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on Central and South America |
| By: | Mariano Tommasi (Universidad de San Andrés) |
| Abstract: | Over recent decades, many Latin American democracies have expanded political participation, social rights, and redistribution, yet have simultaneously experienced rising discontent, policy volatility, and institutional fragility. This coexistence challenges standard political economy models that associate democratization with greater stability and accountability. This paper argues that incorporation—the expansion of effective participation in political and policymaking processes—alters the cooperation problem itself. While broader participation raises the potential gains from collective action, it also increases coordination costs and the institutional demands required to sustain self-enforcing cooperation. A simple model shows that as participation expands, the minimum level of institutional adaptation required for cooperation rises; when such adaptation lags, polities may become trapped in low-cooperation equilibria marked by polarization and short time horizons. Comparative case studies of Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, and Venezuela illustrate how similar inclusionary processes generate divergent political trajectories depending on whether cooperative governance adjusts to expanded participation. Where cooperation is rebuilt, inclusion supports legitimacy and durable governance; where it is not, expanded voice yields instability and, in extreme cases, democratic breakdown. |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sad:wpaper:182 |
| By: | Brunckhorst, Ben James; Doan, Miki Khanh; De la Fuente, Alejandro; Freije-Rodriguez, Samuel; García, Catalina; Nguyen, Minh Cong |
| Abstract: | This paper addresses two main questions. First, what proportion of people are exposed to climate hazards in Latin America and the Caribbean, especially among the poor versus the nonpoor? Second, do certain areas—hotspots—have high rates of bothhazard exposure and poverty that require targeted policy? Using poverty maps and georeferenced climate hazard data, three innovations are introduced: five climate hazards are analyzed (droughts, hurricanes, heatwaves, floods, and landslides); official poverty data at administrative level 2 are used, instead of only administrative level 1; and an interpolation method estimates poverty-plus-exposure rates across countries with varying data sources. The estimates indicate that 36.9 percent of the population is exposed to at least one of the five climate hazards under consideration. Considering the population in poverty only, the percentage is higher, 44.6 percent, whereas the exposure rate for the nonpoor is 34.0 percent. Some areas experience high exposure to climate hazards and high poverty rates. These hotspots include about 10 percent of the region’s population. These areas are in the Brazilian northeast; the upper-Amazon region of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil; the Chaco region of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay; the islands of the Caribbean; the western coast of the Gulf of California; and the Yucatan Peninsula. |
| Date: | 2026–05–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11389 |