The purpose of this paper is to analyze the macroeconomic effects of the earthquake that struck Chile in 2010 and the impact it had on the Chilean economy.  It is a narrative case study of a small, open emerging economy and the timeframe is short term. Like other studies made about macroeconomic effects of a natural disaster, it is surprising to find how fast a country can so rapidly recover from a big devastation like the Chilean earthquake 2010. The final economic impact depends on the structural conditions of the economy and the economic policy mix undertaken to handle the short-term effects. The paper shows that despite the big disaster, Chile showed great resilience to the adverse shook due to its sound finances and effective countercyclical policies.

This study explored the current state of eHealth policy in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC). It is based on a novel methodological approach to the conduct of systematic reviews of documents that are not always published in peer-reviewed journals. 33 countries were included in the study and 19 ICT and 7 eHealth policies were identified. A hybrid inductive and deductive content analysis approach was used to provide an in- depth analysis and comparison of existing national eHealth policies in LAC. The study found that there has been considerable progress in the establishment of ICT policies in the LAC region, but less so for eHealth policy specifically. The findings suggest that the establishment of a strategic framework that may guide and support decisions and choices in the development of national eHealth policies, could prove to be an essential tool in the successful implementation of eHealth in LAC.

This study explored the current state of eHealth policy in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC). It is based on a novel methodological approach to the conduct of systematic reviews of documents that are not always published in peer-reviewed journals. 33 countries were included in the study and 19 ICT and 7 eHealth policies were identified. A hybrid inductive and deductive content analysis approach was used to provide an in- depth analysis and comparison of existing national eHealth policies in LAC. The study found that there has been considerable progress in the establishment of ICT policies in the LAC region, but less so for eHealth policy specifically. The findings suggest that the establishment of a strategic framework that may guide and support decisions and choices in the development of national eHealth policies, could prove to be an essential tool in the successful implementation of eHealth in LAC.

The presence of a significant number of people who do not intend to be vaccinated could negatively impact efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study sought to determine the prevalence of intention to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and associated sociodemographic and psychosocial factors in thirteen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). A total of 5510 people from 13 LAC countries participated. Frequencies, percentages, bivariate analyses using chi-square tests, and Poisson regression analysis with robust variance were used. The countries with the highest prevalence of intention to be vaccinated were Brazil (96.94%), Cuba (89.59%), Chile (84.59%), and Mexico (78.33%). On the other hand, the countries with the lowest prevalence were El Salvador (54.01%), Paraguay (55.87%), and Uruguay (56.40%). Prevalence is also reported according to some sociodemographic and health variables. It was found that country, male sex, hours exposed to information about COVID-19, university education, living in an urban area, belief in the animal origin of the virus, perceived likelihood of contracting COVID-19, perceived severity of COVID-19, and concern about infecting others significantly predicted intention to be vaccinated in the 13 LAC countries. While most countries had a high prevalence of intention to be vaccinated, there are still subgroups that have levels of intention that may be insufficient to predict the presence of community immunity. In this sense, knowing the estimates of vaccination intention rates, as well as the associated sociodemographic and psychological factors, can be used to plan actions and interventions that will inform about the safety and benefits of vaccines, as well as strengthen trust in health authorities.

The offshore wind potential of the Caribbean Sea has barely been exploited. Currently, the offshore wind power industry in Latin America and the Caribbean region is still at very early stages, leaving aside an important resource that otherwise could contribute to satisfy the growing energy demand of the zone. In this study the possibilities arising from a massive exploitation of the wind resource in the Caribbean Sea are assessed. The objective is to investigate if the resources contained in it would be sufficient to satisfy the energy demand of Latin America and the Caribbean, which is foreseen to be about 1900 TWh/year by 2020. To address this question, the “Infinite wind farm” concept is used as a simple way to model the meteorological behaviour and the wind speed in the area. The model is utilized in combination with the bathymetric data of the Caribbean Sea and with a simple economic analysis, to evaluate what the requirements to satisfy the energy demand would be in terms of area, number of turbines, and levelized cost of energy (LCoE). The assessment is performed utilizing different turbine sizes, and inter-turbine separations to find the combination that minimizes the LCoE. It is found that the energy demand of Latin America and the Caribbean could be satisfied using only 125000 km2 (4.5% of the total Caribbean Sea area) of waters shallower than 25m at a cost of 69 €/MWh, if the turbines were separated 6.5D from one another and if they had a rotor diameter of 250m. In that case, 47760 turbines should be installed using only conventional monopile foundations.

Cette étude s’intéresse aux trois piliers de l’écrit narratif à la période romantique, dans les œuvres de la Cubaine Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda (1814-1873), portant sur les colonies hispano-américaines et caribéennes (Memorias, Sab, Guatimozín, El Cacique de Turmequé, El aura blanca). L’imagerie et les procédés habituellement mobilisés dans un romantisme hispano-américain, fortement inspiré des canons européens, et pourtant mu par un désir d’indépendance politique et culturelle, font de cette littérature une littérature du paradoxe. Non dépourvues de cette caractéristique, les narrations de l’auteur apparaissent toutefois comme de surprenants récits. A l’aune de l’évolution des formes romanesques qui ont succédé au Romantisme, jusqu’aux écrits de la modernité, et aux poétiques postmodernes et postcoloniales, on constate la modernité que ces textes présentaient déjà. La (dé)construction des personnages, en particulier le Métis, celle des lieux, et le jeu polyphonique de dires démultipliés remettent en question nombre des représentations traditionnelles, dans la réécriture de l’Histoire des Amériques. Un désir de dire autrement les divers « réels » émerge, ainsi que le souhait d’intégrer la complexité culturelle de cette zone. Sans avoir clairement défini de véritable poétique, l’auteur explore l’espace, la temporalité et le jeu des voix, pour fonder les bases d’une écriture ontologique et mémorielle qui interroge les identités. Celle-ci se créolise, par la mise en contact d’éléments hétéroclites qu’elle recompose, la multiplicité des sources littéraires ou orales, l’apparition de nouveaux territoires langagiers ou encore des personnages qui échappent aux typifications. / This study focuses on the three pillars of narrative art in the romantic era in the works of Cuban writer Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda (1814-1873) dealing with Hispanic-American and Caribbean colonies (Memorias, Sab, Guatimozín, El Cacique de Turmequé, El aura blanca). The images and narrative devices traditionally mobilized in Hispanic-American Romanticism – a literature strongly inspired by European artistic ideals, and yet driven by a desire for political and cultural independence – make it a literature pervaded by paradoxes. Although they tend to share this common feature, the authors’ narratives stand out and surprise. In the light of the evolution of the novelistic forms that followed Romanticism, including modernist writings, and postmodern and postcolonial poetics, these texts appear as already “modern”. The (de)construction of the characters – particularly the “Metis” – and places, together with the polyphonic effect of a myriad of different discourses, challenge many traditional representations concerning the re-writing of the History of the Americas. What emerges is a desire to find a new way to express the various forms of the “real” and to capture the cultural complexity of this geographical area. Without clearly defining any particular literary method or ars poetica, the author explores space, temporality and the interplay of voices, thus laying the bases for an ontological, memory-oriented mode of writing that questions identities. This mode of writing goes through a process of Creolization, as it gathers and recomposes disparate elements, multiplies its literary or oral sources, and makes new linguistic territories, or characters who elude types, materialize.

China-Taiwan relations have been for decades a hot issue in East Asia as well as worldwide. The thesis researches on the China’s foreign policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean region in terms of competition with Taiwan for diplomatic recognition from the perspective of zero-sum and non zero-sum game. This study’s objective is to examine the impact of recently improved cross-Strait relations on the intensity of diplomatic competition for recognition in Latin America and the Caribbean between both sides of the Strait. Two following questions are going to be answered: Is a complete victory in diplomatic competition in Latin America and the Caribbean region a short-term goal for the PRC? How can China’s refusal of its diplomatic recognition by Paraguay be interpreted? First, literature review and theoretical framework is provided. Second, China’s and Taiwan’s policy towards Latin America and the Caribbean is researched. Third, cross- Strait rapproachement is depicted. Fourth, relations between the PRC and Taiwan after year 2005 are presented. Fifth, three case studies of Costa Rica, Panama, Paraguay are discussed. In the study I am going to look for evidence to prove that the rapprochement and the new cross-Strait diplomacy are good signs of non-zero sum game between Taiwan and China with a significant impact on diplomatic competition in Latin America and the Caribbean region. To fulfil the aim of this master thesis I am using secondary data. The scope of the paper in terms of the time period is from the establishment of the PRC but the bigger part of the paper is focused on the recent events.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 321-331).

Historically there have been various discussions on how to achieve development from different scopes and spaces. The vision of development from a global space has undergone a significant evolution to the present day, in particular after World War II, in the context of international development cooperation. Within a regional space, economic cooperation mechanisms have shown to be dynamic and positive for development. This paper aims, firstly, to set forth a review of the evolution of the development vision from a global and regional perspective. Secondly, to analyze contributions in commerce from a regional development perspective through a comparative analysis of the Pacific Alliance and the Latin American Integration Association between 2005 and 2014, as economic cooperation mechanisms in Latin America and the Caribbean that seek development within the same region. / Históricamente han existido distintos debates para alcanzar el desarrollo, desde diferentes ámbitos y espacios. La visión del desarrollo desde el espacio global, ha tenido una importante evolución hasta nuestros días, principalmente después de la II Guerra Mundial, a través de la Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (CID). Desde el espacio regional, los mecanismos de cooperación económica han reflejado ser dinámicos y positivos para el desarrollo. Por ello, el presente trabajo pretende en primera instancia, realizar una revisión de la evolución sobre la visión de desarrollo desde un contexto global y regional. En una segunda fase, busca analizar las aportaciones comerciales, desde una visión del desarrollo regional, por medio de un análisis comparativo de la Alianza del Pacífico (AP) con respecto a la región y a la Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración (ALADI) para el periodo 2005-2014, como mecanismos de cooperación económica en América Latina y el Caribe (ALyC) que buscan un desarrollo dentro de la misma región.

Zugl.: Duisburg, Essen, Universiẗat, Diss., 2009.