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101. Will Old Age and Bad Health Bankrupt the Americas?

Author:
Elizabeth T. Capiero and David E. Bloom
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Americas Quarterly
Institution:
Council of the Americas
Abstract:
This year, about 75 percent of those who die in the Americas will die of an NCD. Over 33 percent of these NCD deaths will occur in people under age 70 and thus are considered premature. Some 25 percent of all NCD deaths will occur among working-age people. Although the four main NCDs pose the greatest health burden, other NCDs—ranging from neuropsychiatric conditions (e.g., schizophrenia, depression, Alzheimer's disease) to musculoskeletal conditions (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis) and sense organ disorders (e.g., cataracts, hearing loss)—are responsible for a large proportion of ill health, disability and human suffering. To complicate matters, many people with an NCD have more than one coexisting condition, greatly increasing both suffering and costs.

102. Double Profit: Financing Consumers

Author:
Alana Tummino
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Americas Quarterly
Institution:
Council of the Americas
Abstract:
Across Latin America, retailers, telecommunications companies and shopping malls are reaping the benefits of a growing middle class that is able to shop more and spend more. According to McKinsey Company, Latin America is one of the largest emerging markets in the world with a combined GDP of $3.2 trillion, boasting triple the GDP per capita of China and seven times that of India.
Topic:
Emerging Markets
Political Geography:
China, India, and Latin America

103. Higher Education in Chile

Author:
Richard André
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Americas Quarterly
Institution:
Council of the Americas
Abstract:
The quality of Chile's universities is well known across the Americas. Two of these—Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileUniversidad de Chile—rank in the top five of the 2011 U.S. News and World Report list of the 100 best schools in the region. Unfortunately, high-quality education comes at a high cost. Chile has the second most expensive private university system of any OECD country, after the United States. And due to the lack of financial aid, Chilean families shoulder 85 percent of the cost of a university education—more than any other developed nation.Until recently, most Chilean youth accepted the cost of education as the price of social mobility. Gabriela San Martín, 24, considered a university degree a ticket to a stable, decent-paying job. She took out a government-financed loan, known as crédito con aval del estado (CAE), to pay for her studies in early childhood education at Universidad Andrés Bello.
Topic:
Education
Political Geography:
America and Chile

104. Mexico: ¡Vivan las Madres! by Lauren Villagran — Peru: Counting and Being Middle Class by Mitra Taj — Brazil: Moving Up and Moving Out by Taylor Barnes — Argentina: The Insecure by Haley Cohen

Author:
Lauren Villagran, Mitra Taj, Taylor Barnes, and Haley Cohen
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Americas Quarterly
Institution:
Council of the Americas
Abstract:
Six days a week, María Felicitas Camacho Maya, 62, unlocks the door to Lilian Michel, a bright white salon in Mexico City's upscale Condesa neighborhood. She slips a white smock over her blouse and checks her hair at an island of oval mirrors. América Luz Valencia, a 27-year-old manicurist, arrives an hour or so later, her stylish hair sleek as a black onyx blade. Once her first customer for a manicure walks in, she'll clip, file and polish hands and feet for hours, sometimes without a break. Both the business owner and her younger employee are aspiring members of Mexico's diverse and rapidly expanding middle class. They demonstrate the critical role working women now play in their families' social mobility.
Political Geography:
Argentina and Mexico

105. James Bacchus and Bernard K. Gordon debate: Do regional trade agreements weaken the global push for free trade?

Author:
James Bacchus and Bernard K. Gordon
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Americas Quarterly
Institution:
Council of the Americas
Abstract:
Do regional trade agreements weaken the global push for free trade? Yes: James Bacchus; No: Bernard K. Gordon In this issue: They waste energy and political capital. Reducing trade barriers makes sense at any level.
Political Geography:
United States

106. Cutting Brazil's red tape — Fighting Mexico's judicial corruption — Championing Montevideo's free press — Blending Argentine rock and folk.

Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Americas Quarterly
Institution:
Council of the Americas
Abstract:
"Don't be afraid of bureaucracy. Turn it into an opportunity." According to Brazilian entrepreneur Edivan Costa, that has been the guiding phrase of his life and career. But he is the first to admit that in his country, it's easier said than done: Brazil ranks 126th out of 183 countries in ease of starting a new business, according to the World Bank/International Finance Corporation's 2012 annual Doing Business report. That's why Costa founded SEDI, a company dedicated to helping new businesses navigate Brazil's often-frustrating bureaucracy. SEDI, the acronym for Serviços Especializados de Despachante Imobiliário (Specialized Forwarding Agent Services), offers one-stop shopping for businesses trying to obtain the federal, state and municipal licenses they need to operate. And that's a significant service in a country where, according to the Doing Business report, it takes an average of 13 procedures and 119 days to register and license a business. Certain businesses, such as a gas station, can require 120 separate licenses. It's one reason why 40 percent of Brazilian start-up businesses do not survive more than two years after opening, according to a 2011 report from Brazil's national statistics agency, IBGE.
Topic:
Corruption
Political Geography:
Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico

107. Latin America's mortgage market — Human rights threats — Brazil's World Cup and Olympics readiness.

Author:
Luis Cubeddu, Camilo Tovar, and Evridiki Tsounta
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Americas Quarterly
Institution:
Council of the Americas
Abstract:
Since 2003, mortgage credit in Latin America has expanded at an annual rate of 14 percent (adjusted for inflation)—well above rates observed in emerging Asia but below the exorbitant rates seen in emerging Europe before its housing bust. The region's credit expansion has been accompanied by burgeoning real estate prices and construction activity—now representing more than 6 percent of GDP, higher than in emerging Asia or Europe. Mortgage growth has been particularly strong in Brazil, where the five-fold increase in mortgage credit since 2007 has been accompanied by a near tripling of house prices in the main metropolitan areas.
Topic:
Human Rights
Political Geography:
Brazil and Latin America

108. World Cup Qualifiers — Guyana celebrates Diwali — 10 Things to Do in Oaxaca — Peru's Chavín ruins, and more.

Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Americas Quarterly
Institution:
Council of the Americas
Abstract:
It's time to add another stop on Peru's archeological tour. Chavín de Huántar may lack the vertigo-inducing majesty and mystery of Machu Picchu or the intriguing juxtaposition of the pre-Incan pyramid of Huaca Pucllana with urban Lima, but it has two other important traits: novelty and a dash of creepiness.
The Chavín period existed from roughly 1200 B.C. to 500 B.C. and once stretched almost along the entire coast of Peru. The spiritual center was in Chavín de Huántar in Peru's Ancash region, the site of one of the period's most outstanding temples.
The dig has been led by Stanford University archeologist John Rick for over 18 years. Rick has been slowly peeling away the dirt covering the mysteries: a network of tunnels where he believes followers spent days underground; evidence of likely human sacrifices; and shards of delicately sculptured pottery still bearing the original paint.
Also present on the archeological site are a circular plaza and El Lanzón, a ceremonial totem that has been restored to its original condition—perhaps the best-preserved icon of a major New World culture found so far.
Political Geography:
Peru

109. Book reviews on drug trafficking and the law in Central America, China's silent conquest and Afro-Mexican identity.

Author:
Jose Luis Leon-Manriquez and Nnenna M. Ozobia
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Americas Quarterly
Institution:
Council of the Americas
Abstract:
Central America is receiving more attention in the U.S. news media and from the U.S. government than at any time since the region's civil wars and domestic insurgencies three decades ago. Unfortunately, the attention is negative. The focus has shifted from the 1980s Cold War battles of President Ronald Reagan's administration to the violence associated with organized crime, drug cartels and street gangs (maras). In Drug Trafficking and the Law in Central America: Bribes, Bullets, and Intimidation, Julie Marie Bunck and Michael Ross Fowler—professors of political science at the University of Louisville—provide those interested in Central America, the drug trade and U.S. foreign assistance in the region with an invaluable tool for understanding the causes and implications of drug trafficking through an analysis of what they term the “bridge countries” of Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama. The authors intentionally do not include Mexico, which they argue (correctly) involves a different dynamic both in terms of the strength or weakness of the state, and the nature of the drug trade.
Topic:
Law
Political Geography:
China and Central America

110. What's in Your Smartphone?

Author:
Wilda Escarfiller and Leani García
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Americas Quarterly
Institution:
Council of the Americas
Abstract:
Think that your mobile phone is a modern device? Hardly. While the components and circuitry may be highly technical, the materials that go into it are as old as the earth. And the conditions under which they are extracted—often in remote areas high in the mountains or the desert—are the roots of an industry that has driven the global economy for millennia, and will continue to do so. When you're standing at the edge of an open-pit copper mine, you couldn't feel more removed from the digital world, yet you're just at the beginning of it. What you're holding in your hand is simply the most modern creation from some of the oldest materials in the world, and a lot of history in getting them there. Here are some of the more basic elements that go into our mobile phones, and where they are found in our hemisphere. Data is from 2010 and measured in short tons.