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Macarena Suanes and Oriol Roca studied the main determinants of inequality and economic growth in Latin America between 1980 and 2009 and found that one of the main determinants was foreign direct investment. This paper extends that study to 2015 and shows that such investment is no longer significant. In contrast, increasing human capital significantly reduces inequality and improves economic growth. It is recommended, then, that economic policies are oriented towards raising educational attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the convergence hypothesis and the impact of social policy on the economic growth of the six largest countries in Latin America between 1980 and 2010. Results suggest that social public policies have positively influenced growth in these economies. Particularly, there are non-observed variables (fixed effects) that positively affect the economic growth in Venezuela and Chile; however, there are other non-observed variables that may be negatively affecting growth in Brazil and Mexico. Regarding the convergence hypothesis, results reveal that the speed of convergence diminishes as real income rises, implying that these countries might be converging to their stable states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a model that assumes politicians' rationality when fixing tax rates applied on revenue and consumption of each taxpayer. The paper also suggests some factors to consider are political mobility of voters and economic expectations, which can explain regressive tax reforms adopted in Latin America since the economic crises of the 80s. Additionally, it contrasts the model with an unbalanced data panel (18 countries from 1980 to 2010). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the political nature of taxation, which helps to explain why adoption from the model sponsored by the IMF in Latin America, especially after the debt crisis, has not been homogeneous. Colombia is taken as a case study to show how tax reforms depend on the political process in Congress, which opens a gap between the bills, inspired by IMF, and the final laws. Finally, it raises some arguments that suggest the special interests' role in the design and application of tax policy, which interact without being necessarily reconcilable and can also explain the divergence between bills and laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we build an index to measure the extent to which displaced households can effectively realize their economic and social rights. Based on the results of the index, we conclude that during the reparations and resettlement process, a displaced household, on average, is able to exercise 60% of the rights associated with economic and social stability. This result is four points below the average level at which poor nearby households are able to exercise their rights. Using panel data on a group of households, our technical work illustrates that between 2007 and 2008, the ability of displaced households to exercise their rights deteriorated to the point where, in effect, 45% of the households saw a regression in their ability to exercise at least one right during this period. We also identified other factors threatening the sustainability of the socio-economic stabilization policy, and some recommendations are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of research on socioeconomic inequality in Bogota's secondary education (year 2009). The results show that socioeconomic student level is significantly associated both to educational access (public or private), and to educational quality (ranking in State test - ICFES). This demonstrates that in Bogotá not only does each social class study separately, but also that rich people have access to a better education than poor people. This situation of social segregation (apartheid) aggravates some of the already pervasive Colombian problems: lack social mobility, economic inequality and illegitimacy of the political system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardoso is among the most famous thinkers on development and dependency theory. He successfully combines sociology, economics and political science to build an interdisciplinary view of Latin America's transformations. This paper analyses Cardoso's "radical" theoretical evolution between two major books, Dependency and Development in Latin America (1970) and Charting a New Course: The Politics of Globalization and Social Transformation (2001). The positions he occupied when he wrote these two books, academician-political opponent and then politician, could explain his evolution. Cardoso claims that new political and economic conditions have taken place and a new theory is thus required in order to "chart a new course". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current theories of the State would benefit from a new look at the economic role of the State in the work of the great economists of the 19th and 20th Centuries. Schumpeter's emphasis on the role of technological innovation in long-term economic growth makes his work particularly interesting for development economics. However, Schumpeter's rejection of the State's role in income redistribution is too simplistic and contradictory. Structural change may enhance the prospects for long-term growth, but also creates social and economic disruptions. This paper explores this basic contradiction and briefly discusses the application of Schumpeter's theory of the State to new industrialized countries in East Asia and Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]