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This study examines the impact of bonded zone policy on the performance of firms. We use a difference-in-differences approach and exploit differences in the timing of bonded zone approval as our id...

This paper investigates the relationship between structural change and regional economic growth in Indonesia. We utilize several measures of structural change, i.e. structural change index, norm absolute value index, shift-share method, and effective structural change index, for 30 provinces over the period 2005-2018. We show that the structural change has occurred across provinces, even though it is slowing, towards an agricultural-services transition. By employing dynamic panel data models, this study shows that structural change is a significant determinant of growth. However, structural change matters for growth only if there is an increase in productivity, not only a movement of labor across sectors. An improvement in productivity within sectors and a movement of labors to other sectors with better productivity lead to a better economic development.

This article addresses the challenge of combining ecosystem protection with economic development. The setting is societies living near a national park in a poor and peripheral part of Indonesia. Da...

We test whether living through conflict in childhood changes political beliefs and engagement. We combine data on the location and intensity of conflicts since 1945 with nationally representative data on political attitudes and behaviors from 17 sub-Saharan African countries. Exposure from ages 0 to 14 has a very small standardized impact on later attitudes and behaviors. This finding is robust to migration and holds across a variety of definitions, specifications, and sources of data. Our results suggest that at the population level in Africa, conflict does not alter political beliefs, though the most exposed sub-populations may experience large, lasting effects.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between socio-economic vulnerabilities towards the magnitude of force of infection using spatial method. Author adopts networked metapopulation epide...

We show that giant and unpredictable oil and gas discoveries trigger FDI bonanzas. Across developing countries, we document a 56% increase in FDI in the two years following a giant discovery. These booms are driven by new projects in sectors such as manufacturing, retail, services, and construction. To assess the job creation effects of one such FDI bonanza in Mozambique, we combine concurrent waves of household surveys and firm censuses and estimate the local job multiplier of FDI. Our estimates suggest that for each new FDI job, an additional 4.4 jobs are created locally, 2.1 of which are formal jobs.

In the National Development Plan, cooperatives and agriculture development are identified as possible solutions for addressing rural poverty and unemployment, especially among the youth. However, according to most research/literature, agricultural cooperatives fail for many reasons, including but not limited to lack of capital, incompetent management and organizational deficiencies. This study applied a qualitative analysis to the qualitative data using a case study of Zanokhanyo Food Security Cooperative (ZFSC) in Ndabakazi, Butterworth. Interviews with the project members, ex-members, extension officers and youth were conducted through a semi-structured questionnaire administered in IsiXhosa. According to the results, lack of intensive production resulting in very low incomes is one of the reasons why projects such as ZFSC fail to attract young people and provide employment for rural people. Agricultural extension advisory services play a very limited role because of their generalist approach; they lack depth of knowledge about diverse agricultural subject areas. This study recommends that agricultural extension and the farmers’ support system be improved by employing or outsourcing specialists to cater to the needs of agricultural cooperatives in order to improve the productivity and income of agricultural cooperatives.

Small-scale commercial farmers are regarded as the strategic avenue to achieve meaningful development in rural areas of South Africa. The government acknowledged that the inclusion of small-scale commercial farming in its development strategies. The paper aims to measure the efficiency of small-scale commercial farming enterprises in Vhembe District in Limpopo Province. Quantitative data were collected from 217 small-scale commercial farmers using structured questionnaires. The data were standardized using a farming enterprise budget system and analysed using the maximum likelihood and stochastic frontier analysis. The results revealed that aggregate output was positive and significantly influenced by age, education level, farm experience, farm labour, and government grants. However, the projected stochastic production frontier model combined with the efficiency parameters showed that labour and credit computed a negative effect on technical efficiency. The results indicated that the average level of technical efficiency ranged between 20% and 96% with a mean of 54%. This indicates that there is potential to increase production among small-scale commercial farmers in the study area by 46 % through efficient use of existing resources. As such, the local government should provide necessary supports such as formal agriculture training, access to credit and information to increase productivity.

Stock theft is among the major challenges faced by livestock farmers in South Africa. It has severe consequences especially for smallholder farmers, who collectively own a large share of the South African livestock herds but individually keep small herds. In recent years, technological improvements and innovations have made it possible to track livestock movements by using GPS animal tracking devices. Low-cost GPS has been developed and used elsewhere and in the local commercial sector. Given the well-known role of extension, i.e. information and technology dissemination, the possibility that smallholders adopt GPS animal tracking devices should be evaluated. However, very few studies have made a case for using this technology in curbing stock theft among smallholder farmers. This review therefore addresses the likelihood that smallholder livestock farmers in South Africa adopt GPS animal tracking devices to mitigate the impact of stock theft. Using a semi-systematic and a snowball literature review approach, we consulted and reviewed the relevant literature and official statistics relating to stock theft and smallholder livestock farming. Results from the reviewed literature suggest that the likelihood of GPS animal tracking device adoption by smallholders will depend on a) the awareness about the devices and how they work, b) the acuteness of stock theft for a farmer and how livestock contributes the farmer’s livelihood, and c) the income level, access to mobile phones and risk behaviour of farmers. Our literature findings identify areas for future research and may help agricultural extension personnel with future research topics.

The study reported on in this paper investigated smallholder farmers’ access to extension services. The study sought to distinguish the varying degrees of access to services of smallholder farmers engaged in different production systems, that is, home gardening, field cropping, and livestock production. The study was conducted in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, specifically in two communities, namely Ngcabasa and Phathikhala villages. Research activities included a survey of 100 farmers as well as focus group discussions. Employing logistic regression analysis, the study aimed to understand what influences whether or not a smallholder farmer accesses extension. The study also used various types of comparative statistics (T-test) to assess the implications of access to extension support, for instance for production and farm income. The main findings of the study were that 68% of the farming households interviewed in Ngcabasa and 71% of those in Phathikhala had access to extension services. Farmers who had access to extension had more farm income in both enterprises compared to those who had no access to extension services. From the regression analysis, farmers who were more likely to receive extension support appeared to be those who were older, those with less education, and those farming with livestock.

Using district level data for urban areas in Java, we reassess the impacts of minimum wages on formal and informal sector employment, unemployment and labour participation. We employ the spatial Du...

I review the existing literature in international trade that uses Indonesian firm-level data, particularly the Survei Tahunan Perusahaan Industri Pengolahan (Annual Manufacturing Survey) compiled b...

Abstract. This article applies a cultural political economy lens within a sustainable livelihood framework and examines how cultural norms and values as well as social protection amplify or attenuate livelihood shocks leading to care-home entry. We used framework analysis and higher-level interpretive analysis of data from interviews with 30 older care-home residents from three districts in Tamil Nadu, India, to understand the practices that allow the social welfare system to function alongside the beliefs and values legitimizing these practices. Results reveal a divergence between the value orientation of social-protection policy and cultural practices which constrains the choices available for care in later life and reinforces culturally constructed inequalities rather than protecting or remediating livelihood shocks and loss of assets.

Zimbabwe's political history from 2000 to the present epoch has been characterized by violence. This violence reached its peak in 2008 when ZANU PF was defeated at the polls by the opposition party, MDC-T. The violence resulted in hundreds of people losing their lives while many more were maimed, displaced and/or sexually abused. In this context of political violence, various church groups emerged as the church in Zimbabwe broke its culture of silence and sought to condemn the deployment of divisive politics and the use of political violence as a means to political gain. One such group that emerged in 2000 is a forum of churches in the province of Manicaland called Churches in Manicaland (CiM). From the onset, CiM sought to bring healing to victims of political violence as well as reconciliation of communities in Manicaland through a number of activities. The 2008 political violence resulted in the signing of the Global Political Agreement in which the issue of national healing and reconciliation became officialised and critical national institutions (the church included) were implored to play their roles meaningfully. However, scholars on national healing and reconciliation have noted how gender is often not part of reconstruction processes in post-conflict nations. What this paper seeks to do is to evaluate CiM's approach to gender in its participation in the national healing and reconciliation process in Zimbabwe, both at an unofficial level from 2000 and at the official level from 2008. Drawing on original empirical research (focus groups and interviews), the paper shows how CiM has adopted a general approach to the national healing and reconciliation process, which has made women's experiences of political violence invisible. It is envisaged that this is one way of informing the church to bring to the 'centre' women's experiences of political violence.

Since the early 2000s exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have grown to become an important investment vehicle worldwide. In this paper, we study how their growth affects the sensitivity of international capital flows to the global financial cycle. We combine comprehensive fundlevel data on investor flows with a novel identification strategy that controls for unobservable time-varying economic conditions at the investment destination. For dedicated emerging market funds, we find that the sensitivity of investor flows to global risk factors for equity (bond) ETFs is 1.5 (1.25) times higher than for equity (bond) mutual funds. In turn, we show that in countries where ETFs hold a larger share of financial assets, total cross-border equity flows and prices are significantly more sensitive to global risk factors. We conclude that the growing role of ETFs as a channel for international capital flows amplifies the incidence of the global financial cycle in emerging markets.

Producción Científica, En este artículo se realiza un estudio de los conflictos campesinos e indígenas (mapuches) que tuvieron lugar en la provincia de Cautín (Chile) durante el ciclo de conflictividad social que vivió el país entre 1967 y 1973. El objetivo es revisar las tradicionales visiones que han prevalecido sobre el tema en la historiografía chilena, basadas en perspectivas monolíticas del conflicto rural. A través de documentación archivística y periodística del ámbito regional se analizan las diversas manifestaciones de dicho conflicto, desde las tradicionales expresiones de rebeldía campesina (cuatrerismo) hasta las modernas formas de movilización colectiva (sindicalismo campesino). Con ello se podrán observar la diversidad, complejidad y heterogeneidad de dichos conflictos y sus protagonistas., Proyecto de investigación postdoctoral FONDECYT nº 3130314, titulado “Protesta social y cultura indígena en las comunidades rurales chilenas: La Araucanía entre 1967 y 1973”.

Using firm- and industry-level panel data, this study investigates the impact of the Ghana-China trade on labour productivity of Ghanaian manufacturing firms and compares it to the impact induced by the trade of Ghana with the OECD. The main findings suggest that the productivity effect in Ghanaian manufacturing firms triggered by engaging in international trade activities is contingent upon the industrial competitive advantage and the trading partners. The empirical results show that trading with China creates greater potentials for Ghanaian manufacturing firms to raise productivity in comparison to trading with OECD countries. Higher intensities of imports from China stimulate productivity gains while more exports to China only enhance productivity in industries in which Ghana has a comparative advantage.

Gestational surrogacy – carrying someone else’s baby (or babies) to term and giving birth to them – is perhaps one of the most intimate acts a human being can perform for others. However, the proliferation of commercial surrogacy has drawn concern and criticism, with many scholars arguing that it both creates and exacerbates global social and economic inequalities. Commercial surrogacy thus raises both the possibility of global intimate connection and the specter of reproductive exploitation. I therefore explore the various, shifting, and often discordant desires for intimate connection between the intending parent(s), the surrogate mother, and the resulting child(ren) in commercial surrogacy. I then examine how those intimacies intersect with commercial surrogacy’s socioeconomic inequalities. Weighing commercial surrogacy’s driving desires and intimate practices against its commercialization, I end with a reconsideration of the procreative desires and intimate practices that spur current international commercial surrogacy (ICS), urging an emphasis on reproductive justice.

The tariff preferences in FTAs do not apply automatically to all imports. Instead, importers can request to use the tariff preferences, but must then show that the imported goods fulfil the formal requirements (e.g. rules of origin) of the FTA. This is costly, which is a likely reason why tariff preferences are not always used. This research note examines preference utilization under the FTA between the EU and South Korea, which was formally ratified in 2015 (but had been provisionally applied from 2011). We use firm and transaction level data for Swedish imports from South Korea during November 2016 to answer the question ‘Who uses the EU's FTAs?’ With information on firm size, product category, import mode (direct imports or customs warehousing), preference margin, potential duty savings, and transaction size, we provide a detailed picture of when firms choose to utilize the tariff preferences. The results suggest that the differences across importers are not primarily related to firm size, as is sometimes suggested in extant literature. We also find that it is the size of the import transaction rather than the size of the preference margin that determines preference utilization.

Bangladesh, one of the world’s poorest countries, has experienced a dramatic decline in fertility since 1985, with a decline in the total fertility rate from 5.5–2.1. International researchers have debated the reasons for this rapid decline, with some studies attributing it primarily to family planning programmes and others pointing at the simultaneous increase in the education of women and other socioeconomic factors. Using data from seven-rounds of the Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey (BDHS), we comprehensively review fertility trends by reconstructing cohort and period fertility indicators by educational attainment. Multilevel regression shows a robust negative association between fertility and educational attainment at the individual and community levels. Pathway’s analysis reveals that female education has a significant effect on declining fertility desires dominating all other effects. Increased women's education and the associated diffusion of smaller desired family size might be the primary factor driving the impressive fertility decline in Bangladesh.

The nature of the empirical relationship between public expenditure and economic growth can be analysed from different viewpoints. This study focuses on the empirical testing of the validity or oth...

Rapid decentralisation in Indonesia has increased the importance of local government at a district level in delivering public services as well as shifting a large portion of public funding to the d...

This essay reviews the following works: Rethinking Productive Development: Sound Policies and Institutions for Economic Transformation. Edited by Gustavo Crespi, Eduardo Fernandez-Arias, and Ernesto Stein; Inter-American Development Bank. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. Pp. xxix + 461. $54.99 paperback. ISBN: 9781137397164. Macroeconomics and Development: Roberto Frenkel and the Economics of Latin America. Edited by Mario Damill, Martin Rapetti, and Guillermo Rozenwurcel. New York: Columbia University Press, 2016. Pp. xi + 389. $65.00 hardcover. ISBN: 9780231175081. Free Trade and Faithful Globalization: Saving the Market. By Amy Reynolds. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015. Pp. x + 179. $28.99 paperback. ISBN: 9781107435179. Latin America after the Financial Crisis: Economic Ramifications from Heterodox Perspectives. Edited by Juan E. Santarcangelo, Orlando Justo, and Paul Cooney. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Pp. vii + 251. $149.99 hardcover. ISBN: 9781137486615. Meaningful Resistance: Market Reforms and the Roots of Social Protest in Latin America. By Erica S. Simmons. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Pp. xi + 219. $27.99 paperback. ISBN: 9781107562059. Global Capitalism in Disarray: Inequality, Debt, and Austerity. By Andres Solimano. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017. Pp. xi + 235. $35.95 hardcover. ISBN: 9780190626273. The Last Day of Oppression, and the First Day of the Same: The Politics and Economics of the New Latin American Left. By Jeffery R. Webber. Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2017. Pp. 1 + 305. $26.00 paperback. ISBN: 9780745399539.

Years before Presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro announced a “thaw” in US-Cuba relations on December 17, 2014 (17D), Cubans were intensifying ties through the transnational circulation of popular culture. To understand Cuba and its diaspora in the twenty-first century, it is essential that we attend to the transnational networks in place before 17D that continue to shape quotidian life for people on and off the island. I begin in Miami, with the “afterlives” of a comic variety show called 'Sabadazo'—popular on the island during the 1990s—to illustrate how what it means to be Cuban, politically and culturally, has shifted away from the exile generation that arrived in the 1960s and 1970s. I complement this analysis with attention to generational tensions within the diaspora and representations of race and sexuality. I then move to the island to examine 'el paquete' (the package), a terabyte’s worth of mostly foreign media updated and distributed across the island weekly. I contend that the economic and cultural impact of 'el paquete' cannot be fully understood without careful consideration of the role of the Cuban diaspora. Resumen Años antes de que los presidentes Barack Obama y Raúl Castro anunciaran un “deshielo” en la relación entre Cuba y Estados Unidos el 17 de diciembre del 2014 (17D), los cubanos ya intensificaban los lazos por medio de la circulación transnacional de la cultura popular. Para poder comprender a Cuba y su diáspora en el siglo XXI, es esencial que prestemos atención a las redes transnacionales establecidos antes de 17D que continúan moldeando la vida cotidiana de las personas dentro y fuera de la isla. Yo comienzo en Miami con los “ultratumbas” de Sabadazo, un show de comedia y espectáculo muy popular en la isla en los años 90, para ilustrar cómo lo que significa ser cubano política y culturalmente, se ha desviado de la generación de exiliados que llegaron en los años sesenta y setentas. Yo complemento este análisis poniendo la atención a las tensiones dentro de la diáspora y las representaciones de raza y sexualidad. Prosigo hacia la isla para estudiar “el paquete”, un terabit de medios de comunicación extranjera actualizados y distribuidos semanalmente por toda la isla. Yo sostengo que el impacto económico y cultural del paquete no se puede comprender en su totalidad sin antes considerar cuidadosamente el papel que juega la diáspora cubana.

Although a large number of democracies have extended political rights to expatriates, relatively little is known about the depths of transnational political engagement. How attentive are expatriates to politics in the country of origin? When expatriates judge leaders “back home,” are their evaluations based on the same ideological considerations as those of citizens in the country of origin? Drawing from original surveys conducted during presidential elections in Mexico (2006) and Colombia (2010), in which both emigrants and citizens within the country were sampled, this study addresses these questions. The results indicate that for each nationality group, living abroad is not associated with a drop in political attentiveness, and time abroad does not in and of itself depress attention to politics from a distance. Moreover, emigrants and individuals in the country of origin do not vary in the extent to which ideological preferences are used to judge presidents, which is a key marker of political sophistication. These results suggest that in the context of Mexican and Colombian politics, living abroad does not markedly diminish the potential for effective democratic engagement. Resumen Si bien gran numero de democracias han extendido derechos politicos a los emigrantes, se sabe relativamente poco sobre el compromiso politico transnacional. ?Que tan atentos son los emigrantes a la politica del pais de origen? ?Cuando se juzga a los lideres de este pais, la evaluacion que les hacen los emigrantes se basa en las mimas consideraciones que los ciudadanos del pais de origen? Este estudio aborda estas preguntas utilizando encuestas originales realizadas durante las elecciones presidenciales en Mexico (2006) y en Colombia (2010) y donde ambos, emigrantes y ciudadanos dentro del pais de origen, fueron parte del muestreo. El resultado indica que en los dos casos de Mexico y Colombia el vivir fuera del pais no esta asociado con una baja de la atencion a lo politico, y que el tiempo vivido por fuera no reduce por si solo esta atencion desde la distancia. Aun mas, emigrantes e individuos en el pais de origen no difieren en la forma de usar las preferencias ideologicas para juzgar a los presidentes, lo que es una marca clave de sofisticacion politica. Estos resultados sugieren que en el contexto de la politica de Mexico y Colombia, vivir afuera no disminuye el potencial de compromiso politico democratico.

Twenty-five years have passed since Haiti’s first free and fair elections. In that time, democratization has been slow and there have been many setbacks. This article offers some observations regarding Haiti’s democratization journey by examining how the government introduced a massive industrial park that required the displacement of a large number of farmers. In a departure from historical practice, when faced with opposition, the government deployed its security forces sparingly. Also, the levels of transparency and civil society engagement were not terrible. Although it is insufficient and superficial, movement is in the right direction. In contrast, local government officials may have lost status and legitimacy during the process, which could hinder future democratization. Finally, the footprint of outsiders in this project was massive, confirming how profoundly Haiti’s democratization is transnationalized. This makes tracking its democratic development extremely challenging and yet necessary given the country is not alone in this predicament. Resumen Han pasado veinticinco anos desde las primeras elecciones libres y justas en Haiti. Desde entonces, la democratizacion ha sido lenta y ha sufrido muchos contratiempos. Este articulo ofrece algunas observaciones con respecto al proceso de democratizacion en este momento. Al hacerlo, examina como el gobierno ha introducido un extenso parque industrial en el noreste del pais, el que requirio el desplazamiento de un gran numero de campesinos. Los resultados son mixtos. En una divergencia de la historia, cuando se enfrento con la oposicion, el gobierno envio sus fuerzas de seguridad con moderacion. Por otra parte, los niveles de transparencia y el compromiso de la sociedad civil no eran pasables. Aunque puede resultar insuficiente y superficial, el proceso democratico parece ir avanzando en la direccion correcta. Por otro lado, puede ser que los oficiales del gobierno local hayan perdido posicion y legitimidad durante el proceso, lo que puede impedir la democratizacion. Finalmente, el involucramiento de extranjeros en este proyecto era masivo, lo que confirma que la democratizacion de Haiti es transnacional. Asi, seguir el desarrollo democratico es algo extremadamente desafiante pero necesario ya que este pais no esta solo en esta situacion.

This essay reviews the following works: Worldly Philosopher: The Odyssey of Albert O. Hirschman. By Jeremy Adelman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013. Pp. xv + 740. $39.95 cloth. ISBN: 9780691155678. Kalman Silvert: Engaging Latin America, Building Democracy. Edited by Abraham F. Lowenthal and Martin Weinstein. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2016. Pp. vii + 195. $24.50 paper. ISBN: 9781626375550. Disciplinary Conquest: U.S. Scholars in South America, 1900–1945. By Ricardo D. Salvatore. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2016. Pp. xii + 329. $94.95 cloth. $26.95 paper. ISBN: 9780822360957.

Central for governance, official statistics are far from natural artefacts. The purpose, meaning and interpretation of statistical conventions evolve across time and space, in relation to social an...

This article examines the clandestine connections between participants in the illicit drug trade and members of state security forces to understand how they impact everyday understandings of the law. Drawing on a unique combination of long-term ethnographic fieldwork in a poor, high-crime district in Argentina and wiretapped conversations drawn from a court case involving a drug trafficking group active in the same area, we find that traffickers use illicit relationships to maintain economic control of the territory, and that collusion fosters widespread cynicism about law enforcement among residents. This article expands the literature on the covert relationships between drug trade participants and agents of the state by detailing the inner workings of collusion. Furthermore, it analyzes residents’ perceptions of police complicity as an underexplored source of legal cynicism. Finally, it offers a methodological blueprint of how to access and analyze data that capture state actions usually hidden from public view. Resumen Este articulo examina las conexiones clandestinas entre participantes en el trafico de drogas ilegales y miembros de las fuerzas de seguridad del estado a los efectos de entender como esas relaciones impactan en la manera en que la ley es entendida en la vida cotidiana. Combinando trabajo etnografico en un barrio pobre con altos niveles de criminalidad y escuchas telefonicas registradas en un expediente judicial que involucra a un grupo de traficantes de la misma zona, encontramos que: a) los traficantes utilizan esas relaciones clandestinas para mantener control economico del territorio, y b) la colusion entre agentes del estado y traficantes alimenta un cinismo legal generalizado entre los residentes de la zona. Este articulo hace tres contribuciones. En primer lugar, expande la literatura sobre relaciones encubiertas entre participantes en el mercado de drogas ilicitas y los agentes del estado al detallar el funcionamiento de la colusion. En segundo lugar, analiza las percepciones sobre la complicidad policial como una fuente no estudiada de cinismo legal. Por ultimo, ofrece una estrategia metodologica para acceder y analizar datos sobre acciones del estado que suelen estar ocultas.

On March 14, 2008, 'Granma' started publication of a new section entitled 'Cartas a la dirección', which printed letters to the editor containing complaints, criticisms, and suggestions. The section rapidly grew in popularity and became the most closely read portion of the Friday paper. This essay engages with three related questions that have theoretical relevance beyond the specific case of Cuba. First, why would the flagship newspaper in a communist regime solicit citizen letters? Second, why would some of these letters be printed? And third, why would news media seek out responses to the letters and comment on unsatisfactory responses? This essay argues that in Cuba, as in other communist regimes, published complaint letters have two functions: the simple printing of select letters facilitates the collective letting off of steam, whereas the publication of responses to the letters by the authorities that were responsible for the infractions outlined in the initial complaint allows the regime to demonstrate that it takes popular input seriously. Therefore, 'Cartas a la dirección' serves as a nonelectoral mechanism of accountability. Resumen El 14 de marzo de 2008, 'Granma inició' la publicación de una nueva sección titulada 'Cartas a la dirección', que publicaba cartas conteniendo quejas, críticas y sugerencias. La sección rápidamente creció en popularidad y se convirtió en el segmento más leído del periódico del viernes. Este ensayo plantea tres preguntas que tienen relevancia teórica más allá del caso específico de Cuba. Primero, ¿por qué el periódico oficial en un régimen comunista solicitaría cartas a los ciudadanos? Segundo, ¿por qué se publicarían algunas de estas cartas? Y en tercer lugar, ¿por qué los medios de comunicación responderían a esas cartas y comentarían las respuestas insatisfactorias? Este artículo argumenta que en Cuba, al igual que en otros regímenes comunistas, las cartas de queja publicadas cumplen dos funciones: la simple publicación de cartas seleccionadas facilita la descarga colectiva de tensión, mientras que la publicación de las respuestas de las autoridades responsables por las infracciones señaladas en la queja inicial permite al régimen demostrar que toma en serio la opinión del pueblo. Por lo tanto, 'Cartas a la dirección' sirve como un mecanismo no electoral de rendición de cuentas.

This study examines the drivers for and consequences of internal migration to household food security in Uganda. Based on the Ugandan National Panel Surveys conducted between 2010/11 and 2015/16, we estimate differences in food energy adequacy of households receiving internal migrants from elsewhere. Besides food energy consumption, this study applies household food consumption score (FCS) and looks at vulnerability in terms of household’s expenditures on food. This enables to explore (a) the extent to which food insecurity is driving internal migration, and (b) whether remittances can reduce food security of the remitter. We find that households are usually worse-off when migrants join the receiving family. This seems a departure from previous studies that tend to find welfare gains to internal migration, mostly due to changes in expenditures or dietary consumption without considering any thresholds for achieving food security. Based on these findings and responding to rising youth employment challenges associated with rapidly growing urban slums in Uganda, policies that simultaneously support employment creation in both urban and rural areas are urgently needed to enable better steering of the flow of voluntary migration and to help ensuring food security.

This essay reviews the following works: In Harm’s Way: the Dynamics of Urban Violence. By Javier Auyero and Maria Fernanda Berti. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015. Pp. xi + 239. $24.95 paper. ISBN: 9780691164779. Violence at the Urban Margins. Edited by Javier Auyero, Philippe Bourgois, and Nancy Scheper-Hughes. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015. Pp. vii + 323. $24.95 paper. ISBN: 9780190221454. Bruno: Conversations with a Brazilian Drug Dealer. By Robert Gay. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2015. Pp. ix + 219. $23.95 paper. ISBN: 9780822358497. The Spectacular Favela: Violence in Modern Brazil. By Erika Robb Larkins. Oakland: University of California Press, 2015. Pp. xi + 231. $29.95 paper. ISBN: 9780520282773. Cities, Business, and the Politics of Urban Violence in Latin America. By Eduardo Moncada. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2016. Pp. vii + 219. $65.00 cloth. ISBN: 9780804794176. Living with Insecurity in a Brazilian Favela: Urban Violence and Daily Life. By R. Ben Penglase. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. 2014. Pp. ix + 197. $26.95 paper. ISBN: 9780813565439.

PurposeThe present study evaluates the impact of special economic zones (SEZs) on poverty, both rural and urban with special reference to Andhra Pradesh in India, using household consumption expenditure data. In addition to estimating the effects of the SEZs on poverty, the authors explore some of the possible mechanisms generating these effects.Design/methodology/approachThe authors apply a difference-in-differences (DID) technique on a pooled, cross-sectional, district-level dataset based on official annual household surveys for the period from 2001 to 2012 to estimate the average effects of SEZs on household expenditure per capita, a commonly used measure of household poverty.FindingsThe establishment of the SEZs constituted a major exogenous shock to rural economies by creating demand for large chunks of land, which had an immediate impact on the economic and social settings of these economies and aggravated rural poverty. However, over time the poverty aggravating effects of SEZs in rural areas dampened. The effects of SEZs on urban poverty are found to be different from those on rural poverty. It is also revealed that the districts with multiple SEZs experienced larger effects than those with only one or two SEZs. Overall, the SEZs did have positive expenditure effects, but this transition might have been accompanied by heightened inequality between the rural and urban areas.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, the authors did not have access to village or municipal-level consumption data. It is therefore assumed here that district level performance is a reliable proxy for the relevant impacts of SEZ operations. Second, panel data, which would allow more precise measurement of effects than the pooled cross section data used in this study, are not available. Third, the authors’ econometric analysis is essentially comparative statics in nature and does not capture possible spillover dynamics, issues of relocation of economic activity, or migration.Practical implicationsFirst, land acquisition is likely to emerge as a major political and social challenge for the localities that host SEZs. For effective policy implementation, it is necessary to establish legal institutions to address this challenge. Second, governments in developing countries often announce new SEZ programmes on a very large scale and insist that they be implemented over short periods of time. The authors recommend that the government should adopt an experimental approach in implementing the policy. Third, the authors provide evidence that in the long run, effects of SEZs hinge on the success of SEZs in attracting investment and generating additional employment. The policy must therefore be informed by rigorous analysis of the potential of SEZs in the country, as well as alternative policy options.Social implicationsThe authors’ results show that large-scale land acquisitions to implement large industrial projects are likely to result in shocks to the rural economy exacerbating rural-urban inequalities: village communities lose their resource base, are marginalised in the process, and, as a result, face economic deprivations. It may lead to severe economic, social and political consequences. The authors’ study implies that any strategy for large-scale industrialisation should take cognisance of its effects on the affected communities and should be designed to include strategies to improve their economic opportunities and to ensure social inclusion.Originality/valueSEZs are one of the most controversial topics within development policy discourse. Their regional development effects are subject to intense debate. Yet, there is surprisingly little systematic evaluation to inform the debate and to guide policymakers. This is one of the earliest studies to assess the poverty effects of SEZs and is the first for India, using household consumption data.

Afro-descendants and indigenous peoples in Latin America face higher poverty rates and are disproportionately represented among the poor. The probability of being poor is between two and three times higher for indigenous and Afro-descendants than whites. Using comparable fiscal incidence analyses for Bolivia, Brazil, and Guatemala, I analyze how much poverty and inequality change in the ethnoracial space after fiscal interventions. Although taxes and transfers tend to reduce the ethnoracial gaps, the change is very small. While per capita cash transfers tend to be higher for the nonwhite population, spending on these programs is too low, especially when compared with the disproportionate number of poor people among nonwhites.

The results of a multisited ethnography developed between 2015 and 2016 among the Saraguros indigenous group of Ecuador allow for the description of nine factors that intervene, paradoxically, in Andean mystical tourism. Essentialist “neo-Incaism,” the concept of pristine nature with “energetic” places, the rise of the ancestral medicine, the idealization of the community as opposite the Western way of life, the institutional recognition of the interculturality and indigenous cultures, the international growth of a “neo-Indian” network, New Age syncretism, the cultural capital of 'yachaks' (shamans), and the possibility of marketing the spiritual in a “fast ritual” format, all these show the multidimensionality of a tourism that eludes a simple categorization as authentic or simulacrum to help us understand—in light of the “glocal” phenomenon—the place in the world that many indigenous groups in Latin America currently occupy. Resumen Los resultados de una etnografía multisituada desarrollada en 2015 y 2016 entre los saraguros, indígenas del Ecuador, permiten describir nueve factores que intervienen, con paradójicas relaciones, en el turismo místico andino. El neoincaismo esencialista, la concepción de una naturaleza prístina con lugares 'energéticos', el auge de la medicina ancestral, la idealización de lo comunitario como opuesto al estilo de vida occidental, el reconocimiento institucional de la interculturalidad y las culturas de los pueblos originarios, la ampliación internacional de las redes de la galaxia neoindia, el sincretismo 'new age', el capital cultural de los 'yachaks' y la posibilidad de mercantilizar lo espiritual bajo formatos de 'fast rituals' muestran la multidimensionalidad de un tipo de turismo que escapa a su simple categorización como auténtico o simulacro, y nos hace comprender —a la luz de un fenómeno 'glocal'— el lugar en el mundo que ocupan actualmente muchos grupos indígenas en Latinoamérica.

This article explains why some indigenous communities in Mexico have been able to resist drug cartels’ attempts to take over their local governments, populations, and territories while others have not. While indigenous customary laws and traditions provide communal accountability mechanisms that make it harder for narcos to take control, they are insufficient. Using a paired comparison of two indigenous regions in the highlands of Guerrero and Chihuahua—both ideal zones for drug cultivation and traffic—we show that the communities most able to resist narco conquest are those that have a history of social mobilization, expanding village-level indigenous customary traditions into regional ethnic autonomy regimes. By scaling up local accountability practices regionally and developing translocal networks of cooperation, indigenous movements have been able to construct mechanisms of internal control and external protection that enable communities to deter the narcos from corrupting local authorities, recruiting young men, and establishing criminal governance regimes through force. Resumen Este artículo explica por qué algunas comunidades indígenas en México han podido resistir los intentos de los cárteles de la droga de conquistar sus gobiernos locales, poblaciones y territorios y otras no. Aunque los sistemas normativos indígenas dotan a las comunidades de mecanismos internos de 'accountability' que le dificultan al narco tomar el control, estas instituciones resultan insuficientes para contener al narco. A partir de una comparación de dos regiones indígenas de las sierras de Guerrero y Chihuahua –dos zonas ideales para el cultivo y tráfico de drogas– mostramos que las comunidades más capaces de resistir la conquista del narco son las que han sido parte de una larga historia de movilización social, mediante la cual han logrado expandir los sistemas normativos locales para construir regímenes de autonomía étnica regionales. Al escalar las prácticas locales de 'accountability' a nivel regional y desarrollar redes trans-locales de cooperación, los movimientos indígenas han desarrollado los mecanismos de control interno y de protección externa que les permiten a las comunidades evitar que los narcos corrompan a sus autoridades locales, recluten a sus jóvenes y establezcan regímenes de gobernanza criminal a través de la fuerza.

What are the factors behind citizen support for the use of extralegal violence in Latin America? The prevailing argument is that, in countries overwhelmed by skyrocketing levels of criminal violence, people endorse the use of extralegal violence as a way to cope with insecurity. Other scholars believe that support for extralegal violence is the result of state withdrawal and failure. Few empirical studies, however, have tested any of these arguments. In this article, using regional data from the 2012 AmericasBarometer, we examine different explanations regarding citizen support for the utilization of extralegal violence in Latin America and the Caribbean. We developed a multi-item scale that gauges support for different forms of extralegal violence across the Americas, and we hypothesize that support for extralegal violence is higher not only in countries with extreme levels of violence but especially in countries in which people distrust the political system. Results indicate that support for extralegal violence is significantly higher in societies characterized by little support for the existing political system. Resumen ?Cuales son los factores que determinan el apoyo ciudadano al uso de la violencia extralegal en America Latina? El argumento predominante es que en paises con niveles altos de violencia criminal, las personas apoyan el uso de la violencia extralegal como un mecanismo para hacer frente a la inseguridad. Otros trabajos consideran que el apoyo a la violencia extralegal es el resultado del fracaso o ausencia del Estado. Pocos estudios empiricos, sin embargo, han tratado de probar dichos argumentos. En este articulo, utilizando datos regionales de la encuesta de 2012 del Barometro de las Americas, analizamos las diferentes explicaciones detras del apoyo ciudadano al uso de la violencia extralegal en America Latina y el Caribe. Desarrollamos una escala que contiene multiples items, la cual estima el apoyo a distintas formas de violencia ilegal en las Americas y planteamos la hipotesis de que el apoyo a la violencia extralegal no es solo alto en paises con niveles de violencia extrema, sino que lo es especialmente en aquellos en los cuales las personas no creen en el sistema politico. Los resultados obtenidos indican que el apoyo a la violencia extralegal es significativamente mas alto en sociedades caracterizadas por bajos niveles de apoyo al sistema politico existente.

This essay reviews the following works: Electric Santeria: Racial and Sexual Assemblages of Transnational Religion. By Aisha M. Beliso-De Jesus. New York: Columbia University Press, 2015. Pp. ix + 271. $30.00 paperback. ISBN: 9780231173179. Embracing Protestantism: Black Identities in the Atlantic World. By John W. Catron. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2016. Pp. ix + 299. $74.95 hardcover. ISBN: 9780813061634. Black Saint of the Americas: The Life and Afterlife of Martin de Porres. By Celia Cussen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. Pp. xi + 285. $90.00 hardcover. ISBN: 9781107034372. Afro-Cuban Religious Arts: Popular Expressions of Cultural Inheritance in Espiritismo and Santeria. By Kristine Juncker. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2014. Pp. xi + 169. $74.95 hardcover. ISBN: 9780813049700. The Black Christ of Esquipulas: Religion and Identity in Guatemala. By Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2016. Pp. viii + 199. $55.00 hardcover. ISBN: 9780803268432.

This essay reviews the following works: Authoritarian El Salvador: Politics and the Origins of the Military Regimes, 1880–1940. By Erik Ching. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2014. Pp. ix + 496. $55.00 paper. ISBN: 9780268023751. The Rise of Constitutional Government in the Iberian Atlantic World: The Impact of the Cadiz Constitution of 1812. Edited by Scott Eastman and Natalia Sobrevilla Perea. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2015. Pp. vii + 320. $64.95 cloth. ISBN: 9780817318567. Armies, Politics, and Revolution: Chile, 1808–1826. By Juan Luis Ossa Santa Cruz. Liverpool: University of Liverpool Press, 2015. Pp. ix + 288. ₤75.00 cloth. ISBN: 9781781381328. The Vanguard of the Atlantic World: Creating Modernity, Nation, and Democracy in Nineteenth-Century Latin America. By James E. Sanders. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2014. Pp. ix + 352. $25.95 paper. ISBN: 9780822357803.

This paper proposes a novel damage detection and localization method of civil structures using a windowed Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network. A sequence of windowed samples are extracted from acceleration responses in a novel data pre-processing pipeline, and an LSTM network is developed to classify the signals into multiple classes. Predicted classification of a signal by the LSTM network into one of the damage levels indicates the presence of damage. Furthermore, multiple structural responses obtained from the vibration sensors placed on a structure are provided as input to the LSTM model, and the resulting predicted class probabilities are used to identify the locations with a high probability of damage. The proposed method is validated on the experimental benchmark data of the Qatar University Grandstand Simulator (QUGS) for binary classification, as well as the Z24 bridge benchmark data for multiclass damage classification associated with different levels of pier settlement and the numbers of ruptured tendons. The results show that the proposed LSTM-based method performs on par with the one dimensional convolutional neural network (1D CNN) on the QUGS dataset and outperforms 1D CNN on the Z24 bridge dataset. The novelty of this paper lies in the use of recurrent neural network-based windowed LSTM for multiclass damage identification and localization using vibration response of the structure.

Agriculture has been a key issue of North-South struggle at the WTO. Emerging powers like China, India and Brazil have portrayed themselves as leaders of the Global South, crusading to make the trading system fairer for developing countries. This article analyzes three cases – the cotton dispute, subsidies and public stockholding – that have been at the center of WTO negotiations and dispute settlement on agriculture since the collapse of the Doha Round. While presenting themselves as champions of the developing world, I show that the emerging powers have been advancing their own interests, often at the expense of other developing countries.

Can a society suffering contests between rich and poor achieve good governance in the face of endemic corruption? We examine a stylized poor state with weak institutions in which a “culture of evasion” damages state authority. Many evade tax payments, limiting the state’s economic development capability. In the face of extensive corruption, it is challenging for the state to establish and implement policies reflecting good governance: for example, a government that is accountable and transparent, efficient and effective, and follows the rule of law. The rich and poor possess different views on what is the appropriate level of enforcing proper payments of taxes due. The government needs to design an effective tax administration policy that minimizes corruption and is sensitive to the present and future needs of society. To do this, it must understand what drives such widespread corruption.

The use and appropriation of digital information and communication technologies by Mapuche communicators and activists has turned into a new process of political and identity innovation in the context of the Chilean–Mapuche intercultural and interethnic conflict. This study aims to understand the Mapuche intercultural dialogue. Based on a corpus of semi-structured interviews with Mapuche communicators, we interpret and analyze their discourses in relation to the dissemination and/or analysis of the indigenous digital informative media. The results are built upon the valorization and recognition of the mediations that the Mapuche agents develop around their own e-communication praxis. This interpretation derives from applying theoretical–conceptual categories which have enabled us to address technological, technopolitical, (inter)cultural, and communicative dimensions regarding the Mapuche e-communication work.

International audience; In light of the ongoing agrobiodiversity erosion process, we delve into the history of crop genetic resources governing instruments to show how the international agro- biodiversity regime has evolved from a limited appreciation of the contribution of farmers/peasants to a broader recognition of the critical role indigenous peoples, local communities, and farmers play in shaping and cultivating agrobiodiversity. We explore the genesis and development of various international soft and hard law instruments that make up this international agrobiodiversity regime. We focus on the period stretching from the 1983 Food and Agriculture Organization’s Interna- tional Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources, to the 2018 United Nations Dec- laration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas. The reflexion is organised around three lines. First, we show the advent of the concept of “farmers’ rights” and underline its initial indeterminacy. Then, we move on to the issue of farmers/peasants in the aftermath of the Convention on Biological Diversity and analyse the crystallisation of debates around incentivising and driving on-farm maintenance of crop genetic resources. Finally, we conclude by outlining the new framework offered by biocultural approaches to rethink peasants’ rights.

Aim/purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze regional trade integration of 10 Central and Eastern Europe countries (CEE-10) during the 2004-2018 period, identify regional- and country-level integration patterns and attribute them to potential causes indicated by the literature. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employed literature-based trade integration indicators to data on CEE-10 trade in goods and conducted a review of empirical studies investigating trade integration determinants in CEE. Findings – The results evidence an advancing regional trade integration with decreasing pace in recent years. The study has found all CEE countries to be more integrated with the region. Moreover, several integration patterns have been distinguished. Research implications/limitations – The study found a significant literature gap con- cerning CEE regional trade integration and its determinants. Its limitations refer to: lack of product-groups-level trade data and narrow scope of trade flows (in goods only). Originality/value/contribution – The paper’s value-added stems from a multi-perspective analysis of the CEE regional trade integration and a discussion of region- and country- -level integration patterns. Keywords: Central and Eastern Europe, regional trade integration, trade integration, global value chains, economic integration. JEL Classification: F14, F15, F60.

Tanzania's President sent a plane to Madagascar in May 2020 to bring a shipment of Covid-Organics, a purported cure and prevention for COVID-19. The herbal remedy was described as a gift to help African countries in need. Drawing on preliminary data in English and Kiswahili from unstructured participant observation, social and legacy media available online and shared through contact channels, and ongoing conversations, we explore the Tanzanian policy response to COVID-19. What can the exemplary case of Covid-Organics in Tanzania help us to understand about South-South humanitarian assistance (SSHA) in times of crisis? We suggest that Covid-Organics has enabled the government to project a link to latent debates about Pan-Africanism and Julius Nyerere's legacy and Madagascar's SSHA has provided an opportunity for a public reflection on Africa's place in the world. For some, the remedy's ‘Africanness’ is its comparative advantage, even promising a continental renaissance. For others, the lack of scientific evidence or approval by global health authorities like WHO is delegitimizing. These findings suggest that receivers of SSHA make sense of it in both a broad, post-colonial discursive context and in a specific context of local contestation. If the promise of this particular form of aid is its ability to transcend deep divisions between North and South, the case of Covid-Organics suggests that SSHA draws on deep ideologies of Pan-Africanism; is increasingly important in crises that are global; and like other forms of humanitarianism, reflects elite politics and priorities rather than prioritizing the distribution of humanitarian goods and decreasing inequality.

Brazil stands out at the global level for having implemented several policies intending to promote agroecology as a productive paradigm for small-holder farmers. However, the impacts of this process of institutionalization of agroecology still lack research and debates that evaluate the effectiveness of these policies. In this paper, we assess and discuss the impacts of a policy specifically focused on education in agroecology, the support to the establishment of Centers for the Study of Agroecology and Organic Production (NEAs) in higher education institutions throughout Brazil. NEAs bring together teachers, researchers, and students who engage in teaching, research, and extension activities in partnerships with peasant farmers, their organizations, and rural extension workers. The hypothesis that guides our analysis is that this support to establish NEAs allowed redistribution of symbolic power in the universities where they were established, supporting agroecology to gain greater legitimacy inside and outside the university field. Based on an in-depth study of four NEAs, the NEAs are evaluated from the perspective of social fields in dispute. Our findings suggest that the State support to university groups dedicated to the promotion of agroecology has allowed the construction of what we have named agroecological spaces, which symbolically dispute the dominant paradigms in educational institutions, supporting the constitution of agroecological territories., RESUMEN. El Brasil se destaca a nivel mundial por haber implementado varias políticas destinadas a promover la agroecología como paradigma productivo para los pequeños agricultores. Sin embargo, los impactos de este proceso de institucionalización de la agroecología aún carecen de investigaciones y debates que evalúen la efectividad de estas políticas. En este trabajo, evaluamos y discutimos los impactos de una política específicamente centrada en la educación en agroecología, el apoyo al establecimiento de Centros para el Estudio de la Agroecología (NEAs) en educación superior en todo Brasil. Los NEAs reúnen a maestros, investigadores y estudiantes que participan en actividades de enseñanza, investigación y extensión en asociación con campesinos, sus organizaciones y trabajadores de extensión rural. La hipótesis que guía nuestro análisis es que este apoyo para establecer NEAs permitió la redistribución del poder simbólico en las universidades donde se establecieron, apoyando a la agroecología para ganar mayor legitimidad dentro y fuera del ámbito universitario. Sobre la base de un estudio en profundidad de cuatro NEAs, los NEAs se evalúan desde la perspectiva de los campos sociales en disputa. Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que el apoyo del Estado a los grupos universitarios dedicados a la promoción de la agroecología ha permitido la construcción de lo que hemos denominado espacios agroecológicos, que simbólicamente disputan los paradigmas dominantes en las instituciones educativas, apoyando la constitución de territorios agroecológicos., O Brasil se destaca em nível global por ter implementado políticas com a intenção de promover a agroecologia como paradigma produtivo para a agricultura familiar. No entanto, a eficácia dessas políticas ainda carece de pesquisas e debates que permitam a sua avaliação e a compreensão dos impactos desse processo de institucionalização da agroecologia. Neste artigo, avaliamos e discutimos o apoio à criação de Núcleos de Estudo em Agroecologia (NEAs) em instituições de ensino superior em todo o Brasil. Os NEAs reúnem professores, pesquisadores e estudantes que se engajam em atividades de ensino, pesquisa e extensão em parcerias com camponeses, suas organizações e extensionistas rurais. A hipótese que norteia nossa análise é que o apoio ao estabelecimento dos NEAs permitiu uma redistribuição do poder simbólico dentro das universidades onde eles foram estabelecidos, permitindo que a agroecologia ganhasse maior legitimidade. Com base em um estudo aprofundado de quatro NEAs, os avaliamos na perspectiva de campos sociais em disputa. Nossos achados sugerem que o apoio do Estado aos grupos universitários dedicados à promoção da agroecologia permitiu a construção do que chamamos de espaços agroecológicos, que simbolicamente contestam os paradigmas dominantes nas instituições de ensino, apoiando a constituição dos territórios agroecológicos. Palavras-chave: poder simbólico, agroecologia, transdisciplinaridade, educação superior, Brasil. Winning Hearts and Minds Through a Policy Promoting the Agroecological Paradigm in Universities ABSTRACT. Brazil stands out at the global level for having implemented several policies intending to promote agroecology as a productive paradigm for small-holder farmers. However, the impacts of this process of institutionalization of agroecology still lack research and debates that evaluate the effectiveness of these policies. In this paper, we assess and discuss the impacts of a policy specifically focused on education in agroecology, the support to the establishment of Centers for the Study of Agroecology and Organic Production (NEAs) in higher education institutions throughout Brazil. NEAs bring together teachers, researchers, and students who engage in teaching, research, and extension activities in partnerships with peasant farmers, their organizations, and rural extension workers. The hypothesis that guides our analysis is that this support to establish NEAs allowed redistribution of symbolic power in the universities where they were established, supporting agroecology to gain greater legitimacy inside and outside the university field. Based on an in-depth study of four NEAs, the NEAs are evaluated from the perspective of social fields in dispute. Our findings suggest that the State support to university groups dedicated to the promotion of agroecology has allowed the construction of what we have named agroecological spaces, which symbolically dispute the dominant paradigms in educational institutions, supporting the constitution of agroecological territories. Keywords: symbolic power, agroecology, transdisciplinary, higher education, Brazil. Ganar corazones y mentes a través de una política que promueva el paradigma agroecológico en las universidades RESUMEN. El Brasil se destaca a nivel mundial por haber implementado varias políticas destinadas a promover la agroecología como paradigma productivo para los pequeños agricultores. Sin embargo, los impactos de este proceso de institucionalización de la agroecología aún carecen de investigaciones y debates que evalúen la efectividad de estas políticas. En este trabajo, evaluamos y discutimos los impactos de una política específicamente centrada en la educación en agroecología, el apoyo al establecimiento de Centros para el Estudio de la Agroecología (NEAs) en educación superior en todo Brasil. Los NEAs reúnen a maestros, investigadores y estudiantes que participan en actividades de enseñanza, investigación y extensión en asociación con campesinos, sus organizaciones y trabajadores de extensión rural. La hipótesis que guía nuestro análisis es que este apoyo para establecer NEAs permitió la redistribución del poder simbólico en las universidades donde se establecieron, apoyando a la agroecología para ganar mayor legitimidad dentro y fuera del ámbito universitario. Sobre la base de un estudio en profundidad de cuatro NEAs, los NEAs se evalúan desde la perspectiva de los campos sociales en disputa. Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que el apoyo del Estado a los grupos universitarios dedicados a la promoción de la agroecología ha permitido la construcción de lo que hemos denominado espacios agroecológicos, que simbólicamente disputan los paradigmas dominantes en las instituciones educativas, apoyando la constitución de territorios agroecológicos. Palabras clave: poder simbólico, agroecología, transdisciplinar, educación superior, Brasil.