Working Papers #71 - 80
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Rural Women and Migration in Latin America: Research Review and Agenda
María de los Angeles Crummett
Working Paper #71 - June 1986
María de los Angeles Crummett teaches in the Department of Economics at the Graduate Faculty, New School for Social Research in New York. During 1984-85 she was a faculty fellow of the Kellogg Institute and coordinated the conference "Feminist Theory, State Policy and Rural Women in Latin America," held at the Kellogg Institute in February 1985. This paper was first presented at the 45 Congreso Internacional de Americanistas in Bogotá, Colombia, July 1-7, 1985. The author would like to extend special thanks to Frances Hagopian for her many useful comments on the paper.
Abstract
This essay examines the role of Latin American rural women in migration, with particular emphasis on rural-urban migration. It poses two questions: 1) What are the determinants of female migration and do they differ from those affecting men? 2) What is the impact of migration on women's roles and status in the community of origin? It addresses these questions through an overview of the literature and concludes that gender has not been a category of analysis in most migration studies. This lack of attention to gender has led to the erroneous assumption that the differences between male and female migration are insignificant. A concluding section outlines several research areas that require further analysis in order to better understand women's roles in migration.
Resumen
El presente trabajo examina el rol de la mujer en la migración rural-urbana en América Latina. Se trata de determinar y analizar dos facetas de la migración rural-urbana: 1) los factores que afectan la migración femenina y 2) el impacto de la migración sobre el rol de la mujer en la comunidad de origen. Estos temas son primeramente enfocados mediante una revisión de la literatura y se concluye que existe un vacío en ésta en cuanto no se ha considerado la categoría de género en los estudios de migración. Esta omisión ha implicado, equivocadamente, que no existen diferencias entre la migración femenina y la migración masculina. La última sección del ensayo esboza varios temas que requieren una mayor investigación para llegar a comprender mejor el tema de la mujer y la migración.
(31 pages)
The External Debt Problem from a Latin American Viewpoint
Alejandro Foxley
Working Paper #72 - July 1986
Alejandro Foxley holds the Helen Kellogg Institute Chair in International Development and is a Professor of Economics at the University of Notre Dame. He is also President of CIEPLAN (Corporación de Investigaciones Económicas para Latinoamérica).
This paper was prepared for the Inter-American Dialogue and written at the Kellogg Institute. The author would like to thank José Pablo Arellano, Colin Bradford, René Cortázar, José María Dagnino-Pastore, Robert Devlin, Richard Feinberg, Ricardo Ffrench-Davis, Peter Hakim, C. Ossa and Konrad Stenzel for their comments and suggestions. The author alone, however, is responsible for the contents.
Abstract
The starting point for this paper is Latin America's present economic situation of poor growth prospects combined with a severe and continuing external debt crisis. The author evaluates the strategy implemented so far and examines alternative theories about its failure to resolve the crisis. He puts the arguments in the context of economic and political changes affecting individual countries and the region as a whole. He discusses the phenomenon of "adjustment fatigue," the effects of the dual conditionality imposed by the international banks and the IMF, and the probable effects of the conditions attached to recent proposals; and concludes with some practical suggestions for future policy.
Resumen
El punto de partida de esta ensayo es la situación económica actual en América Latina de pobres prospectos de crecimiento, combinados con una severa y continua crisis de deuda externa. El autor evalua la estrategia implementada hasta ahora, y examina teorías alternativas por el cual fracasó en resolver la crisis. Situa los argumentos en el contexto de cambios económicos y políticos que afectan países individuales y la región en su totalidad. Discute el fenómeno de "fatiga de ajuste," los efectos de la doble condicionalidad impuesta por los bancos internacionales y el FMI, y los probables efectos de las condiciones adjuntas a recientes proposiciones; y concluye con algunas sugerencias prácticas para la política del futuro venidero.
(30 pages)
The Consolidation of Democracy in Latin America
-A Rapporteur's Report-
Scott Mainwaring
Working Paper #73 - July 1986
Scott Mainwaring is the author of The Catholic Church and Politics in Brazil, 1916-1985 (Stanford University Press, 1986), as well as numerous articles on transitions to democracy, social movements, and the Catholic Church. He is Assistant Professor of Government and Member of the Kellogg Institute at the University of Notre Dame. He wishes to thank Caroline Domingo, Rosario Espinal, Albert Hirschman, Guillermo O'Donnell, Luis Pásara, Philippe Schmitter, and Laurence Whitehead for their comments.
Abstract
In recent years, many Latin American countries have undergone transitions to democracy. One of the outstanding questions about these new democracies is whether they will be consolidated or, as has often happened in the past, be short-lived, only to give rise to a new round of authoritarianism. To discuss this issue and a number of related questions, Guillermo O'Donnell and José Nun have coordinated a working group on "Opportunities and Dilemmas in the Consolidation of Democracy in Latin America." This paper is a rapporteur's report based on the first meeting of this working group, held in São Paulo, December 16-17, 1985. The paper synthesizes the main discussions and debates of that meeting.
Resumen
En los últimos años, varios países latinoamericanos han experimentado transiciones a regímenes democráticos. En este contexto, se plantea la pregunta si las nuevas democracias se van a consolidar o si, tal como ha acontecido muchas veces en el pasado, van a durar poco, para después sufrir otra experiencia autoritaria. Para discutir este asunto y varios problemas afines, Guillermo O'Donnell y José Nun están coordinando un grupo de trabajo sobre "Oportunidades y Dilemas en la Consolidación Democrática en América Latina." El presente trabajo es un informe que se basa en la primera reunión de este grupo de trabajo, realizada en São Paulo, el 16 y 17 de diciembre de 1985. El trabajo sintetiza las principales discusiones y debates de dicha reunión.
(43 pages)
De la Crisis de Malvinas a la Subordinacion Condicionada: Conflictos Intramilitares y Transicion Politica en Argentina
Andrés Fontana
Working Paper #74 - August 1986
Andrés Fontana is Assistant Researcher at CEDES (Centro de Estudios de Estado y Sociedad) and a professor at the University of Buenos Aires. His principal research interests are the armed forces and politics. From February to December 1983 he was a fellow of the Kellogg Institute.
An earlier draft of this paper was presented at an international seminar on "Military Autonomy and Democracy in Latin America" held in Santiago, Chile, May 22-25, 1985.
Abstract
This paper analyzes the political transition in Argentina (1982-1983), concentrating particularly on three aspects: (a) the overthrow of the authoritarian regime as a result of the post-Malvinas crisis within the military; (b) the internal logic of the military leadership's decisions with respect to the transition; (c) the centrality of the human rights question and the hermetic and homogeneous nature of discourse about human rights within the armed forces. The conclusion indicates the consequences of these three aspects of the transition process for the new democratic regime.
Resumen
El trabajo analiza la transición política en Argentina (1982-1983), prestando particular atención a tres aspectos: (a) el "derrumbe" del régimen autoritario como resultado de la crisis intramilitar pos-Malvinas; (b) la lógica interna de las decisiones de los mandos militares con respecto a la transición; (c) la centralidad de la cuestión derechos humanos y el carácter hermético y homogéneo que tiene el discurso sobre ese tema en el seno de la corporación militar. Las conclusiones del trabajo señalan las consecuencias de esos tres aspectos del proceso de transición con respecto al nuevo escenario político que se estructura con la instauración del régimen democrático.
(45 pages)
Indexing as an Instrument for Stabilization Policy: A Survey of Theoretical Developments and International Experience During the Past Decade
Paul D. McNelis
Working Paper #75 - August 1986
Paul McNelis is Associate Professor of Economics at Georgetown University. In the spring of 1985 he was a guest scholar at the Kellogg Institute.
Research for this paper was supported by a Fulbright Senior Fellowship on Latin American Inflation and Stabilization Policy. David Bigman, Paul DeGrauwe, Alan Gelb, Jurg Niehans, and Marius Schwartz made helpful suggestions on earlier versions of this manuscript. I am also grateful to Joshua Aizenman, Jacob Frenkel, Ephraim Kleiman, and Zalman Shiffer for helpful conversations. This paper was revised during a visit to the Department of Economics and the Kellogg Institute of the University of Notre Dame.
Abstract
This paper surveys the literature on indexing as an instrument for stabilization policy during the past decade. The first part of the paper concentrates on the effects of wage indexing on macroeconomic stability and the comparative advantages of indexing and exchange rate policy. The second part presents a survey of recent international experience with indexing. The theoretical literature states that indexing is a macroeconomic policy instrument, and its effectiveness and advisability depend on an integrated view of a country's stabilization goals, sensitivity to fluctuations in financial markets, and linkages with foreign economies. Recent international experience shows that the relationship between indexing policy and inflationary dynamics varies among different countries. While disinflation may be enhanced by a reduced degree of indexing for wages or assets, there is need to spell-out the timing and sequencing of disindexation in the design of a stabilization program.
Resumen
Este trabajo revisa la literatura sobre la indexación como instrumento para las políticas de estabilización durante la última década. La primera parte del trabajo focaliza los efectos de la indexación salarial sobre la estabilidad macroeconómica y las ventajas comparativas de la indexación de la política cambial. La segunda parte presenta una revisión de las experiencias internacionales recientes con la indexación. La literatura teórica afirma que la indexación es un instrumento de la política macroeconómica y que su eficacia depende de una visión integrada de las metas estabalizadoras del país, de la sensibilidad a las fluctuaciones en los mercados financieros y de las vinculaciones con las economías de otros países. La experiencia internacional reciente demuestra que la relación entre la política de indexación y la dinámica inflacionaria varía entre las diversos países. La desinflación puede ser acentuada por un grado reducido de la indexación de los salarios o los activos, pero se precisa explicitar la secuencia de la desindexación en la formulación del programa de estabilización.
(56 pages)
Private Goods, Public Goods and the Common Good: Another Look at Economics and Ethics in Catholic Social Teaching
Ernest Bartell, CSC
Working Paper #76 - August 1986
Father Ernest Bartell is the Executive Director of the Kellogg Institute and Professor of Economics at the University of Notre Dame. He has published numerous articles on Catholic social teaching.
This paper was first presented at a symposium on "Catholic Social Teaching and the Common Good," held at Notre Dame in April 1986 under the auspices of the Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business. The proceedings of the symposium, including this paper, will be published later this year in a book edited by John Houck and Oliver Williams (University Press of America, forthcoming).
Abstract
There has been an evolution in the methodology of Catholic social thought over the past century that needs to be taken into account when the ethical concept of the common good in Catholic social teaching is applied to contemporary economic, social and political issues. While the early papal social documents relied primarily upon deductive analysis within a scholastic natural law tradition, recent documents, including those emanating from regional conferences of bishops in the United States and Latin America, attempt to incorporate both biblical theology and positive analysis from the social sciences into moral and ethical discourse. During the same period some positive analysis within the social sciences has moved more closely into ethical discourse, especially with the extension of the normative criteria of market economics into theories of rational choice as applied to concepts of social justice and welfare in political science and social analysis. It is tempting then to perceive a convergence in the two approaches to ethical discourse. A closer look, however, suggests that they may still be separated by basic differences in value premises about the relation of the individual person to society.
Resumen
Ha habido una evolución en la metodología del pensamiento social católico en el último siglo que necesita ser tomado en cuenta cuando se aplica el concepto ético del bien común en la enseñanza social católica a cuestiones económicas, sociales y políticas contemporáneas. Mientras que los primeros documentos sociales papales se basaban principalmente en análisis deductivos dentro de una tradición escolástica de derecho natural, recientes documentos, incluyendo aquellos surgidos en conferencias regionales de obispos en los Estados Unidos y Latinoamérica, intentan incorporar tanto la teología bíblica como el análisis positivo de las ciencias sociales, en el discurso moral y ético. Durante el mismo período algunos análisis positivos dentro de las ciencias sociales se han acercado más al discurso ético, especialmente con la extensión del criterio normativo de economías de mercado a teorías de selección racional tal como se aplica a conceptos de la justicia social y el bienestar en las ciencias políticas y el análisis social. Es tentador entonces percibir una convergencia en los dos acercamientos al discurso ético. Una evaluación cuidadosa sin embargo, indica que los dos pueden estar separados todavía por diferencias básicas en sus premisas valorativas acerca de la relación entre el individuo y la sociedad.
(33 pages)
The Mexican Charrazo of 1948: Latin American Labor from World War to Cold War
Ian Roxborough
Working Paper #77 - August 1986
Ian Roxborough teaches at the London School of Economics and Political Science, England. From January to May 1985 he was a fellow of the Kellogg Institute.
Abstract
This paper discusses labor history in Mexico in the years before, during and immediately following the Second World War. The author argues that the intervention by the Secretaría del Trabajo y Provisión Social in the Sindicato Ferrocarrilero in 1948 marks a major turning point in the trajectory of Mexican labor. He suggests the possibility that a number of other countries experienced similar, dramatic upheavals in labor relations at around the same time, and explores the implications of this possibility for theories of comparative labor movements. The paper begins with descriptions of the left-right splits in the Mexican labor movement at the end of the Cárdenas period, and the effects of the War on Mexican labor. The author goes on to discuss the restructuring of the Mexican state and economy during this time and in the immediate post-War period, and describes in detail the cluster of events in Mexican unionism around the Charrazo. The paper concludes with a section on possible similarities in other countries and with some speculative remarks raised by the comparative questions.
Resumen
Este trabajo discute la historia laboral en México en los años anteriores, durante e inmediatamente después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. El autor argumenta que la intervención por parte de la Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social en el Sindicato Ferrocarrilero en 1948 marca un cambio crucial en la historia de las relaciones laborales en México. El autor sugiere la posibilidad de que otros países experimentaron un trastorno dramático similar en sus relaciones laborales por la misma época, y explora las implicaciones de esta posibilidad para teorías comparativas de movimientos obreros. El trabajo comienza con descripciónes de las divisiones entre izquierda y derecha en el movimiento obrero Mexicano al final del período de Cárdenas, y de los efectos de la guerra sobre las relaciones laborales en México. El autor pasa después a la discusión de la reestructuración del Estado y la economía mexicanos durante este período y durante el período inmediatamente posterior a la Guerra, y analiza el impacto del Charrazo en el sindicalismo mexicano. Se concluye con una sección sobre posibles similitudes en otros países y con algunos comentarios expeculativos suscitados por las cuestiones comparativas.
(34 pages)
A Simple Macro Model for a Semi-Industrialized Economy Facing a Binding External Constraint
Patricio Meller and Andrés Solimano
Working Paper #78 - August 1986
Patricio Meller is a senior research economist at CIEPLAN, Santiago, Chile. During 1980-81 he was a Visiting Associate Professor at CLADS and the Department of Economics at Boston University, and during 1975-76 he was a Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (New York). He is doing research on employment problems and macroeconomic models for Latin American economies. In April-May 1985 he was a faculty fellow at the Kellogg Institute.
Andrés Solimano is a Research Associate at PREALC-ILO, Santiago, Chile and an Associate Professor of the Institute of Economics at the Catholic University of Santiago. During 1982-83 and in 1985, he was a Research Fellow at CIEPLAN, Santiago, Chile. He does research in the areas of macroeconomic models for Latin American economies, labor markets, and econometrics.
This work forms part of CIEPLAN's area of research in macroeconomics, employment and international economy and received the support of the International Development Research Centre. Preliminary versions were presented at CLADS (Boston University), the Department of Economics at the University of Notre Dame and at CIEPLAN. The authors thank René Cortázar, John Harris, Joseph Ramos, Daniel Schydlowsky and CIEPLAN colleagues for their comments. Of course, the authors are solely responsible for the paper's content.
Abstract
This work uses a macroeconomic (Keynesian) model for a small open economy to describe the short run functioning of the economy when it faces a dominant external restriction. The main conclusions are the following: (1) In the model, a devaluation can be counterproductive considering that (i) in an economy without complete wage indexation, a devaluation produces a reduction of real wages, a contraction of consumption and a decline in aggregate demand, and (ii) a devaluation can produce a deterioration in the commercial balance in the short run if the price elasticity of the commercial balance is low enough. (2) When the economy enters a situation of external disequilibrium, to overcome this disequilibrium, the combination of exchange and fiscal policy which minimizes the decline in income depends on the magnitude of the devaluation. (3) In an economy in which the export industries use imported goods for their production, the potential impact of a uniform increase in tariffs on income is ambiguous. The income effect of the tariff increase will be positive if (i) the cost of production of the domestic goods which are (imperfect) substitutions of the goods exchanged through the market is relatively labor intensive; (ii) the imports are relatively more price elastic than the exports, and (iii) the positive income effect increases as the initial commercial deficit does. (4) When a small open economy encounters a limited external restriction, there is a tradeoff between increases in real wages and increases in the level of employment.
Resumen
En este trabajo se utiliza un modelo macroeconómico (keynesiano) para una pequeña economía abierta, que describe el funcionamiento de la parte real de la economía en el corto plazo, cuando ésta enfrenta una restricción externa dominante. Las principales conclusiones de este trabajo son las siguientes: (1) En el modelo, una devaluación puede ser contraccionaria en el corto plazo, al considerar los siguientes dos efectos: (i) En una economía sin indexación completa de salarios, una devaluación produce una reducción de salarios reales, una contracción del consumo y una caída de la demanda agregada. (ii) Una devaluación puede producir un deterioro de la balanza comercial en pesos en el corto plazo si las elasticidades precio de la balanza comercial son suficientemente pequeña. (2) Cuando la economía presenta una situación de desequilibrio externo, para eliminar éste, la combinación de política cambiaria y fiscal que minimiza la caída del producto depende de la magnitud de la devaluación. (3) En una economía en que las industrias exportadoras utilizan insumos importados en su producción, el efecto potencial de un aumento uniforme de aranceles sobre el producto es ambiguo. El efecto del aumento de aranceles sobre el producto será positivo si: (i) El costo de producción de los bienes domésticos que son sustitutos (imperfectos) de los bienes transables en los mercados es relativamente intensivo en trabajo. (ii) Las importaciones son relativamente más elásticas a precios que las exportaciones. (iii) Mientras mayor sea el déficit inicial de la balanza comercial. (4) Cuando una pequeña economía abierta enfrenta una restricción externa limitante, hay un "tradeoff" entre aumentos del salario real e incrementos del nivel de empleo.
(31 pages)
Carnaval as a Cultural Problem: Towards a Theory of Formal Events and Their Magic
Roberto DaMatta
Working Paper #79 - September 1986
Roberto DaMatta teaches Social Anthropology at the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He has been working on symbolic structures and ideologies of Indian tribes and has written extensively on the Apinayé and Gaviões Indians of Central Brazil. He is also studying the cultures of Brazil and the United States. Among his recent publications are O que faz o brasil, Brasil? (Fiat/Salamandra); Carnavais, Malandros e Heróis (Rio: Zahar); Relativizando (Petrópolis: Vozes); A Casa e a Rua (São Paulo: Brasiliense), and Explorações (Rio: Rocco). He recently wrote the scripts for two series of television programs on Brazil, The Brazilians (TV Manchete) and Our Amazon (TV Bandeirantes). From January to May 1986 he was a faculty fellow of the Kellogg Institute. He would like to thank Carl O'Nell, Margaret Keck and Caroline Domingo for their helpful comments on this paper. An earlier version was presented at the symposium on Text, Play and Story at the American Ethnological Society's 105th Annual Meeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in February, 1983.
Abstract
This paper is a study of the Brazilian Carnaval from the perspective of social anthropology. The author contends that Carnaval, while clearly a major social phenomenon, is difficult to analyze because it does not express seriousness, a sense of religious mystery or a well-defined purpose but rather laughter, grotesquerie and sensuality, which seems to pose the question of whether it can be considered a real ritual. In the course of answering this question he examines a number of cultural oppositions-for example "above the waist"/"below the waist," acceptable/taboo, rational/emotional, static/relational, formal/spontaneous, social/individual-and points out that the theories of some social anthropologists tend to reinforce the belief that such oppositions amount to mutual exclusion. He argues on the contrary that it is necessary to recognize the paradox of social situations whose essence is to mix these categories in order to reach an understanding of "rituals of reversal," and also that social occasions should be studied both in terms of the behavior that they prescribe as appropriate and the behavior that they exclude. Against this background the paper presents a detailed analysis of Carnaval, and in particular the Carnaval Ball, and its function in relation to Brazilian life as a whole. The concluding section discusses the logic and human significance created by rituals and their magic.
Resumen
Este ensayo es un estudio del Carnaval Brasileño según la perspectiva de la antropología social. El autor sostiene que el Carnaval, aunque es claramente un fenómeno social importante, es difícil de analizar porque no expresa seriedad, ni un sentido de misterio religioso ni un propósito bien definido, sino más bien la risa, lo grotesco, y la sensualidad, lo cual parece poner en duda si debe considerarse un verdadero ritual. Al contestar esta pregunta el autor examina varias oposiciones culturales-por ejemplo "arriba de la cintura/debajo de la cintura," aceptable/tabú, racional/ emocional, estático/correlativo, formal/espontáneo, social/individual-y señala que las teorías de algunos antropólogos sociales tienden a reforzar la creencia de que tales oposiciones implican exclusión mutua. El autor argumenta por el contrario que es necesario reconocer la paradoja de situaciones sociales cuya característica básica es la de mezclar estas categorías para alcanzar una mejor comprensión de "rituales de inversión," y también que las ocasiones sociales deben ser estudiadas en términos del comportamiento que ellas ordenan como apropiados y del comportamiento que ellas excluyen. En este contexto el ensayo presenta un análisis detallado del Carnaval, y en particular del Baile de Carnaval, y su función en relación a la vida brasileña en conjunto. La sección final discute la lógica y el significado humano creados por los rituales y su magia.
(35 pages)
Notas Historicas Sobre o Conceito de Cultura Popular
Renato Ortiz
Working Paper #80 - September 1986
Renato Ortiz is a professor of anthropology at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica in São Paulo, Brazil. He is the author of A Consciência Fragmentada, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro, and Cultura Brasileira e Identidade Nacional, among other works. He was a fellow of the Kellogg Institute during the fall 1984 semester.
Abstract
This paper analyzes the historical origins and evolution of the concept of "popular culture," beginning with late seventeenth century usages. The author traces the development of the concept during the romantic period, and goes on to discuss the first attempts at "scientific" investigations of popular culture in the late nineteenth century. He then analyzes the folklorists' view of methodology and science in the treatment of popular culture, and the early relationship between folklore and anthropology.
Resumen
Este ensayo analiza los orígenes históricos y la evolución del concepto de "cultura popular," a partir de los usos de finales del siglo diecisiete. El autor traza el desarrollo del concepto durante el período romántico y pasa a discutir los primeros intentos de investigación "científica" de la cultura popular a fines del siglo diecinueve. Luego se analiza la perspectiva del folklorista acerca de la ciencia y la metodología en el tratamiento de la cultura popular, y la relación inicial entre folklor y antropología.
(90 pages)
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