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2. Inequality in Chile: Perceptions and Patterns
- Author:
- Ignacia Lecaros, Daniela Paz Cruzat, Ricardo Pommer Muñoz, Pablo Tillan, and Michael Walton
- Publication Date:
- 09-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Chile has pioneered many things: a market-oriented, “neoliberal” approach to development; an impressive transition from authoritarianism to democracy; innovations in social policy; and an extraordinary series of street protests between 2006 and 2019. While often lauded as a model of economic and social development, the protests reflect acute concerns over perceived failures in the Chilean political, economic and cultural system, concerns that were profoundly inflected with issues of inequality and lack of fairness. To inform this contrast, this paper undertakes a systematic assessment of the perceptions and perspectives of Chilean citizens, both in the context of the protests and in their broader expressed views in surveys. The core theme is that “the street was right”, in the specific sense that the protests reflected much wider sentiments across social classes over perceived inequities in economic advancement, social provisioning, and the undignified “treatment” by state actors and elites. The paper then compares these perceptions with some of the “objective” measures of inequality. While alternative measures indicate modest declines in some measures of inequality, Chile remains a very high inequality society, in relation to income, wealth, and education. These perceptions and patterns are central to Chile’s current development challenges, in ways that resonate with the position of many countries in today’s polarized environment. This is the first of two papers, with the sequel exploring the underlying drivers of inequality and implications for policy direction.
- Topic:
- Education, Health, Inequality, Protests, State, Perception, and Fairness
- Political Geography:
- South America and Chile
3. Education as an Opportunity for Integration: Assessing Colombia, Peru, and Chile's Educational Responses to the Venezuelan Migration Crisis
- Author:
- Katharine Summers, Jessica Crist, and Bernhard Streitwieser
- Publication Date:
- 03-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on Migration and Human Security
- Institution:
- Center for Migration Studies of New York
- Abstract:
- With over 5 million Venezuelans fleeing their home country, Latin America is facing the largest migration crisis in its history. Colombia, Peru, and Chile host the largest numbers of Venezuelan migrants in the region. Each country has responded differently to the crisis in terms of the provision of education. Venezuelan migrants attempting to enter the primary, secondary, and higher education systems encounter a variety of barriers, from struggles with documentation to limited availability of spaces in schools to cultural barriers and xenophobia. This paper examines the distinct educational policy responses to Venezuelan migrants in Colombia, Peru, and Chile. It begins by contextualizing the current crisis through a sociopolitical and economic analysis of the origins of the Venezuelan migration phenomenon. Venezuelans are not officially and legally recognized as refugees by the UNHCR. Refugee status is considered on a case-by-case basis at the country level. The regional coordinating bodies tasked with promoting safe, orderly, and legal migration of Venezuelans to host countries have given uneven attention to education. This paper examines each country’s response to Venezuelan migrants from a human rights perspective. It provides sociopolitical context and discusses the specific educational offerings from the primary to tertiary levels in Colombia, Peru, and Chile. It considers alternative or flexible education models, second shift schools, access to school transportation and feeding programs, and teacher training opportunities that cater to the growing migrant population. It explores barriers to entry into the educational system, including documentation challenges due to legal and enrollment requirements, constraints on the host countries’ education systems, and discrimination due to lack of intercultural training and xenophobia. It also discusses challenges related to the quality of the educational opportunities for Venezuelan migrant children, and the specific needs of these children. This paper considers several ideas to protect Venezuelan migrants’ rights to an education and to strengthen their integration. Finally, it offers recommendations on sustainable education solutions for Venezuelan migrants at all levels in the three countries. These recommendations include improving information sharing, addressing structural bottlenecks to school enrollment, and expanding pathways (existing and complementary) to higher education.
- Topic:
- Education, Migration, and Humanitarian Crisis
- Political Geography:
- South America and Venezuela
4. The Short-Term Labor Market Impact of Venezuelan Immigration in Peru
- Author:
- Celia P. Vera and Juan Pablo Jiménez
- Publication Date:
- 10-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
- Abstract:
- Peru is the second-largest recipient of Venezuelans worldwide. We combine newly available data on Venezuelans living in Peru and the Peruvian Household Survey to assess the impact of Venezuelan migration on natives’ wages and employment. The initial regression analysis exploits the variation in supply shifts across education-experience groups over time. It indicates that immigration in Peru had no adverse impact on native wages. However, the paper highlights that in Peru immigrants and natives with similar education and experience are likely to work in different occupations. The subsequent analysis based on occupational clustering confirms the null effect on wages and indicates that a 20% increase in immigrants decreases formal employment by 6%. We do not find evidence for changes in employment composition toward informality so that migration operates through the extensive margin of employment. We report evidence in favor of immigrants being a close substitute to the least productive natives, suggesting that firms substitute native formal labor for low-cost immigrant informal labor.
- Topic:
- Education, Immigration, Labor Market, and Informal Economy
- Political Geography:
- South America, Venezuela, and Peru
5. A decomposition method to evaluate the ‘paradox of progress’ with evidence for Argentina
- Author:
- Javier Alejo, Leonardo Gasparini, Gabriel Montes-Rojas, and Walter Sosa-Escudero
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
- Abstract:
- The ‘paradox of progress’ is an empirical regularity that associates more education with larger income inequality. Two driving and competing factors behind this phenomenon are the convexity of the ‘Mincer equation’ (that links wages and education) and the heterogeneity in its returns, as captured by quantile regressions. We propose a joint least-squares and quantile regression statistical framework to derive a decomposition in order to evaluate the relative contribution of each explanation. The estimators are based on the ‘functional derivative’ approach. We apply the proposed decomposition strategy to the case of Argentina 1992 to 2015.
- Topic:
- Economics, Education, Inequality, Quantile Regression, and Paradox of Progress
- Political Geography:
- Argentina and South America
6. CoronaShock and Education in Brazil: One and a Half Years Later
- Author:
- Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
- Publication Date:
- 08-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
- Abstract:
- This dossier seeks to assess the effects of CoronaShock on education in Brazil, in particular how a mercantile logic advanced through the pandemic and how large corporations in the sector took advantage of the crisis. It documents the actions of private corporations, changes in the educational model, the impact on workers in the sector, and the challenges facing a programme of struggle.
- Topic:
- Education, Governance, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Brazil and South America
7. Measuring Collective Impact: Creating a Framework for Assessing Multiple Peacebuilding Projects in Colombia
- Author:
- Diego Benitez
- Publication Date:
- 07-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- USIP implemented its Initiative to Measure Peace and Conflict (IMPACT) program first in the Central African Republic and later in Colombia, where it worked directly with peacebuilding organizations to gauge their collective impact on fostering reconciliation in the wake of the 2016 peace accord between the government and FARC rebels. Drawing on the challenges encountered and lessons learned, this report provides suggestions for how future iterations of the IMPACT approach can help policymakers, donors, and practitioners achieve greater and more cost-effective results from the peacebuilding projects they support.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Development, Education, Peace, and Reconciliation
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
8. The Effectiveness of School Closures and Other Pre-Lockdown COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies in Argentina, Italy, and South Korea
- Author:
- Claudio Neidhofer and Guido Neidhofer
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
- Abstract:
- The rapid spread of COVID-19 forced policy-makers to swiftly find solutions to reduce infection rates and keep mortality as low as possible. Empirical analyses on the effectiveness of control measures are hereby of primary importance. School closures were among the earliest measures enacted by the governments of most countries. However, while schools are now reopening in many countries, the impact of school closures on the course of the epidemic is still an open question. Adopting parametric and non-parametric synthetic control methods we estimate the effectiveness of pro-active school closures, and other early social distancing interventions, in three countries that reacted relatively early during the course of the pandemic. Our findings suggest that these interventions were effective at reducing the mortality rate of COVID-19, especially when enacted early.
- Topic:
- Education, Public Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Asia, South Korea, Argentina, South America, and Italy
9. FROM SCIENCE DIPLOMACY TO EDUCATION DIPLOMACY: THE BRAZILIAN CASE
- Author:
- Gabriela Gomes Coelho Ferreira and Amacio Jorge Silva Nunes de Oliveira
- Publication Date:
- 04-2020
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Conjuntura Austral: Journal of the Global South
- Institution:
- Conjuntura Austral: Journal of the Global South
- Abstract:
- Actions of science diplomacy are typically described in literature as related to developed countries. This is due to a perspective in which science is a hard power resource or, even when it is perceived as a soft power resource, it is an extension of a country’s hard power. Because of that, science diplomacy has been normally related with developed countries, especially during the last century. Therefore, it seems quite unusual to picture a developing country like Brazil pursuing such an elaborate strategy. Nevertheless, Brazil has been signing Cultural Agreements since 1930’s, using science as a diplomatic tool to overcome regional frictions. We also briefly show its development into a complex education diplomacy strategy that lasts until today. We intend to demonstrate the smart strategy deployed by Brazil, a developing country, in using the soft power of science since the 1930’s not only despite its lack of hard power, but as an alternative to it. The Brazilian diplomatic body used the legitimacy given by science to establish important dialogues with key countries, starting from those in Latin America—therefore, using science diplomacy to overcome regional frictions since the beginning of the last century.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, Education, Science and Technology, and Soft Power
- Political Geography:
- Brazil and South America
10. The Political Economy of Testing in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa
- Author:
- Barbara Bruns, Maryam Akmal, and Nancy Birdsall
- Publication Date:
- 09-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have not implemented testing of children’s learning that can be benchmarked regionally or globally. In contrast, in the last two decades, almost all countries in Latin America have participated in regionally and globally benchmarked testing initiatives. Our analysis of the political economy of cross-national learning measurement in Latin America suggests that policymakers perceive the risks of exposing their education system’s performance by joining cross-national assessments, but they also value the quality of the data generated, the strengthening of domestic technical capacity, and the political benefits in using comparative results to argue for reforms or to advertise progress. We document that in Ecuador and Peru cross-national tests played an important role in both stimulating and justifying reforms that have produced major improvements in learning. In sub-Saharan Africa, no cross-national test has been implemented as consistently or widely as the Latin American regional test. The context in Africa makes regional cooperation on cross-national testing more daunting—countries are poorer and more linguistically diverse than in Latin America, raising the relative costs of developing and administering cross-national tests. The experience of Latin America suggests that a coordinated and efficient application of resources in implementing cross-national tests in Africa, on the part of countries and with support of the international community, could help build countries’ national capacity, strengthen focus on learning, support better research, and help diffuse reforms that raise learning.
- Topic:
- Education, Political Economy, Children, and Social Services
- Political Geography:
- Africa, South America, Latin America, North America, and Sub-Saharan Africa
11. The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility: Evidence of Educational Persistence and the "Great Gatsby Curve" in Brazil
- Author:
- Tharcisio Leone
- Publication Date:
- 07-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper explores the variation in intergenerational educational mobility across the Brazilian states based on Markov transition matrixes and univariate econometric techniques. The analysis of the national household survey (PNAD-2014) confirms a strong variation in mobility among the 27 federative units in Brazil and demonstrates a significant correlation between mobility and income inequality. In this sense, this work presents empirical evidence for the existence of the "Great Gatsby curve" within a single country: states with greater income disparities present higher levels of persistence in educational levels across generations. Finally, I investigate one specific mechanism behind this correlation – namely, whether higher income inequality might lead to a lower investment in human capital among children from socially vulnerable households. The paper delivers robust and compelling results showing that children born into families where the parents have not completed primary education have a statistically significant reduction in their chance of completing the educational system if they live in states with a higher level of income inequality.
- Topic:
- Education, Children, Inequality, and Mobility
- Political Geography:
- Brazil and South America
12. Assessing Budget Credibility: Paraguay Food Program for School (PAEP)
- Author:
- Fernando Ovando and Verónica Serafini
- Publication Date:
- 04-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centro de Análisis y Difusión de la Economía Paraguaya (CADEP)
- Abstract:
- Budget credibility refers to the capacity of governments to fully execute resources allocated through the national budget, in terms of expenditures and revenues. When this execution is not accomplished, there should be valid arguments for explaining this limitation. A budget credibility exercise examines the nature and degrees of diversion of resources allocated by national budgets as well as the causes and consequences of this diversion. The case of budget credibility in Paraguay presented here refers to a public program that helps children performance at schools. The Paraguay Food Program for School (PAEP) was created by law in 2014, replacing another program of Nutritional Supplement for School, in force since 1995. The purpose of PAEP is to meet nutritional needs of students in order to create good nutrition habits, healthy lifestyle and to improve school attendance and school performance. Two modalities are adopted in order to provide food to schools: i) food prepared at schools; ii) food provided by local and national suppliers. PAEP is directed to public schools, both primary and secondary. It aims to provide food baskets to students on regular basis for the whole academic year. Priorities are given to schools located in zones of extreme poverty, indigenous settlements, peasant colonies, schools located at hazardous districts and those with double schooling (shifts) The Central Government implements this program for the Capital (Asuncion), through the Ministry of Education. While local governments (governorships) are in charge of implementing the program for different regions (departments) and districts (municipalities) of the rest of the country.
- Topic:
- Education, Budget, Public Spending, and Schools
- Political Geography:
- South America and Paraguay
13. NERINT/UFRGS: 20 Years Analyzing International Relations
- Author:
- Paulo Fagundes Visentini and Guilherme Thudium
- Publication Date:
- 08-2019
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- The purpose of this introductory article is to offer both a presentation and a brief history of the Brazilian Center for Strategy and International Relations (NERINT), a research center linked to the Dean's Office at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) through the Center for International Studies on Government (CEGOV) and responsible for publishing AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy and International Relations. Founded in 1999, NERINT was the first center in Southern Brazil to focus its study and research exclusively on the field of International Relations. We argue that NERINT contributed not only to the establishment of undergraduate courses and graduate programs in the field of International Relations at UFRGS, but also to the critical and innovative study of the systemic transformations of international relations in Brazil.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Education, Intellectual History, and Higher Education
- Political Geography:
- Brazil and South America
14. Inequality in Brazil: Inclusive growth trend of this millennium is over
- Author:
- Marcelo Neri
- Publication Date:
- 05-2019
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- After three decades of persistently high inequality, Brazil has been experiencing a downward trend since 2001, accompanied by a rise in household incomes. These trends lasted until 2014 when a major reversal took place on both fronts.
- Topic:
- Education, Inequality, Finance, and Income Inequality
- Political Geography:
- Brazil and South America