultural producers in the provinces Santisteban, Sara, Warnes, Ibanez, and Ichilo, in the department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, under different sets of prices.

All the input requirements per unit of land and average expected yields are estimated from survey data collected from farmers in Bolivia. Constraints on availability of land and labor are also estimated.

Seven crops are included in the model: soybeans, wheat, cotton, yuca, sugar cane, rice, and corn.

The model is first examined under the set of prices that existed …

From National Populism To National Corporatism: The Case Of Bolivia (1952-1970), Melvin Burke, James M. Malloy

School of Economics Faculty Scholarship

Analyzes the experience of Bolivia with an experiment in a populist resolution of its socioeconomic problems from 1952 to 1970. Objectives of national populist ideology; Factors that lead to the failure of Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario in Bolivia to achieve its revolutionary goals: Resurgence of private sector in mining and petroleum.

Estudios Críticos Sobre La Economía Boliviana, Melvin Burke

School of Economics Faculty Scholarship

Land reform and its effect on production and productivity in the region of Lake Titicaca. Land reform in the region of Lake Titicaca. The private sector in the Bolivian economy and the need for credit. From national corporatism national populism (the case of Bolivia, 1952-1970).

Does "Food For Peace" Assistance Damage The Bolivian Economy?, Melvin Burke

School of Economics Faculty Scholarship

Do commodity surplus shipments in fact "encourage economic development in the developing countries ... that are determined to improve their own agricultural production ... "?¹ Or conversely, is it true that "food aid is damaging to the countries which receive it, and they should be helped to increase the productivity of their own farmers"?² The former Bolivian Minister of Petroleum, Marcelo Quiroga, who was largely responsible for the nationalization of the Gulf Oil subsidiary in his country, apparently believes "Food for Peace" aid is damaging to the Bolivian economy.