This October, the international community saw a new development in an ongoing territorial dispute between the South American nations of Bolivia and Chile.
The Maduro government has staged a plan to help curb the staggering inflation crisis in the country--- by creating a new currency. The idea of implementing a new currency in Venezuela is not new, as the government had tried multiple times to restore some value in their worthless monetary system. The bad news is the country has a terrible track record with financial decisions dating back to when the value of oil took a nosedive and sent the country spiraling into crisis. Their first mistake was backing 98% of their economy in oil.
The idea of giving economic aid to a country is a noble one. Giving sovereign nations money to expand their economies, education levels, basic health, and to instill peace within their borders has been something the United States has done for nearly a century. However, giving them money is inconsequential; it is where that money goes, and how that money is used that matters. By citing instances of economic aid within Latin America in 2017, one can see just that, making one ponder the question; is the aid helping to advance these countries, or is it not helping in any significant way?
In December of 2017, Donald Trump signed the new GOP tax bill rearranging and recreating the way our country collects its dues. This bill affects every state in the Union, but it also affects one curious case in the Northeast Caribbean – Puerto Rico. The bill includes a new 12.5 percent tax on profits derived from intellectual property held by foreign companies. For Puerto Rico, this means it is treated differently from every other state. The new policy is designed to back the “America First” trademark of the Trump administration by bringing home American companies.
Since the 1990s, Mexico’s energy policy has shown a tendency to prioritize short-term objectives as well as its relationship with North America, which resulted in a focus on the production of crude oil for exports to the US. In contrast, the reform passed in 2013 focused on lowering energy costs for Mexican households, increasing investment and employment, and putting the government at the center as owner of oil and gas and regulator of the oil industry. The national presidential elections of 2018 will define the path Mexico will follow in the coming years.
According to a recent publication by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), Mexico is the world leader in its combined overweight and obesity rates among adults, with over three-quarters of the population over 15 suffering from one of these two conditions (Mexico News Daily 2017). To make matters worse, Mexico’s obesity rates have been gradually on the rise over the past forty years. Obesity reduces both the quality of life and the life expectancy of individuals by putting individuals at higher risk for developing chronic illnesses.
This article was written as part of the course “Latin American Economic Development” offered by Professor Marla Ripoll, Department of Economic, University of Pittsburgh.
This article was written as part of the course “Latin American Economic Development” offered by Professor Marla Ripoll, Department of Economic, University of Pittsburgh.
According to a 2017 IMF report, corruption in Latin America is one of the biggest hindrances
on the economy. Corruption can impede prospects for delivering sustainable and effective
growth. Many corruption cases go undocumented due to the fact that in many cases it is illegal
and very well hidden. This makes it difficult to obtain clear data for research. However, with
This article was written as part of the course “Latin American Economic Development” offered by Professor Marla Ripoll, Department of Economic, University of Pittsburgh.
Bolivia is a landlocked country in Latin America, whose economic and cultural centers are located in remote, mountainous regions. This geography has posed challenges for economic exchanges for hundreds of years, and Bolivia is one of the poorest, least developed countries in South America. Bolivia’s stagnation in industrialization can in part be explained by the geography hypothesis delineated by Armendáriz and Larraín (2017), which postulates that forces of nature are a root cause of national poverty.
