The Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean presents a set of basic statistics that characterize the economic, sociodemographic and environmental situation of the region in relation to a particular period. This information is part of the set of statistics available at CEPALSTAT, the database portal and statistical publications of ECLAC.
This report gives an in-depth look at the major factors influencing competitiveness in Latin America, trying to assess the position of these countries, as well as indicating policies and actions to be promoted to improve their current situation.
The State of Democracy in Latin America critically examines the nature of the post-transitional Latin American state, with a more specific engagement with the cases of Argentina and Chile.
"This anthology--bringing together political scientists, anthropologists, historians, sociologists, economists, and journalists--provides a serious and sophisticated theoretical and historical analysis of the state of the Latin American Left. The central thematic issues are addressed, followed by a number of case studies written by the most astute radical Left observers of the contemporary setting"--
With the process of a 'wider Europe' (EU-Commission President Romano Prodi's 'ring of friends') that extends from Marrakech in Morocco to St Petersburg in Russia gathering speed, the growing rift between Europe and America also is about how to deal politically with the countries of the Mediterranean-Muslim world. The house of Islam (Dar al Islam) was pivotal to the European path to the Renaissance and to the re-discovery of classic Greek philosophy. The Mediterranean policy of the European Union aims at a positive and co-operative relationship with the region. A successful integration of the Mediterranean South would have tremendous and positive repercussions for regional and world peace. World-wide leading experts from the field of world systems analysis, economics, integration theory, political science, theology and area studies, agnostics, Christians, Jews and Muslims alike discuss the issue with European decision makers. The outcome is an interdisciplinary evaluation of this projected export of peace, co-operation, dialogue and stability in the framework of world centre-periphery relationships.
'Silent Revolution' includes new or amplified discussions of capital markets and the role they play in the increasing depth and frequency of financial crisis in Latin America.
This publication on adolescent health and positive behaviour change is seen as an important public health issue. It presents the collection and reporting of the application of behavioral change theories and models specifically to adolescents. It represents an attempt to incorporate a developmental perspective in the conceptual analysis of these classical theoretical constructs when applied to the various stages of adolescence.Cultural, ethnic, and gender differences are also given special consideration, as is the role of poverty and the ability of some adolescents to secure physical and emotional well-being despite circumstances of adversity.This book additionally attempts to explain why some health promotion interventions aimed at positive adolescent behavior change produce the desired results, while others fail. A diversity of geographical settings are cited: from Africa to the United States, Canada to Jamaica, Brazil to the Netherlands, El Salvador to Japan, and India to Mexico, amongst them.
Most publications on the political situation in Venezuela are journalistic and lack a scientific, and particularly sociological, approach. Chavez's Children: Ideology, Education, and Society in Latin America is the first sociological work on the ideological system in Venezuela. This book deals with the deep social structures of Ch vez's power, its origins, its evolution in history, its dynamics, its institutionalizations, and its relationships with the educational system. By using an empirical analysis of Bolivarian schools and fieldwork on over 300 students, Chavez's Children reconstructs the history of revolutionary movements in Venezuela and advocates a model of analysis on Latin American socio-revolutionary phenomena. This English language edition will be a great opportunity for Latin American experts as well as interested readers to uncover the system behind Ch vez's power.
Unlike other regions around the world, several Latin American countries have managed to reduce income inequality over the last decade. Higher growth rates and growing employment, but also innovative wage policies and social programs, have contributed to reducing poverty and narrow income disparities. Yet, despite this progress, nation-states in the region demonstrate little capacity to substantially change their patterns of deeply rooted inequalities. Focusing on the limits and challenges of redistributive policies in Latin America, this volume synthesizes and updates the discussion of inequality in the region, introducing the perspective of global and transnational interdependencies. The book explores the extent to which redistributive policies have been interlinked with the provision and quality of public goods as well as with structural changes of the productive sector. Inspired by structuralist and neostructuralist thinking of Latin American economists, such as Raúl Prebisch and Celso Furtado, authors question the redistributive impact of the interplay of recent macroeconomic, fiscal and social policies, particularly under left and center-left administrations committed to greater equality. Bringing together experts in social, fiscal and macroeconomic policies to investigate the interdependent and global character of inequalities, this book will appeal to scholars of sociology, economics, development and politics with interests in Latin America, inequality and public policy.
