The objective of this study was to establish the relationship between certain institutional variables and the effectiveness of fiscal decentralisation in Latin America. To fulfil this objective, we took a sample of 15 Latin American countries for the years 1996 to 2020 to estimate the logarithm of GDP per capita based on the level of fiscal decentralisation, as well as its interaction with six institutional variables plus three control variables. The results show that institutional variables always modulate the effects of fiscal decentralisation, in most cases significantly and negatively, the exceptions being accountability with a positive result and government effectiveness with a non-significant result. It was concluded that in the presence of weak regulations, political conflicts, and corruption, fiscal decentralisation can worsen social or economic circumstances in Latin America.

This research seeks to identify the direct effects and interactions of the economic, social, environmental and institutional dimensions or systems on sustainable development for 16 Latin American countries between 2007 and 2019. The sustainable development index (SDI) proposed by Hickel (2020) is used as the dependent variable, as are the pillars of Legatum's prosperity index, grouped into the indicated dimensions (explanatory variables). A dynamic panel data model is estimated using the generalised method of moments. The results indicate that business conditions, economic quality, health and education have positive and significant direct effects on the SDI. It is corroborated that the interactions between institutional and economic, as well as institutional and social, and economic and social dimensions have a positive effect on the SDI, although only the first interaction is statistically significant. As for the other interactions, the results show negative signs and only the interactions between the environmental dimension and the economic dimension and social dimension, respectively, are statistically significant. For Latin America, improvements in the SDI are associated with the economic and social dimensions (weak sustainability). This is reinforced by the strengthening of the institutional framework but with higher levels of CO2 emissions and material footprint, whose indirect effects along with the rest of the dimensions condition the possibility of achieving better results in terms of sustainability.

This research aimed to determine the factors that influence people’s decision to purchase quinoa, with emphasis on culture and healthy lifestyles, in the urban parishes of the city of Latacunga. The data were analyzed by first considering contrasting hypotheses of means or proportions between consumers and non-consumers of quinoa or its derivatives; second by estimating a probabilistic model to identify the variables that determine consumer probability; and finally by defining the profile and purchase habits of those who claim to prefer cookies and bread, using an association analysis and contingency tables. The results indicate that more than half of the households consume quinoa, mainly in the form of pearl grain, and in its derived form (flour). Moreover, the decision to buy quinoa is linked to people’s knowledge of its nutritional benefits, and its consumption is additionally influenced by cultural and traditional aspects.

The aim was to identify the determinants of female labour participation and willingness to work in one of the poorest agricultural areas of the Ecuadorian Andes with a high indigenous population. A stratified random sample of 268 women by parish was used to collect the information. Social, demographic, and economic variables, as well as norms, values, beliefs, and social structure were consulted. A hypothesis test of means was used to identify possible differences in cultural variables. In addition, the identification of the determinants of labour market insertion was estimated through discrete choice models (logit), selecting the one that best classified the data by means of the confusion matrix. Significant differences were identified in the beliefs analysed based on prejudice towards women’s work (gender roles), attitudes towards children, and intersectionality (discrimination based on ethnicity) by estimating mean differences, considering education, marital status, ethnicity, and labour insertion as grouping variables. The results of the estimations indicate that female labour force participation depends on age, marital status, experience, number of children, education, ethnicity, head of household, social structure (ethnicity), and dimensions of beliefs and values. Willingness to work is explained by attitude towards children, experience, and age. Beliefs and social structure can therefore enhance female labour.

This research focused on determining the impact of social capital on economic growth in South American countries based on data associated with the prosperity index generated by the Legatum Institute from 2007 to 2023. The relationship was analysed by estimating both static and dynamic panel data models, considering aggregate social capital and its components. The results indicate that while the prosperity index at the aggregate level has a positive and significant effect on GDP per capita, this is not the case for all dimensions. In the static approach, all the components of the economic and people empowerment dimensions are significant, while in the institutional component, social capital was not statistically significant, which is corroborated by the dynamic results. While the disaggregation of social capital reveals some elements that have a positive effect on economic performance, such as personal and family relationships and personal trust, civic participation shows an inverse relationship with GDP per capita. These findings confirm the existence of strong bonding personal and family relationships that influence territorial performance yet require the strengthening of bridging and linking ties.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of the financial aid programme aimed at discounting tuition fees at one of Venezuela’s first private universities on early and late student departure, both from the degree programme and the institution, as well as on graduation. The propensity score matching was used by calculating the average treatment effect estimator under parametric and non-parametric methodologies such as nearest neighbours, Kernel, or local linear regression. The results indicate that although there is evidence of the programme exerting a positive impact on early student departure to a greater extent (reductions between 8% and 15%), the impact tends to be considerably less when it comes to reducing late student departure (between 1% and 5%), and it had no impact on graduation.