Search

BackgroundTemuco and Padre Las Casas, Chile, have severe problems of air pollution due to the extensive use of firewood for heating. The local authorities have made various efforts to improve fuel quality and introduce greater regulation into the market. Certified firewood guarantees low levels of humidity (MethodsThis study was conducted with a cross-sectional non-experimental design. Following a non-probability sampling by convenience, we applied 355 surveys to participants who use a firewood system. Nonparametric comparisons analyses were made to identify differences in the use of certified wood by socio demographic variables. In addition, an Ordinal Logistic Regression was used to analyze the relation between the use of certified firewood and various psycho-social variables.ResultsHalf of the users of wood-burning stoves participating in the study declared that they “never” (38%) or “almost never” (12%) used certified firewood to heat their home. Situational and product-related variables, such as price, availability, convenience and time are fundamental to people’s purchase behavior, partially explaining the low public interest shown in this product. On the other hand, the results indicate the influence of socio-demographic variables such as income level and the presence of older adults at home, as well as psycho-social variables which include how much participants pay attention to air quality, the information level they have about it, the feelings of discomfort due to air pollution and concern for its effects on health.ConclusionsFirst, increasing information levels and awareness among the population through communication campaigns is necessary to promote the sustainable urban energy transition in southern Chile. Second, information strategies may be complemented by boosting employment, driving investment, improving income, and strengthening the mechanisms of social protection, especially for the most vulnerable groups, to be effective. Finally, protecting and stimulating the formal trade in firewood could increase the points of sale of certified firewood, which would facilitate user access to cleaner fuels.

On March 27, 2021, unknown attackers ambushed a press team working with Chile’s main television channel on the road between Tirua and Canete in Arauco province, in the Bio Bio region. The area is a...

Cities in southern Chile face serious environmental pollution due to extensive use of firewood for heating and cooking. Lack of access to cleaner energy fuel, low-efficiency building materials, and...

This research investigates whether Indigenous Populations are disproportionately vulnerable to COVID-19 infection and deaths in Chile. To answer this question, we use a regression model to analyze data from the Chilean government. Our analysis indicates that municipalities with a higher proportion of Indigenous people evinced higher rates of infection and deaths to COVID-19. Indigenous groups were not only highly affected at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak; their rate of infection and mortality has increased as the virus has spread to the general population. We argue that the COVID-19 pandemic can have devastating effects on Indigenous communities, mainly because it increases the historically accumulated inequalities and structural racism linked to colonization, neoliberalism, and neo-extractivism in Chile.

High-stakes testing pressures schools to raise test scores, but schools respond to pressure in different ways. Some responses produce real, broad increases in learning, but other responses can raise reported test scores without increasing learning. We estimate the effect of an accountability program on reading scores and math scores in Chile. Over a 6-year period, fourth-grade reading and math scores rose by 0.2 to 0.3 standard deviations, on average, and half the rise was due to the accountability program. However, many schools, especially schools serving disadvantaged students, inflated their accountability ratings by having low-performing students miss high-stakes tests. To encourage healthier responses to accountability, we recommend setting accountability goals that are attainable for schools with disadvantaged students, and providing incentives for all students to take high-stakes tests.

Enrolment in higher education has risen dramatically in Latin America, especially in Chile. Yet graduation and persistence rates remain low. One way to improve graduation and persistence is to use data and analytics to identify students at risk of dropout, target interventions, and evaluate interventions’ effectiveness at improving student success. We illustrate the potential of this approach using data from eight Chilean universities. Results show that data available at matriculation are only weakly predictive of persistence, while prediction improves dramatically once data on university grades become available. Some predictors of persistence are under policy control. Financial aid predicts higher persistence, and being denied a first-choice major predicts lower persistence. Student success programs are ineffective at some universities; they are more effective at others, but when effective they often fail to target the highest risk students. Universities should use data regularly and systematically to identify high-risk students, target them with interventions, and evaluate those interventions’ effectiveness.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: In south-central Chile, outdoor air pollution primarily originates as household air pollution from wood burning for heating. The effect of COVID-19 lockdowns on ambient air poll...

Debates in education policy draw on different theories about how to raise children’s achievement. The school competition theory holds that achievement rises when students can choose among competing schools. The school resources theory holds that achievement rises with schools’ resources per student. The family resources theory holds that achievement rises as parents become more educated and earn higher incomes. We test all three theories in Chile between 2002 and 2013, when reading and math scores rose by 0.2 to 0.3 standard deviations, as school competition, school resources, and family resources all increased. We compare Chilean municipalities in a difference-in-differences analysis, asking whether test scores rose fastest in municipalities with greater increases in school competition, school resources, or family resources. We find that municipal test scores did not rise with school competition but did rise with family resources (parental education, not income) and, to a smaller extent, with school resources (as measured by class sizes). Results favor the family resource theory, and to a lesser extent the school resource theory, but not the school competition theory.

Studies on air pollution suggest that individuals perceive their neighborhoods as less polluted than their cities, termed the “halo effect.” This effect is important because how people perceive air quality is highly correlated with whether they will develop coping strategies to reduce health risks from air pollution. We conducted 489 household surveys in two municipalities in south-central Chile, both highly polluted with smoke from wood-burning stoves, to identify differences in perception of air quality at the city, neighborhood, and household levels. We found evidence of a home halo effect even though studies show indoor pollution in these municipalities might be equal to or higher than outdoor pollution. The findings are relevant for local and central governments to improve their communication strategies, which to date have been focused on providing data about outdoor air pollution aggregated at the city level. More detailed and disaggregated information on the health risks linked to indoor air quality can improve residents’ awareness and engagement in developing protective and coping behaviors concerning air pollution.

Temuco and Padre Las Casas are two of the most polluted cities in southern Chile; around 90% of the particulate matter emissions are produced by wood-burning stoves used for domestic heating and cooking. Surveys were collected from 489 residents to examine differences between applicants and non-applicants to a programme to replace wood-burning stoves with pellet stoves. Results show that participants who applied to the programme are, on average, older than non-applicants, are more likely to have a respiratory impairment, tend to evaluate indoor air quality worse than non-applicants and tend to perceive the health effects of air pollution as more severe. The findings also suggest that motivation to improve air quality is a key aspect for understanding the adoption of pellet stoves when the requirement for initial investment is removed. Practical implications relating to the role of sociodemographic and psychological factors in the decision to replace heating systems are discussed to support the design of more effective interventions to mitigate wood smoke pollution.

The effect of COVID-19 lockdowns on ambient air pollution levels in urban south-central Chile, where outdoor air pollution primarily originates indoors from wood burning for heating, may differ from trends in cities where transportation and industrial emission sources dominate. This quasi-experimental study compared hourly fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM10) particulate matter measurements from six air monitors (three beta attenuation monitors; three low-cost sensors) in commercial and low/middle-income residential areas of Temuco, Chile between 2019 and 2020. The potential impact of varying annual meterological conditions on air quality was also assessed. During COVID-19 lockdown, average monthly ambient PM2.5 concentrations in a commercial and middle-income residential neighborhood of Temuco were up to 50% higher (from 12 to 18 μg/m3) and 59% higher (from 22 to 35 μg/m3) than 2019 levels, respectively. Conversely, PM2.5 levels decreased by up to 52% (from 43 to 21 μg/m3) in low-income areas. The fine fraction of PM10 in April 2020 was 48% higher than in April 2017-2019 (from 50% to 74%) in a commercial area. These changes did not appear to result from meterological differences between years. During COVID-19 lockdown, higher outdoor PM2.5 pollution from wood heating existed in more affluent areas of Temuco, while PM2.5 concentrations declined among poorer households refraining from wood heating. To reduce air pollution and energy poverty in south-central Chile, affordability of clean heating fuels (e.g. electricity) should be a policy priority.

IntroductionIn south-central Chile, outdoor air pollution primarily originates as household air pollution from wood burning for heating. The effect of COVID-19 lockdowns on ambient air pollution levels in urban south-central Chile may therefore be different from trends observed in cities where transportation and industrial emission sources dominate.MethodsThis quasi-experimental study compares hourly fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM10) particulate matter measurements from six air monitoring stations (three reference grade beta attenuation monitors and three low-cost SPS30 sensors) in commercial and low or middle-income residential areas of Temuco and Padre Las Casas, Chile between March-September 2019 and 2020 (spanning COVID-19 lockdown).ResultsIn Padre Las Casas, average outdoor PM2.5 concentrations peaked above 100 ug/m3 from 8-10 pm during winter (May-August) 2019 and 2020, when wood burning is common. During COVID-19 lockdown, average monthly ambient PM2.5 concentrations in a commercial and middle-income residential area of Temuco were up to 50% higher (12 µg/m3 to 18 µg/m3) and 59% higher (22 µg/m3 to 35 µg/m3) than 2019 levels, respectively. Conversely, PM2.5 levels decreased by up to 52% (43 µg/m3 to 21 µg/m3) in low-income neighborhoods. The night-time (8 pm-9 am) mass percent of PM10 that was PM2.5 during strict quarantine (April 2020) increased by 48% above April 2017-2019 proportions (50% to 74%) in a commercial area of Temuco.ConclusionsWood burning for home heating was responsible for a significantly higher proportion of ambient PM2.5 pollution in commercial areas and middle-income neighborhoods of Temuco during COVID-19 lockdown, compared to winter months in 2019. Constrastingly, energy insecure households likely refrained from wood heating during lockdown, leading to PM2.5 concentration declines. To reduce the double burden of ambient air pollution and energy insecurity in south-central Chile, affordability of clean heating fuels (e.g. electricity, liquefied petroleum gas) should be a policy priority.

Chile has embraced the expansion of monoculture forest plantations of exotic Monterey pine and eucalyptus as part of its development strategy. While forestry is considered financially successful and meets sustainability objectives, the increase in forest plantations across southern Chile has received harsh critiques for exacerbating conflict over Indigenous land rights, producing negative environmental outcomes, and increasing poverty and inequality. There are also claims that forest plantation expansion has led to an abandonment of the countryside. Migration is viewed as a result of the socioeconomic challenges that forest plantations produce at the local level, however, the linkages have not been explored. We examine the linkages between forest plantations and migration through two questions: Is there a relationship between forest plantation cover change and out-migration from rural areas? If so, what are the factors that explain this process? We use a difference-in-differences method analyzing panel data from the Chilean census and from CONAF, the Chilean National Forest Corporation, complemented by interviews, mapping workshops, and focus groups to answer these questions. Results indicate a statistically significant relationship between expanding forest plantations and population decline in rural areas. Qualitative data show that this expansion led to displacement of residents, declines in employment opportunities, and agriculture difficulties.

The intermediate-sized cities of southern Chile experience days of high pollution levels every winter due to the use of wood-burning stoves. Several studies have analysed the factors that hinder energy transition and the social acceptance of measures to improve air quality, the consequences of which are disturbing. However, they have mainly focused on health issues without considering the social impacts of air pollution. This study aims to assess whether exposure to outdoor air pollution is associated with school absenteeism. We analysed the records of approx. 5,000 students in the fourth grade from 25 schools in five cities in southern Chile (2010–2017). Using a fixed-effects model and applying it to the school level, we were able to estimate the effect of air pollution on absenteeism from school after controlling for the effects of individual characteristics. Previous studies have found that independent of air pollution, students from low-income families have a higher absenteeism rate. Our findings suggest that as air pollution worsens, pupils from middle and high-income households are also more likely to miss school days. We argue that this is, presumably, because high-income families are able to develop protective behaviour such as bringing their children to the doctor or keeping them at home on highly polluted days.

This study analyzes the role of the affect heuristic, risk perceptions, and air quality and sociodemographic factors in the support for policies to control urban air pollution. The sample includes 489 participants residing in Temuco and Padre Las Casas, suburban areas located in southern Chile, affected by the smoke that wood-burning stoves and cookers produce. In line with previous studies, the results show that the rejection of pollution mitigation policies is associated with a positive affect to heat homes with wood. Awareness and risk perception also seem to be relevant factors, but the effect of the latter on the support for policies ceases to be significant when it is controlled by key sociodemographic variables such as household income. The study findings contribute to the theories of processing information about risk, when suggesting that emotions and awareness play an important role in the support for policies to control air pollution and that, also, structural factors like household income cannot be avoided. Finally, the implications for urban energy transition processes are discussed.

In southern Chile, epidemiological studies have linked high levels of air pollution produced by the use of wood-burning stoves with the incidence of numerous diseases. Using a quasi-experimental design, this study explores the potential of participatory sensing strategies to transform experiences, perceptions, attitudes, and daily routine activities in 15 households equipped with wood-burning stoves in the city of Temuco, Chile. The results suggest that the experience of using a low-cost sensor improves household members' awareness levels of air pollution. However, the information provided by the sensors does not seem to improve the participants' self-efficacy to control air quality and protect themselves from pollution. The high degree of involvement with the participatory sensing experience indicates that the distribution of low-cost sensors could be a key element in the risk communication policies.

Since the 1980s, forest plantations have expanded globally in response to the commercial demand for wood products. Research has focused mainly on the economic and environmental impacts (carbon reduction) of the forestry industry. There has been less interest in the social impact of large-scale forestry plantations; in particular, what has been the effect of the expansion of tree plantations on local communities. This research focuses on this issue and evaluates the positive (employment and income) and negative (poverty and income inequality) externalities of the expansion of the forestry industry in Indigenous and non-Indigenous population located in six regions of Southern Chile, where 73% of the rural Indigenous people live, over the period 1997-2015. The findings show that the expansion of the forestry industry has not reduced unemployment or improved incomes for the Indigenous or non-Indigenous population. On the contrary, it has increased poverty and inequality between them.

Various medium-sized cities in southern Chile are saturated by air pollution caused by woodsmoke. In this study, we developed a segmentation model to assess the public’s perceptions, understanding of health risks and emotional responses to poor air quality. To date, this is the first segmentation model dealing with public perception in cities contaminated by woodsmoke. A survey ( N = 489) was conducted in Temuco and Padre las Casas, Chile, which included questions regarding attitudes, sociodemographic factors, and health care behaviors, to obtain information for mitigation initiatives. Through a cluster analysis, three population segments were identified that related differently to environmental pollution, which were constructed based on seven psychosocial variables. Different sociodemographic profiles and self-reported behavioral patterns were found, which should guide policies aimed at improving air quality in cities contaminated by pollution from wood-burning stoves.

Several cities in southern Chile are immersed in energy transition processes due to the severe air pollution that the massive use of firewood for domestic heating and cooking has generated. Semi-structured interviews and news analysis of local newspapers were combined to explore the narratives of residents of Temuco and Padre Las Casas, two of the most polluted cities in Latin America. The study uses some aspects of the innovation systems theory to try to understand the social origins of the narratives of resistance to technological change in a city where most homes use wood-burning stoves and cookers. Few studies have employed narratives to study urban energy transitions. A rich narrative about the complexity of technological change emerged from the interviews, offering valuable insights into energy transition research. The results show the relevance of early events in energy transitions in the development of these transitions. The narrative dichotomy between hero and horror stories emerges as a social mechanism capable of slowing the diffusion of emerging energy technologies. The findings of this study suggest that narratives of resistance to change constitute a critical issue that local governments must learn to manage in the transitions toward scenarios of greater urban sustainability.

A key assumption of school choice and competition policies is that parents’ most important priority when choosing a school (if not the only one), is the quality of the school. However, evidence about the school’s attributes that in reality drive parents’ school choosing is still scarce. We use census data from a parents’ survey in Chile, a country with a national school choice and competition system, to describe the most common attributes that parents consider when choosing a school and assess how the probability of prioritizing those attributes varies by parents’ socioeconomic characteristics, while controlling for other characteristics of the family. We find that parents prioritize school’s proximity, quality and whether the school provides religious education when choosing a school. Furthermore, the probability that parents prioritize proximity is larger for parents of low-socioeconomic status, while the probability of prioritizing quality and religious education is larger for parents with high socioeconomic status. These findings show that only advantaged families make decisions regarding schools based on their quality, and therefore, school choice and competition policies might have a limited benefit for disadvantaged students, possibly maintaining or reinforcing socioeconomic segregation in the education system.

A key assumption of school choice and competition policies is that parents’ most important (if not only) priority when choosing a school is its quality. However, evidence about which of a school's attributes really drives parental choice is still scarce. We use census data from a parent questionnaire in Chile, a country with a national school choice and competition system, to describe the attributes most commonly considered by parents when choosing a school, and to assess how the probability of prioritizing those attributes varies with the parents’ socioeconomic characteristics, while controlling for other characteristics of the family. We find that parents choosing a school prioritize its proximity, its quality, and whether it provides religious education. Furthermore, the probability of parents prioritizing proximity is higher for parents of low socioeconomic status, while the probability of them prioritizing quality and religious education is higher for parents of high socioeconomic status. These findings show that only advantaged families choose schools based on their quality, and therefore school choice and competition policies may offer a limited benefit for disadvantaged pupils, possibly maintaining or reinforcing socioeconomic segregation in the education system.

Debates in education policy draw on different theories about children’s achievement. The school resource theory holds that achievement will rise when schools are given more resources, such as larger budgets and smaller classes. The school competition theory holds that achievement rises when schools compete for students, though critics counter that school choice leads to greater segregation. The family resources theory holds that children’s achievement is shaped less by schools than by parental income and education. We test all three theories in Chile between 2002 and 2013, when reading and math scores rose by 0.2-0.3 standard deviations. Rising test scores are popularly attributed to Chile’s school choice system, the largest in the world, but Chile has also experienced substantial increases in parental income and education, along with reductions in class size. The results favor the family resource theory. In a longitudinal regression with municipality fixed effects, we find that at least half of the rise in test scores was due to increases in parental education, though not to increases in family income. Little of the rise was due to shrinking class sizes, and none was due to school competition. Results for segregation were more fragile, but lent limited support to the view that segregation increased with school choice.