Economy and Development

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.

Tourism Development and Tsunami Vulnerability in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

By Matthew Fahrenbruch
April 27, 2016

This article is a commentary on research by Fahrenbruch and Cochran (2014) in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. Our study was spurred by the realization that there is a dearth of research on the vulnerability of tourism communities in the developing world, despite the increasing popularity of tourism in these regions (Faulkner 2001; Bowonder and Kasperson 2005).

Empoder: Inspiring and Preparing for a Future in Tech

By Marisapr
April 26, 2016

Panoramas interviewed Marissa Elena Yáñez, from Los Altos Hills, California. Marissa is a first generation Latina descent of a Peruvian father and a Panamanian mother.  She holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and a PhD in bioengineering from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. 

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