Thesis advisor: Hans de Wit / As higher education enters the 21st century, funding issues have evolved with continued massification and limited government funding (Johnstone & Marcucci, 2010). Increased reliance on students and their families to cover the cost of higher education have led to student demonstrations across the globe, their main demand being free tertiary education to improve equitable access (Bernasconi, 2012; Cloete, 2015; Taylor, 2014). This international comparative quantitative international study explores the relationship between tuition fees policies, and more specifically tuition-free policies, and equitable access in three Latin American countries. Participation, college choice, and attrition decisions are analyzed through the lens of the financial and cultural capitals of students, using 2011 and 2013 data from socio-economic surveys in Chile – a high tuition fees country, and Brazil and Argentina – two countries with free public higher education. The findings suggest that tuition fees policies do not carry the importance students think it does. Countries with tuition-free public higher education seem to have similar issues, if not worse, than tuition-charging countries in ensuring equitable access and success for students from low socio-economic backgrounds. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: Jennie Purnell / Abstract: American policy in Latin America has been primarily motivated by a desire to keep foreign powers out of the Western Hemisphere. To this end America has pursued a policy of military intervention designed to make sure that it stays the dominant power in this hemisphere. American policymakers consider this vital to national security, and have do not let concerns over the moral implications of the interventions interfere. This paper looks at interventions during the 20th century, focusing on the imperialist era of the first few decades of the 20th century and the Cold War. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2004. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Thesis advisor: Jérôme Taillard / This paper studies the dynamics between levels of M&A activity (average transaction value and number of deals) and crises in seven Latin American countries from the period between 1990 through 2007. Two hypotheses are tested using regression analysis: (1) whether the level of M&A activity increases during crises due to the “bargain hypothesis,” due to the low valuation of target companies, or (2) whether M&A activity decreases due to the financial distress of potential buyers (“financing constraints” hypothesis) or the financial distress of potential targets (“loss of confidence” hypothesis). Analyses at the country and industry level show that the average transaction value of M&A deals decreases with every crisis. Support for the second hypothesis is found within the Manufacturing, Energy and Utilities industry, in which the number of deals increases. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics Honors Program. / Discipline: Economics.

Thesis advisor: Peter Ireland / The literature on real business cycles finds that one reason why emerging economies are more volatile than developed small open economies is that they face greater financial frictions. Indeed, according to several measures of financial depth and access, financial systems in emerging countries are on average less developed than those in developed small open economies. Despite the lag in financial development, private credit, particularly unsecured credit to households, has been steadily increasing during the last two decades in emerging countries in Latin America. During this period of rising credit, various countries in the region observed an increase in the size of their middle income class population and the emergence of the vendor financing channel in their consumption credit market. Estimates by the World Bank suggest that the share of middle class households increased from 20.9 % in 1995 to 40.7 % in 2010. In addition, the share of poor households was approximately halved and reached 23.4 % at the end of this 15 year period. This phenomenon not only increased credit demand but also motivated the entry of new suppliers in the consumer credit market in countries like Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Brazil. In spite of a significant decline in unemployment in recent years, the lack of formal employment and poor credit history were still impeding many individuals from gaining access to consumer finance from traditional financial institutions. In order to enable new middle class shoppers access items typically offered by large retail stores, the retailers themselves started offering credit. In this dissertation, I study the relationship between middle class size, unsecured credit markets and aggregate consumption volatility in emerging countries. In the first chapter of this thesis, we examine the link between middle class size and consumption growth volatility using a sample of middle income countries. In the second chapter, we study the effect of an expansion of the middle class on vendor financing incentives and unsecured credit supply on its extensive margin. In the third chapter, I study business cycle implications of a reduction in the share of financially excluded households in an emerging economy. In the first chapter, I empirically examine the effect of middle income class size on consumption growth volatility in emerging countries. Using a panel data of middle income countries, I find that a larger middle class size tends to increase aggregate consumption growth volatility, particularly at lower levels of financial system depth. Financial development plays a significant role in determining the sign of the marginal effect of middle class size on aggregate volatility. Unlike emerging countries, the effect of the size of the middle class and the role of financial development on consumption volatility in developed countries is ambiguous. The key message of this analysis is that as more households escape poverty thresholds and reach the middle income class status in developing and emerging economies, it becomes more important to deepen financial systems from the perspective of aggregate consumption volatility. In the second chapter, I explore through the lens of a theoretical model, potential reasons triggering an increase in credit supplied by the non traditional financial sector, i.e vendors, at the extensive margin. I find that a reduction in the average risk of default and an increase in the market size of credit customers raise vendor financing incentives. This model rationalizes the observation that the improvement of economic conditions of the low-income and financially constrained households potentially led to increased credit supply by vendors in several countries of Latin America. In the third chapter, I study business cycle implications of a decline in household financial exclusion in a dynamic general equilibrium model suitable for emerging economies. Using Mexico as a case study, I estimate the model with Bayesian methods for the period 1995 to 2014. Standard measures of predictive accuracy suggest that the extended business cycle model with limited credit market participation outperforms a model with zero financial exclusion. The results of the estimation suggest that a rise in credit market participation in an emerging economy increases aggregate volatility of key macroeconomic aggregates, and that financial frictions play a key role in this relationship. I confirm this prediction by re-estimating the model for Mexico after splitting the sample into two non- overlapping decades. A key implication derived in this chapter is that a reduction of financial exclusion within an emerging country may lead to higher consumption growth volatility and trade balance volatility, and that fewer financial frictions dampen the marginal effect. As household financial access increases in these countries, a greater need for improving broad financial development measures arises.

Este vocabulário irá analisar os termos e expressões mais usados por filósofos comtis-tas brasileiros e chilenos durante o auge da Religião da Humanidade na América Latina, entre 1860 e 1946. As ideias de Comte influenciaram intelectuais em toda a América Latina. No entanto, apenas as suas primeiras obras foram completamente divulgadas em países como Argenti-na, Venezuela e México. Nesses países a filosofia de Herbert Spencer é mais influente. Por essa razão vamos estudar as diferenças cruciais entre o positivismo na América Latina no final do século XIX e início do XX. Contudo vamos encontrar o positivismo religioso de Comte no centro do pensamento de Pereira Barreto, Teixeira Mendes e Miguel Lemos, no Brasil, e de Victorino Lastarria e os irmãos Juan Enrique, Jorge e Luis Lagarrigue, no Chile. Nesses países, o pensamento positivo sofreu mais influência da religião da Humanidade de Comte, do que em qualquer outro país da América Latina. Neste trabalho, daremos uma visão geral desses pensamentos no Brasil e no Chile, mostrando em que ponto o positivismo nesses dois países era único, ao contrário do resto da América Latina. Estudaremos também a biografia intelectual desses filósofos, e como as ideias de Comte influenciaram os seus discursos e textos, convertendo grande parte deles à Religião da Humanidade. Finalmente, vamos nos concentrar em seus vocabulários: termos e frases mais utiliza-das por esses pensadores, em suas publicações, cartas e discursos. Foram selecionados e analisados os termos e slogans de acordo com seu grau de im-portância no positivismo de Comte e nas obras de filósofos latino-americanos. Este vocabulário nos ajudará a compreender o panorama histórico geral sobre o traba-lho desses pensadores positivistas e sua relevância intelectual, cultural e política no Brasil e no Chile. / This vocabulary will analyze the terms and expressions used by Brazilians and Chileans Comtean philosophers, during the heyday of the Religion of Humanity in Latin America, between 1860 and 1946. Comte\'s ideas have influenced intellectuals in all Latin America. However, only his first works were completed disseminate in countries as Argentina, Venezuela and Mex-ico. In these countries the philosophy of Herbert Spencer is more influential. However we will find the Comtean religious positivism in the center of the mind of philosophers as Pereira Barreto, Teixeira Mendes and Miguel Lemos in Brazil and Vic-torino Lastarria and the Brothers Juan Enrique, Jorge and Luis Lagarrigue in Chile. Their works received great influence of Comtes Religion of the Humanity, more than any coun-try in Latin America. In this work, we will give an overview of these thoughts in Brazil and Chile, showing in which point the positivism were unusual in these two countries, in opposite of the rest of Latin America. We also study the intellectual biographies of this philosophers and how the Comtes ideas influenced they works and speeches and how their convert themselves in to Religion of Humanity. Finally, we will focus in their vocabularies: terms and slogans more used by these thinkers in their publications, letters and speeches. We selected and analyzed the terms and slogans according with their relative im-portance in Comtes positivism and in the works of Latin American Philosophers, trans-lated to Spanish or Portuguese. This vocabulary will help us understand the general historical overview on the work of these positivist thinkers and its relevance intellectual, cultural, political and histori-cal in Brazil and Chile.

O contexto sociopolítico Latino-Americano vem se modificando nas duas últimas décadas por conta de processos de redemocratização política que evidenciaram as seguintes questões: 1)Estados que se reconheceram como multiculturais e pluriétnicos; 2) Estados que adotaram políticas públicas de reconhecimento de direitos culturais e etnicorraciais direcionados às populações negras e indígenas. Esse é o caso de Brasil e Colômbia, países em que as ideologias de mestiçagem e democracia racial vêm perdendo espaço para a problematização das desigualdades sociorraciais e políticas de reconhecimento. A partir desse quadro situacional analiso os processos de construção e desenvolvimento das políticas públicas para comunidades negras (quilombos) no Brasil e palenques na Colômbia. Nesse objetivo estão enquadradas a construção e aplicação do Programa Brasil Quilombola (2004) e a Lei 70 colombiana (1991), mais conhecida como a Lei dos Negros, entre ambas há um ponto em comum: a garantia de direitos territoriais para populações negras. Isso faz com que Estado e sociedade enfrentem problemáticas sociais, até então, ignoradas ou minimizadas: territorialidade e racismo. Esse entrelazamiento de questões cruciais nos faz refletir sobre como isso está ocorrendo? Quais são as dificuldades? Quem são os atores sociais envolvidos? Essas questões motivaram a elaboração da tese de doutorado Entre Quilombos e Palenques: um estudo antropológico sobre políticas públicas de reconhecimento no Brasil e Colômbia. / The Latin American sociopolitical context has been changing in recent decades because of sociopolitical processes that have brought: 1) states that if recognized as multicultural and pluriétnicos; 2) states that adopted policies for the recognition of cultural rights and etnicorraciais directed at black populations and indigenous. From this situational context this paper seeks to present an anthropological analysis of the processes of construction and development of public policies on land rights for black communities in Brazil and Colombia through Brazil Quilombola Program and Law 70 Colombian, more known as the \"Law of the Blacks\", between the two there is a point in common: the guarantee of territorial rights for black populations. This makes the state and social problems facing society, hitherto ignored or minimized: territoriality and racism. This \"interlacement\" crucial issues makes us reflect on how this is happening? What are the difficulties? Who are the actors involved? These issues motivated the development of the doctoral thesis \"Between Quilombos and palenques: an anthropological study on public policy recognition in Brazil and Colombia.\"

This thesis seeks to analyse the relationship between China\'s assertiveness and US hegemony in Latin America in the period 2001-2015. The analysis was done by mixing quantitative and qualitative methods, and has as a central hypothesis that the American hegemony (which is assumed in retraction) negatively affected China\'s assertiveness in the region. The thesis consists of seven chapters, ranging from general conclusions to particular conclusions. The hypothesis proves empirically, but variations are also found between countries and variations by economic activity. I conclude that China approached Latin America through a strategy of accommodative assertiveness, and Latin American countries responded to that approach aiming at diversifying their relationships. / Esta tese busca analisar a relação entre a ascensão da China e a hegemonia norte-americana na America Latina no período de 2001-2015. A analise foi feita misturando métodos quantitativos e qualitativos, e tem como hipótese central que a hegemonia norte-americana (que se assume em retração) afetou negativamente a ascensão da China. A tese está composta por sete capítulos, indo de conclusões gerais a conclusões particulares. A hipótese se prova empiricamente, mas também se encontram variações entre países e variações por atividade econômica. Concluo que a China se aproximou da América Latina por meio de uma estratégia de assertividade acomodativa e os países latino-americanos responderam a essa abordagem visando diversificar suas relações.

Este trabalho trata dos descendentes da diáspora armênia, cujas comunidades se fixaram na Argentina e no Brasil após o genocídio armênio perpetrado pelo Império Otomano durante a Primeira Grande Guerra. O objetivo principal é apresentar relatos de indivíduos descendentes e integrantes das comunidades formadas a partir de 1920, especialmente as de Buenos Aires e São Paulo. Busca-se averiguar a presença de uma memória coletiva que evidencie elementos comuns a uma possível identidade cultural armênia nesses grupos de descendentes. Objetivos secundários: abordagens sobre a formação das comunidades na América do Sul, processo de imigração da diáspora armênia e condição refugiada no contexto de outros fluxos migratórios para Argentina e Brasil no início século XX. É uma pesquisa exploratória investigativa, sem postulados de memória, que busca na memória individual traços comuns a uma identidade coletiva. / This research deals with Armenian diaspora which migrated to Argentina and Brazil after Armenian Genocide perpetrated by Ottoman Empire during the Great War. The main objective is presenting reports of descendants from communities created since 1920 in Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo. The purpose is check the presence of collective memory which can shows common elements belonging to a possible Armenian cultural identity in these descendants. Approaches about community formation to South America as well as the immigration process of Armenian diaspora and the refugee status in the context of other migration flows to Argentina and Brazil in the XX Century constitutes secondary objectives. Exploratory and investigative research without memory postulates or filters aiming to find common traces belonging to a collective memory through the individual memory nature.

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar as representações políticas sobre o Chile na obra fílmica do cineasta Miguel Littín realizada em seu exílio político, entre 1973 e 1990. Engajado politicamente, o diretor produziu filmes no Chile e, devido à sua identificação com o governo de Salvador Allende (1970-1973), foi obrigado a exilar-se após o golpe de Estado, ocorrido em 1973. Em sua trajetória no exílio, Miguel Littín transitou por diversos países europeus e americanos dirigindo películas, participando de debates e construindo redes de solidariedades. Procuramos mostrar que essa forma de resistência a partir do exílio foi permeada por diversas tensões e divergências entre estrangeiros e exilados chilenos. Dentre as obras selecionadas para a pesquisa, analisaremos de forma privilegiada Actas de Marusia e Acta general de Chile, porque abordam a realidade chilena. A primeira foi produzida no México em 1975 e retrata um massacre de trabalhadores do salitre ocorrido no norte do Chile, no início do século XX. A segunda constitui uma série de documentários exibida pela Televisión Española em 1986 e exibe a luta social contra a ditadura de Augusto Pinochet. Procuraremos mostrar que a filmografia de Miguel Littín e sua atuação no exterior contribuem para a compreensão das lutas contra a ditadura chilena a partir de um novo ângulo, o audiovisual. / This research aims to analyze the political representations of Chile in the film work of the filmmaker Miguel Littin made in his political exile from 1973 to 1990. Politically engaged, the director made films in Chile and, because of its identification with the government of Salvador Allende (1970-1973), was forced to go into exile, after the coup d\'état in 1973. During his career in exile, Miguel Littin moved between European and American countries directing films, participating in debates and extending solidarity networks. We tried to show that this form of \"resistance\" from the exile was permeated by various tensions and disagreements with foreigners and Chilean exiles. Among the works selected for the research, we will analyze in a privileged way the films Actas de Marusia and Acta General de Chile, because they represented the Chilean reality. The first was produced in Mexico in 1975 and portrait a massacre of saltpetre workers that occurred in northern Chile, in the early twentieth century. The second is a documentary series aired by Televisión Española in 1986, and displays the social struggle against the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. We seek to show that the filmography of Miguel Littin and its activities abroad contribute to the understanding of the struggles against the Chilean dictatorship from a new angle, the audiovisual.

A tese analisa os determinantes do apoio político aos presidentes em seis países da América Latina (Argentina, Bolívia, Brasil, Equador, México e Venezuela) no período 1996-2004. No final da década de 90 e início da atual, os candidatos vitoriosos nesses países apresentavam algumas características comuns, como a utilização de uma retórica personalista de forte apelo carismático. A emergência do neopopulismo em vários países da América Latina tem sido descrita pela literatura de ciência política (Roberts, 1996, 2003, 2006; Weyland, 1999a, 1999b, 2001; Knight, 1998; Coniff, 1999) como o sucesso de uma estratégia política na qual um líder, geralmente com forte apelo personalista e carismático, busca apoio popular de forma quase direta, sobrepondo-se aos partidos e aos mecanismos de controle externo que definem um regime democrático. A tese investiga 1) a oferta de políticas neopopulistas a adoção de determinadas estratégias por parte de líderes políticos -, 2) a demanda dessas políticas por parte dos eleitores e 3) o resultante processo de legitimação do neopopulismo como a principal força política contemporânea na Região. / The thesis analyses the determinants of political support for presidents in six Latin- American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela) from 1994 to 2004. By the end of the last decade, electoral winners show some common traits like the strong personalistic and charismatic appeals. Some of these new Latin-American leaders were described as \'neopopulists\' according to political science literature (Roberts, 1996, 2003, 2006; Weyland, 1999a, 1999b, 2001; Knight, 1998; Conniff, 1999). \'Neopopulists\' leaders typically seek a direct support from the public to bypass mechanisms of Democratic control. The thesis study the supply of neopopulists policies or the political strategies adopted by some Latin-American leaders - and the public\'s demand for these policies, leading to the legitimization of neopopulism as the most important political force in contemporary Latin America.