Large Latin American Research Articles

Large Latin American Millimeter Array

The Large Latin American Millimeter Array (LLAMA) is a multipurpose single-dish 12 m radiotelescope with VLBI capability under construction in the Puna de Atacama desert in the Province of Salta, Argentina. In this paper I review the project, the instrument, the current status, and the scientific goals of this astronomical collaboration beween Argentina and Brazil.

Understanding the interplay between brand and innovation orientation: Evidence from emerging multinationals

Drawing on brand and innovation management literature, this article presents the development and testing of a theory about the way strong brands shape innovation orientationunder conditions of institutional uncertainty. Using a unique database of sixty-two large Latin American multinationals (multilatinas), we illustrate that the strong brands of emerging multinationals interact with institutional uncertainty in the host market to shape the firms’ innovation orientation. We confirm the robustness of the results, by using secondary data on foreign direct investments, advertising, and R&D investments. The implications of our findings for managers of multinational companies are clear: While strong brands enhance the innovation orientation of emerging multinationals, conditions of institutional uncertainty in host markets weaken this relationship.

The Causal Effects of Employee Participation in Corporate Volunteering: Field Experimental Evidence

Corporate volunteering has become a central component of organizations’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy, with more than 90% of corporations currently supporting some form of employee volunteering with nonprofits and charities. However, it is unclear whether such initiatives are strategic from a human capital management perspective, as research to date has been unable to establish a causal effect of such initiatives on important employee outcomes, and we have limited understanding of the mechanisms through which such initiatives might benefit the firm. Implementing a field experiment on a sample of 221 new employees in a large Latin American bank, we find that employees who participated in a corporate volunteering initiative were less likely to leave the company than those randomly assigned to the control group. These employees reported lower levels of work stress; an important employee outcome unexplored in the CSR literature to date. Employees who participated in the initiative also reported higher organizational identification and perceptions about the employer’s social responsibility. Moreover, we show that these CSR perceptions mediate the effect of employee participation in corporate volunteering on employee attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. We advance the literatures on micro-CSR and corporate volunteering by shedding light on the mechanisms through which corporate volunteering can benefit firms and contributing causal evidence of these effects.

Central coordination and profitability in large Latin American business groups

This study analyzes the profitability effects of central coordination in large business groups in Latin America. By adopting a configurational approach, we analyze the profitability implications from a core entity involvement in the areas of strategy definition, talent management, values and culture management, stakeholder management, corporate branding and corporate innovation. Using Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analyses on a sample of 17 of the largest business groups in Latin America, we contribute by identifying core entity’s configurations that are causally linked with business group high financial performance, measured as the highest average ROE between 2014 and 2017. Specifically, we find that business groups with the highest performance include strategy definition, talent management, values and culture management activities as part of their core entity coordination as necessary conditions. We also find that the relevance of the fourth role, stakeholder management, is linked to the macroeconomic conditions of the countries where affiliates operate.

Political budget cycles in Latin America, 1982-2014.

This paper aims to detect the presence of political budget cycles (PBuCs) around presidential elections in four large Latin American countries (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico) over the 1982-2014 period, in the framework of democratic regimes. Extended autoregressive models are estimated for total public expenditure and their chief components, considering the effect of economic fluctuations. Among the most important findings, weak evidence of PBuCs was found in the case of Argentina and Chile, while in the case of Mexico and Colombia, post-electoral adjustments in budget items sensitive to political manipulation were found, such as subsidies and public works, along with pre-electoral increases in total expenditure in the former one, and in goods and services in the latter.

Candidaemia Mortality Has not Changed Over the Last 2Decades in Brazil.

Despite advances in fungal diagnostics and antifungal therapy, mortality associated with candidaemia remains very high, particularly in developing countries. In this study, we reviewed the Brazilian literature on candidaemia over the last 20years (1999-2019), with the aim to document if mortality rates changed over the years in Brazil. Variables studied included number of patients with candidaemia per study, age, most prevalent Candida species and use of antifungals. Selected manuscripts evaluated a median of 114 patients, the majority being men (54.4%). Median age was 45year-old. The most prevalent species in all studies was C. albicans (37.3%), followed by C. parapsilosis (23.0%). An increase in use of echinocandins occurred in recent years, with a proportional decrease in the use of fluconazole and amphotericin B. Surprisingly, mortality of candidaemia has remained unchanged over the years in the largest Latin American country, regardless of treatment with echinocandins. Potential explanations for these findings are discussed.

Childhood maltreatment in individuals at risk of psychosis: Results from the Brazilian SSAPP cohort.

Childhood maltreatment is a known risk factor for the development of mental disorders, such as psychotic symptoms. An extensive body of literature about childhood maltreatment and mental health has been developed in wealthy countries, but information about this connection is lacking in developing countries. To explore a possible relationship between childhood maltreatment and ultra-high risk of psychosis in a non-help-seeking population in a low- and middle-income country. A household survey was conducted in Sao Paulo, Brazil, involving over 2,500 individuals aged 18-30 years who were randomly selected from the general population. The participants underwent screening with the Prodromal Questionnaire. Ultra-high risk status was assessed using the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes, and childhood maltreatment was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. The final sample comprised 87 ultra-high risk individuals and 115 controls. Childhood maltreatment was significantly more present among ultra-high risk individuals. In ultra-high risk individuals, physical and emotional neglect were inversely related to grandiosity symptoms, physical abuse was related to perceptual abnormalities and physical neglect was related to disorganized speech and thought. This is the first study to investigate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and ultra-high risk status and psychopathological features in a large Latin American sample. Further studies in this field are necessary to better understand the specific influence of various early life adversities on psychosis risk.

Science in emerging states and regions: a modern international context. Review of the monograph “Analysis of Science, Technology, and Innovation in Emerging Economies”

The article provides an overview of the collective monograph on the analysis of science, technology and innovation in countries. A brief analysis of the contents of the book carried out, as well as its relevance and general ideas. The book is set in a modern international context associated with a wide range of possible problems in it. Of particular interest to the Russian-speaking reader is the fact that the book covers in detail the problems of science and technology in large Latin American states that have significant scientific and technological potential, but suffer from a number of managerial problems similar to those that have repeatedly arisen in Russian science. In the context of these questions, the monograph also considers the problem of the “middle income trap”, in which states, having reached a certain level of development, are unable to increase the rate of economic growth, which has its consequences for the scientific and technological sphere.

La Ciudad Región Global para el desarrollo económico y social de Latinoamérica.

La consecuencia natural que ha generado la mutación del sistema capitalista industrial y comercial en el modelo de capitalismo financiero macro-tecnológico, es la globalización planetaria de los mercados de bienes y servicios. Se trata de una mega tendencia irreversible, génesis de la aparición de la Ciudad Región Global en la que reposa un neo enfoque del desarrollo económico y social de las naciones, cuyo análisis como una propuesta para Latinoamérica, se centra el objetivo de este artículo. Se asume a la Ciudad Región Global y las Ciudades Globales, como la tendencia de transformación clave para llevar a las ciudades aglomeradas de Latinoamérica, a hacer de los países parte activa de la globalización de los mercados, con posibilidades de que estas ciudades sean generadoras de riqueza y crecimiento económico con equidad social. Se desarrolla una investigación de enfoque interpretativo, bajo el paradigma cualitativo, con diseño bibliográfico y nivel explicativo. La técnica base para la recolección de la información es la revisión documental, con base en un promedio de 40 referentes investigativos multinacionales, de naturaleza epistemológica y metodológica. El método transversal de análisis es el análisis crítico con enfoque hermenéutico y producción heurística. Se concluye que si las ciudades de grandes conglomerados Latinoamericanas no se transforman prontamente en Ciudades Globales o en Ciudades Región Global; las grandes dinámicas del proceso de maduración del capitalismo global financiero harán que, en las próximas tres décadas, estas ciudades queden expuestas a los nuevos modelos de la colonización tecnológica, económica, social y cultural.

Inequalities in life expectancy in six large Latin American cities from the SALURBAL study: an ecological analysis

SummaryBackgroundLatin America is one of the most unequal regions in the world, but evidence is lacking on the magnitude of health inequalities in urban areas of the region. Our objective was to examine inequalities in life expectancy in six large Latin American cities and its association with a measure of area-level socioeconomic status.MethodsIn this ecological analysis, we used data from the Salud Urbana en America Latina (SALURBAL) study on six large cities in Latin America (Buenos Aires, Argentina; Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; San José, Costa Rica; Mexico City, Mexico; and Panama City, Panama), comprising 266 subcity units, for the period 2011–15 (expect for Panama city, which was for 2012–16). We calculated average life expectancy at birth by sex and subcity unit with life tables using age-specific mortality rates estimated from a Bayesian model, and calculated the difference between the ninth and first decile of life expectancy at birth (P90–P10 gap) across subcity units in cities. We also analysed the association between life expectancy at birth and socioeconomic status at the subcity-unit level, using education as a proxy for socioeconomic status, and whether any geographical patterns existed in cities between subcity units.FindingsWe found large spatial differences in average life expectancy at birth in Latin American cities, with the largest P90–P10 gaps observed in Panama City (15·0 years for men and 14·7 years for women), Santiago (8·9 years for men and 17·7 years for women), and Mexico City (10·9 years for men and 9·4 years for women), and the narrowest in Buenos Aires (4·4 years for men and 5·8 years for women), Belo Horizonte (4·0 years for men and 6·5 years for women), and San José (3·9 years for men and 3·0 years for women). Higher area-level socioeconomic status was associated with higher life expectancy, especially in Santiago (change in life expectancy per P90–P10 change unit-level of educational attainment 8·0 years [95% CI 5·8–10·3] for men and 11·8 years [7·1–16·4] for women) and Panama City (7·3 years [2·6–12·1] for men and 9·0 years [2·4–15·5] for women). We saw an increase in life expectancy at birth from east to west in Panama City and from north to south in core Mexico City, and a core-periphery divide in Buenos Aires and Santiago. Whereas for San José the central part of the city had the lowest life expectancy and in Belo Horizonte the central part of the city had the highest life expectancy.InterpretationLarge spatial differences in life expectancy in Latin American cities and their association with social factors highlight the importance of area-based approaches and policies that address social inequalities in improving health in cities of the region.FundingWellcome Trust.

Associations between neighborhood-level violence and individual mental disorders: Results from the World Mental Health surveys in five Latin American cities

Rapidly urbanizing areas of Latin America experience elevated but unevenly distributed levels of violence. Extensive research suggests that individual exposure to violence is associated with higher odds of both internalizing (anxiety and mood) and externalizing (substance and intermittent explosive) mental disorders. Less research, however, has focused on how neighborhood-level violence, as an indicator of broader neighborhood contexts, might relate to the mental health of residents, independently of an individual's personal exposure. We used multilevel analyses to examine associations of neighborhood-level violence with individual-level past-year mental disorders, controlling for individual-level violence exposure. We used data from 7,251 adults nested in 83 neighborhoods within five large Latin American cities as part of the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. Accounting for individual-level violence exposure, living in neighborhoods with more violence was associated with significantly elevated odds of individual-level internalizing disorders, but not externalizing disorders. Caution should be exercised when making causal inferences regarding the effects of neighborhood-level violence in the absence of experimental interventions. Nevertheless, neighborhood context, including violence, should be considered in the study of mental disorders. These findings are particularly relevant for rapidly urbanizing areas with high levels of violence, such as Latin America.

Relationship between African Biogeographical Ancestry and Helicobacter pylori infection in children of a large Latin American urban center.

The relationship between race/ethnicity and Hpylori infection has been extensively reported, with a higher prevalence of infection observed in black individuals. Whether such differences are due to genetic factors underlying African ancestry remains to be clarified. In the present study, we evaluated the association between the proportion of individual African ancestry and Hpylori infection in a sample of 1046 children living in a large Latin American urban center. Estimation of individual biogeographical ancestry was based on 370,539 SNPs and performed using the ADMIXTURE software. Multivariate logistic regression models and mediation analysis considering the influence of previously recognized socioenvironmental risk factors to Hpylori infection were performed. All analyses were conducted using the statistical package STATA v.14.0. Each 10% increase in the proportion of individual African ancestry was positively and independently associated with Hpylori infection in our population (adjusted OR=1.22, 95% CI=1.10-1.36, P<.001). Mediation analysis demonstrated that only 9.23% of the effect of the individual African ancestry on Hpylori infection was explained by factors such as household income, the absence of street paving and crowding. The results suggest that genetic variants that covariate with African ancestry may explain an important part of the racial differences observed for the prevalence of Hpylori infection.

Latin American states cooperation with the United States of America and the European Union

Both the political and economic role of the Latin American region has increased significantly in the modern world. The largest Latin American countries have emerged as major regional players. In this regard, the analysis of the current foreign policy relations of the region is of particular interest and relevance for this research. Many key actors in the international arena are now paying increasing attention to the region. For a long time, the main partners of Latin American countries in various fields have been the USA and the European Union (EU), which have long historical ties with the region. However, against the backdrop of increased interest in the region on the part of other major international players, in particular China, the positions of both the US and the EU may have been weakened.

O rebanho de Hobbes

resumo Este ensaio irá discutir como ambientes urbanos afetam a sensação de medo, e a qualidade de vida das pessoas. Estes sentimentos tem sido um importante componente da vida urbana nos grandes centros brasileiros e latino-americanos. Esta será uma reflexão sobre algumas possibilidades de lidar com este problema. Especificamente, trataremos das intervenções de requalificação e revitalização urbanas.

Cemeteries and biodiversity conservation in cities: how do landscape and patch-level attributes influence bird diversity in urban park cemeteries?

Cemeteries can help conserve biodiversity in urban landscapes, but their capacity to support native species is likely to be influenced by variables at different spatial scales. There is growing evidence on how landscape and patch-level attributes influence biodiversity in urban parks. However, there is limited evidence about cemeteries. Park cemeteries are dominated by vegetation because they are managed to simulate traditional parks, and thus, could contribute to the conservation of native fauna in cities. We present the first study on how patch variables (cemetery size and vegetation density) and landscape variables (vegetation cover and road density within 1 km) influence the richness and abundance of native birds in urban park cemeteries. During summer and autumn, we surveyed birds in park cemeteries in the Mediterranean city of Santiago, Chile – a large Latin American city located in a biodiversity hotspot. We recorded 42 bird species (38 native and 4 exotic). We found that cemeteries surrounded by high vegetation cover supported more native birds, whereas cemeteries surrounded by high road density supported low native bird abundance. We also found a seasonal effect: cemeteries supported more individuals of native birds in autumn than in summer, probably due to birds migrating to our study area from higher latitude, altitude, and surrounding environments, in their search for milder weather conditions. Our findings demonstrate that park cemeteries host a variety of native birds, which contributes to maintain biodiversity in urban landscapes. However, the surrounding landscape influences their capacity to support native birds and to conserve biodiversity in cities.

Corporate debt in Latin America and its macroeconomic implications

This article provides an empirical analysis of nonfinancial corporate debt in six large Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru), distinguishing between bond-issuing and nonbond-issuing firms, and assessing the debt’s macroeconomic implications. The paper uses a sample of 2,241 firms listed on the stock markets of their respective countries, comprising 34 sectors of economic activity for the period 2009–2016. On the basis of liquidity, leverage, and profitability indicators, it shows that bond-issuing firms are in a worse financial position relative to nonbond-issuing firms. Using Minsky’s hedge/speculative/Ponzi taxonomy for financial fragility, we argue that there is a larger share of firms that are in a speculative or Ponzi position relative to the hedge category. Also, the share of hedge bond-issuing firms declines over time. Finally, the article presents the results of estimating a nonlinear threshold econometric model, which demonstrates that beyond a leverage threshold, firms’ investment contracts while they increase their liquidity positions. This has important macroeconomic implications since the listed and, in particular, bond-issuing firms (which tend to operate under high leverage levels) represent a significant share of assets and investment. This finding could account, in part, for the retrenchment in investment that the sample of countries included in the paper have experienced in the period under study and highlights the need to incorporate the international bond market in the analyses of monetary transmission mechanisms.

Abstract P3-08-17: Evaluation of Oncotype DX testing and subsequent treatment choices in the Latin American setting

Abstract Background: The gene expression profiling assay OncotypeDx (ODx) prognosticates the risk of estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer (BC) recurrence and assesses the likely benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy in addition to endocrine therapy. Numerous clinical utility studies have shown that acknowledging the RS impacts on clinical decision making, leading to a decrease in chemotherapy (CT) use. However, the cost of the assay limits it widespread use, especially in low and middle-income countries. Our objective was to determine the patterns of use of ODx, its results and the subsequent treatment choices in a large Latin American cohort. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical records of patients with early-stage ER+ BC for whom ODx recurrence score (RS) was available. Patients were diagnosed and treated at 3 specialized Peruvian cancer centers between 2007 and 2017. Descriptive results for numeric variables were presented as means with standard deviation (SD) or medians with interquartile range (IQR), depending on their distributions; otherwise, we expressed the qualitative variables as numbers with percentages. We evaluated the association between ODx RS category and treatment using the Chi-squared test. Results: A total of 551 patients were included. Patients had a mean age of 56.2 ± 11.9 (SD) (range: 26-89). 9.6% (n=53) of patients were ≤40 years old. The size of the tumors ranged from 0.1 cm to 7.2 cm (median = 1.5 cm; IQR 1.0-2.2cm). 36 (6.5%) patients had tumors ≤ 0.5cm and 7 (1%) had tumors &amp;gt; 5cm. A minority of patients had lymph node involvement (5.8%, n=32). ODx was ordered in 55 cases (10%) of lobular carcinoma and in 23 cases (4%) of favorable histology tumors (19 mucinous, 4 tubular). Most tumors exhibited an intermediate histological grade (71.6%, n=386). Ki67 was available in 58.8% patients (n= 324), with a median Ki67 of 20 (IQR 10-30). Using commercial cutoffs RS was distributed as follows: low (0–17) = 316 (57.4%), intermediate (18–30) = 177 (32.1%), and high (≥31) = 58 (10.5%). In general, 57.5% (n=317) of patients received endocrine therapy (ET) as their only systemic treatment and 42.5% (n=234), also received CT (ET + CT). In the low-risk category, 87.3% (n=276) of patients received ET and 12.7% (n=40), ET + CT. Within the intermediate-risk category, most patients received ET + CT (77.4%, n=137). Only one patient in the high-risk category did not receive CT. There was a significant association between the RS group and treatment choice (p&amp;lt;0.001). Impact of ODx RS results on treatment recommendations Oncotype risk categories LowIntermediateHighp valueTreatmentn%n%n%&amp;lt;0.001Endocrine therapy27687.34022.611.7 Chemotherapy + Endocrine therapy4012.713777.45798.3 Conclusion: ODx significantly influenced treatment decisions in our cohort, however an overutilization of CT was found in low-risk patients. Further data analysis is needed to explain the higher than expected use of CT. Also, there is room for improvement in the selection of cases that undergo ODx testing. Citation Format: Ruiz R, Morante Z, Namuche F, Urrunaga D, Aguilar A, Schwarz J, Leon M, Ziegler G, Chavez Mac Gregor M, Gomez H. Evaluation of Oncotype DX testing and subsequent treatment choices in the Latin American setting [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-08-17.

Training, Soft Skills and Productivity: Evidence from a Field Experiment

This paper examines a training intervention aimed at boosting leadership and communication skills among employees of a large Latin American retailer. The identification exploits an experimental design in the context of a difference-in-difference strategy. Using longitudinal information obtained from the firm and two skills surveys, we document large positive effects of the training on store- and individual- level productivity. The intervention was more effective in boosting leadership than communication skills. Spillovers from trained managers to untrained sales representatives also contribute to the main effects. Our findings confirm the possibility of increasing productivity through training targeting critical soft-skills.

Reflexiones en torno a las metástasis de las desigualdades en las estructuras educativas latinoamericanas

Resumen En las grandes ciudades de América Latina los avances de la mercantilización en el acceso a servicios básicos y en las operaciones inmobiliarias que distribuyen la población en distintas zonas de residencia producen grietas profundas en el tejido social. Pese a la gravedad del impacto de estos fenómenos en el tono de la convivencia urbana, hay un déficit de reflexiones al rededor a los mecanismos que conectan las desigualdades económicas con las segmentaciones y segregaciones en los servicios y en los lugares de residencia. El presente ensayo aporta a la reducción de esas carencias discutiendo los mecanismos macro y micro sociales que intervienen en la relación entre desigualdades económicas y desigualdades educativas. Como conclusión sugiere algunas prioridades para una agenda académica regional orientada a mejorar nuestro conocimiento de esas relaciones.

Políticas de higienización y gentrificación. Aportaciones desde el urbanismo latinoamericano

Este trabajo analiza la relación entre un modelo de urbanismo higienista y los procesos de gentrificación actualmente observables en las grandes ciudades latinoamericanas. La investigación se centra en los enclaves de Regina (Ciudad de México) y El Abasto (Buenos Aires), y a nivel metodológico se basa en una combinación de técnicas de revisión bibliográfica y documental y trabajo de campo etnográfico. Los datos recabados subrayan la importancia de la aplicación de políticas urbanísticas de tipo higienista para imponer los usos potencialmente más rentables del espacio en el contexto latinoamericano.