Economy and Development

RUNA: A Social Enterprise Worth Knowing About

By Brianna Duhaime
October 5, 2016

Guayusa (ghwy-you-sa) is an Amazonian super leaf packed with caffeine and antioxidants that has been providing focused, mental energy to Amazonian hunters for years.  In 2009, the beverage company known as RUNA was created, and together with local Ecuadorian farmers, they brought guayusa to the international market. Their “clean energy” drinks provides all of the organic, natural caffeine from guayusa to provide a healthy energy high.

China's Economic Involvement in Latin America

By Sophia Winston
October 4, 2016

China’s recent mini economic collapse this past summer caused mayhem not only within its borders but thousands of miles away in many Latin American countries. Ever since the early 2000s China has been one of the leading foreign investors across Latin America in countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela.

"Countries" y Vino de Altura: Cambio en el Uso del Suelo en el Noroeste Argentino

By Gerhard Rainer
October 4, 2016

Este artículo ofrece un breve análisis sobre los motivos que han llevado a la construcción de urbanizaciones cerradas y sus impactos socio-espaciales en un contexto rural. Teniendo en cuenta que las urbanizaciones cerradas pueden ser consideradas el modelo urbanístico paradigmático que ha caracterizado el desarrollo de las ciudades latinoamericanas en los últimos años, este tipo de análisis no es nuevo en un contexto urbano.

Bus Rapid Transit Systems in Latin America

By Emma Freedman
June 15, 2016

Latin America and the Caribbean are the world’s most urbanized regions with an enormous 80 percent of the population living in urban cities.1 The rapid rate of this urbanization is resulting in cities being pushed to their functioning capacity. The need to efficiently and cost-effectively move people has resulted in many cities building Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems. This worldwide transportation trend uses benefits from traditional buses and rail lines to integrate a successful public transportation system.

Venezuela's Case of Dutch Disease: Cursed by Oil

By Hilary Heath
June 15, 2016

Global oil prices are plummeting and they are falling fast. As a result, Venezuela, which has the world’s largest known crude oil supplies, is left with an economy that is barrelling out of control. On January 22, Venezuela's oil price fell to $21.50 a barrel, compared to over $100 a barrel in 2014 (Yahoo News, 2015). As prices continue to fall, Venezuela’s surplus of oil stocks grow. Rising oil surplus, however, does not translate into food, medical supplies, and political and domestic stability in Venezuela, as President Maduro is quickly finding out.

Transatlantic Immigration and the Social Origins of Elites in Late Colonial Spanish America

By Hillel Eyal
June 15, 2016

The pervasive problem of social inequality in Latin America, manifested in a huge chasm between immensely wealthy elites and poor masses, has its origins in the colonial era. For three hundred years, Spanish American economic elites were made up of immigrants from the Iberian peninsula who got rich by entering the highly lucrative enterprises of wholesale commerce and the production of export goods, such as silver and sugar.

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