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Eduardo Moncada—Best Paper Prize

The REPAL 2019 Best Paper Committee is delighted to award the Best Paper Prize to Eduardo Moncada for “The Political Economy of Resistance to Criminal Victimization in Mexico.” Moncada’s paper begins with a fascinating and pressing question at the intersection of political economy, security, and collective action: When and how do victims of violent organized crime—particularly business firms—resist victimization under criminal protection rackets? Moncada compares the strategies of firms in the avocado and berry sectors in Michoacán, Mexico that have been targeted by the same drug trafficking organization—yet with divergent results. Drawing on ethnographic research and interviews conducted during extensive and difficult fieldwork, Moncada argues that different legacies of economic incorporation under NAFTA endowed the two sectors with distinct organizational resources, making it easier for avocado producers than berry producers to sustain coordinated, autonomous, and effective resistance. This paper is part of a larger book project, and will be a must-read for anyone interested in the politics of organized crime and security, business politics, and collective action in response to threats of violence.

 

Los miembros del comité de selección del mejor paper de REPAL 2019 se complacen en otorgar el premio al mejor paper a Eduardo Moncada por su artículo The Political Economy of Resistance to Criminal Victimization in Mexico. Moncada plantea una pregunta en la intersección de la economía política, la seguridad y la acción colectiva: ¿Cuándo y cómo las víctimas de la violencia del crimen organizado, en particular las empresas comerciales, se resisten a la victimización? Moncada compara las estrategias de empresas en los sectores del aguacate y las bayas en Michoacán, México. Si bien empresas en estos dos sectores han sido atacadas por una misma organización de narcotraficantes, sus estrategias de resistencia generaron resultados divergentes. En base a trabajo etnográfico y entrevistas realizadas durante un extenso y difícil trabajo de campo, Moncada ofrece una explicación y argumenta que diferentes legados de incorporación económica en el marco del NAFTA dotaron a los dos sectores de distintos recursos organizativos. Estos distintos recursos han permitido a los productores de aguacate, a diferencia de los productores de bayas, mantener una resistencia más coordinada, autónoma y efectiva. Este paper es parte de un proyecto de libro y será una lectura obligatoria para cualquier persona interesada en la política del crimen organizado y la seguridad, la política empresarial y la acción colectiva en respuesta a la violencia.

 

 

Sebastián Etchemendy—Honorable Mention

The REPAL 2019 Best Paper Committee is delighted to award an honorable mention to Sebastián Etchemendy for “The Construction and Stabilization of Segmented Neo-Corporatism: Institutional Legacies, Left Power and Wage Coordination in Uruguay (2005-2017)”. Etchemendy studies Uruguay as a deviant case: going against regional, and probably global, trend lines, Uruguay recentralized collective bargaining under the governments of the Broad Front (FA). Drawing on a wealth of evidence, including fieldwork in Uruguay, Etchemendy explains the origins of wage bargaining. He argues that the legacy of a labor law framework, and a unified labor movement, were combined with FA’s decisive institutional organization from above to launch “neo-corporatist” wage coordination in 2005-10. The article also explains the stabilization of this neo-corporatist model in times of sluggish growth and labor tensions. The article makes important contributions to the literature on Latin America’s “left turn” and to broader debates about varieties of capitalism.

 

Los miembros del comité de selección del mejor paper de REPAL 2019 se complacen en otorgar una mención honorable a Sebastián Etchemendy por su artículo The Construction and Stabilization of Segmented Neo-Corporatism: Institutional Legacies, Left Power and Wage Coordination in Uruguay (2005-2017). Etchemendy considera a Uruguay como un caso excepcional. Yendo en contra de tendencias regionales, e incluso globales, Uruguay reanudó las negociaciones colectivas bajo los gobiernos del Frente Amplio. Basando su trabajo en un fuerte recolección de datos empíricos, gran parte de ellos recolectados en trabajo de campo, Etchemendy explica, en primer lugar, los orígenes de las negociaciones salariales colectivas. En su artículo argumenta que los legados de una ley laboral, junto con un movimiento obrero unificado, se combinaron con características organizativas del Frente Amplio para lanzar un modelo denominado “neocorporatista” de coordinación salarial en el período 2005-2010. El artículo también explica, en segundo lugar, la estabilización es este modelo y cómo funciona en tiempos de desaceleración económica y conflictos laborales. Finalmente, el artículo realiza contribuciones importantes a la literatura sobre el “giro a la izquierda” en América Latina y a debates más amplios sobre variedades de capitalismo.

 

 

Alicia Cooperman—Best Graduate Student Paper

The REPAL 2019 Best Paper Committee has the pleasure of awarding the Best Graduate Student Paper Prize to Alicia Cooperman for “Trading Favors: Local Politics and Development in Brazil.” Cooperman’s paper begins with an intriguing observation: In Northeast Brazil, poor communities just a few kilometers apart experience radically different levels of access to public services—especially water. To explain this stark variation, Cooperman points to the differential capacity of communities to organize effectively through neighborhood associations, which prove crucial in 1) coordinating voters to trade votes in exchange for water access, and 2) pressuring politicians to ensure sustained access after elections. Cooperman’s study is based on 18 months of dissertation fieldwork in Ceará, Brazil, which involved participant observation, conducting 104 qualitative interviews, and fielding original household survey of nearly 2000 respondents. Cooperman makes important contributions to scholarship on clientelism, public goods provision, and interest representation. Given the mounting pressures from climate change, it also adds to our understanding of one of the most urgent topics in political economy: the public management of scarce water resources.

 

Los miembros del comité de selección del mejor paper de REPAL 2019 se complacen en otorgar el premio al mejor paper escrito por un/a estudiante de postgrado a Alicia Cooperman. Su paper, Trading Favors: Local Politics and Development in Brazil, comienza un una observación intrigante: en el nordeste brasilero, comunidades pobres no muy distantes entre sí exhiben niveles radicalmente diferentes de acceso a servicios públicos básicos, en especial acceso al agua. Cooperman explica esta variación en base a las diferentes capacidades que tienen las comunidades para organizarse en torno a juntas vecinales. Estas juntas ayudan, por un lado, a coordinar con votantes para intercambiar votos por acceso a agua durante procesos eleccionarios; por otro lado, presionan a los políticos locales para asegurar el acceso continuo al agua luego de las elecciones. El estudio de Cooperman se basa en 18 meses de trabajo de campo en Ceará, Brasil, e incluye observación participante, más de 100 entrevistas con informantes clave, y la administración de una encuesta de hogares con más de 2000 participantes. Cooperman realiza varias contribuciones importantes a la literatura de clientelismo, de la provisión de servicios públicos, y de la representación de intereses. Además, teniendo en cuenta las crecientes presiones relacionadas con el cambio climático, el trabajo de Cooperman también nos ayuda a entender uno de los temas centrales en la agenda de la política económica: la gestión pública de recursos escasos.

Best Graduate Student Paper:

David De Micheli, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Government, Cornell University

“Racial Reclassification and Political Identity Formation”

 

The runner up for the Best Graduate Student Paper:

Jacob Kopas, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Government, Columbia University

“Legitimizing the State or a Grievance?: Property Rights and Political Engagement”

 

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Best Post-Graduate Paper:

Irene Menendez, Institute for Advanced Study Toulouse

“Explaining support for non-contributory social policy: evidence from a survey experiment in Argentina”

 

The runner up for the Best Post-Graduate Paper:

Alisha C. Holland, Department of Government, Princeton University

“The Political Foundations for Public Works: Evidence from Urban Colombia”

 

The REPAL 2017 Best Paper Committee has awarded the Best Paper Prize to Daniela Campello and Cesar Zucco’s “Commodity Price Shocks and Misattribution of Responsibility for the Economy: Observational and Experimental Evidence”. Campello and Zucco begin with the observation that democratic accountability implies that voters are able to correctly assign responsibility – in this case for economic performance – to politicians and to withhold blame when outcomes are beyond their control. Empirical work in the Latin American region has challenged this assumption, suggesting that misattribution of responsibility is common place. Building on a psychological literature that suggests that biases based on conscious mental processes like these are more amenable to corrective action through the provision of information, they use a carefully constructed survey-experimental design, implemented in Brazil and Ecuador, to show that provision of (truthful) information can in fact correct these biases – but only for more those with ex ante levels of political information.  The findings present important theoretical and practical insights for those concerned with the quality of democratic politics, albeit with the distressing implication that information has only a modest effect in reducing the effect of misattribution, and has discernable effects only among more sophisticated voters.

 

The runner-up to the Best Paper Prize is German Feierherd’s “Labor Standards and Electoral Accountability: Causal Evidence from Brazil”. Feierherd’s paper contributes to fundamental questions about electoral accountability and labor politics.  In studies of the political economy of Latin America, rarely do we have clear analyses that can determine whether citizens punish elected officials for poor performance, and whether elected officials respond to these incentives.  Moreover, while there have been important studies showing how partisanship influences labor policy and collective bargaining, we know little about how partisan politics concretely change the welfare of workers.  Through his careful analyses of municipal elections and deaths in the workplace in Brazil,  Feierherd shows that voters punish elected officials who have made promises to support workers when there are fatal workplace accidents.  In addition, he reveals that elected officials do respond to these incentives, as workplace deaths decline when the PT gains power.

 

The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University invite early-career researchers from Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe to apply to BIARI 2018.  The program – which will focus on the areas of global governance, forced displacements, and social entrepreneurship – will run from June 2-16 and full costs are covered by Brown. For more information, please see the BIARI website.

Alisha Holland (Princeton University) has been awarded the 2017 Heinz I. Eulau Award by the American Political Science Association for her article “Forbearance“. The prize is given for the best work published during the calendar year in the American Political Science Review and Perspectives on Politics.

Professor Holland presented related work at both REPAL’s 3rd (June 2016) and 4th (April 2017) Annual Meetings, at MIT in Cambridge, USA, and Universidad del Pacífico in Lima, Peru, respectively.

 

Candelaria Garay (Harvard University) has been given the 2017 Robert A. Dahl Award by the American Political Science Association for her book Social Policy Expansion in Latin America (Cambridge University Press). The prize is given for work of the highest quality on the subject of democracy.

Professor Garay presented the manuscript for her book at REPAL’s 1st Annual Meeting at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, Chile, June 2014.

 

REPAL: Red de Economía Política de América Latina

Fifth Annual Conference 

14-15 June, 2018

Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia)

Call for Papers 

The program committee welcomes proposals that tackle important puzzles and problems, both theoretical and practical, in the political economy of Latin America. Paper proposals (no more than 500 words) should be grounded in solid empirical field research employing whatever methods are appropriate to the research questions. Original data collection efforts on issues related to the current political-economy of the region are also encouraged. Proposals, papers, and presentations can be in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. Please find the proposal form attached.

Submission deadline for paper proposals is 15 November 2017. Send proposals to repalconference@gmail.com. Notification of acceptance will come by early January 2018.

Scholars based in Latin America and graduate students are strongly encouraged to apply. To promote graduate student involvement, a Graduate Student Best Paper Award will be granted in 2018. Please note that graduate students should apply after they have completed most of their dissertation field research and have results to present. A letter (or email) from a faculty advisor should be sent separately supporting the student’s proposal and confirming that the fieldwork is nearing completion.

Conference format: 30 minute individual sessions (12 minute presentations with 15 minutes of discussion) in three parallel tracks. Papers should be submitted two weeks before the conference at the latest and will be posted in a website accessible to conference participants. Participants are expected to read the papers in advance to enrich the discussion at the conference. Whereas the conference format provides for intense and fruitful exchange among participants, it also constrains the available number of slots for paper-givers. The selection process is therefore extremely competitive; however we encourage the attendance and participation of non-presenters as well as presenters.

Local Organization: Angelika Rettberg and Laura Wills (Universidad de los Andes)

Program Chairs: Daniela Campello (Getúlio Vargas Foundation) and Andrew Schrank (Brown University)

REPAL is a network of researchers (institutionally affiliated with universities in Latin America, North America, and Europe) interested in promoting and giving greater visibility to new studies in the political economy of Latin America. In thematic terms, we are interested in analyzing the interaction among economic, political, and social processes. We are particularly concerned with how the findings of such analyses further our understanding of development models, the socio-political institutions that sustain them, and the practical problems they face. In methodological terms, we seek to promote research that is empirically grounded and sensitive to context and that leads to new forms of description, concept formation, causal inference, and theoretical innovations that challenge the conventional wisdom on socially relevant phenomenon in the region. With respect to methods of research and analysis, our approach is open and eclectic, based on a simple premise that the methods should be selected as a function of the problem to be studied rather than the reverse. Institutionally, REPAL is a network open to the research community and structured around the promotion of diverse, plural debate on the political economy of Latin America. For more information, check the REPAL site: http://redeconomiapoliticaamlat.com

REPAL steering committee: Daniela Campello (Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Rio de Janeiro), Juan Pablo Luna (PUC-Chile), Paula Muñoz (Universidad del Pacífico, Lima), Vicky Murillo (Columbia University), Ben Schneider (MIT), Andrew Schrank (Brown University), Eduardo Silva (Tulane University), Kathryn Hochstetler (LSE)

 

REPAL: Red de Economía Política de América Latina

Quinta Conferencia Annual

14-15 de junio de 2018

Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia)

Convocatoria de artículos

El comité de programa de la Red de Economía Política de América Latina (REPAL) invita a la presentación de propuestas de artículos académicos que analicen preguntas de investigación relevantes a la economía política de América Latina, tanto a nivel teórico como aplicado. Las propuestas (de no más de 500 palabras) deben basarse en un sólido trabajo de campo y material empírico, con un diseño metodológico acorde al tipo de pregunta de investigación analizado en el trabajo. Los esfuerzos de recolección de datos originales sobre temáticas relativas a la economía política contemporánea de la región serán valoradas también. Las propuestas, los trabajos y las presentaciones pueden hacerse en inglés, español o portugués. El formato para la presentación de propuestas se encontrará adjunto.

La fecha límite para la presentación de propuestas es el 15 de noviembre del 2017. Las propuestas deberán ser enviadas a repalconference@gmail.com. Las aceptaciones serán notificadas hacia mediado de enero del 2018.

Postulaciones por parte de académicos basados en América Latina, así como estudiantes de doctorado son especialmente bienvenidas. Con el propósito de estimular el interés de estudiantes doctorales, se entregará un Premio al Mejor Artículo de Estudiantes Doctorales. Nótese que las postulaciones por parte de estudiantes doctorales serán evaluadas en la medida en que hayan completado una buena parte de sus investigación de tesis. Los estudiantes deberán solicitar a su asesor/a académico/a que envíe una carta (o correo electrónico) apoyando la propuesta y confirmando la cercana culminación de la investigación doctoral.

El formato de la conferencia consistirá en sesiones individuales de 30 minutos (12 minutos de presentación y 15 minutos de discusión), en tres paneles simultáneos. Los trabajos aceptados deberán haber sido cargados en el sitio de la conferencia dos semanas antes del inicio de la conferencia, y estarán disponibles para todos los participantes de la conferencia. Se espera que los participantes hayan leído los trabajos con anterioridad para enriquecer la discusión durante la conferencia.

Organización local: Angelika Rettberg y Laura Wills (Universidad de los Andes)

Responsables del programa: Daniela Campello (Getúlio Vargas Foundation) y Andrew Schrank (Brown University)

REPAL es una red de investigadores (con vínculos institucionales a universidades latinoamericanas, norteamericanas y europeas) interesados en promover y otorgar visibilidad a nuevos estudios sobre la economía política de América Latina. En términos temáticos, nos interesa analizar la interacción entre procesos económicos, políticos y sociales. En especial, nos interesa entender en qué medida dicha interacción genera resultados relevantes respecto a los modelos de desarrollo, la institucionalidad político-social que los sostiene, y los problemas prácticos que enfrentan. En términos metodológicos, nos interesa promover investigación empíricamente sustentada y sensible al contexto, que redunde en nuevos esfuerzos de descripción y conceptualización o en la generación de inferencias causales e innovaciones teóricas que desafíen el “saber convencional” acerca de fenómenos socialmente relevantes para la región. En cuanto a técnicas de investigación y análisis, nuestra aproximación es abierta y ecléctica, basada en una premisa sencilla: la técnica de investigación debe ser seleccionada en función del problema de estudio y no al revés. En términos institucionales, REPAL es una red abierta a la comunidad científica, estructurada en torno a la promoción de un debate plural sobre la economía política de América Latina. Para mayor información, visite la página de REPAL:  http://redeconomiapoliticaamlat.com

Comité directivo: Daniela Campello (Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Rio de Janeiro), Juan Pablo Luna (PUC-Chile), Paula Muñoz (Universidad del Pacífico, Lima), Vicky Murillo (Columbia University), Ben Schneider (MIT), Andrew Schrank (Brown University), Eduardo Silva (Tulane University), Kathryn Hochstetler (LSE)

 

REPAL: Rede de Economia Política da América Latina

Quinta Conferência Anual

14-15 de junho de 2018

Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia)

Chamada para submissão de propostas de trabalho

O Comitê do Programa convida aos interessados a apresentar propostas de trabalho que busquem analisar  desafios e problemas de pesquisa relevantes, tanto teóricos quanto práticos, em economia política na América Latina. As propostas (com um limite de 500 palavras) devem ser baseadas em sólido trabalho de campo e material empírico, adotando quaisquer métodos que sejam apropriados para responder às questões de pesquisa sob análise. Propostas, artigos, e apresentações podem ser feitas em inglês, espanhol, ou português. O formulário para participação encontra-se anexo.

Estudantes de pós-graduação são estimulados a participar depois de terem concluído a maior parte de sua coleta de dados para a dissertação. Uma carta (ou e-mail) do(a) orientador(a) em apoio à proposta do aluno deve ser enviada separadamente, confirmando que a coleta de dados está próxima de ser finalizada.

O prazo para envio das propostas é 15 de novembro de 2017. As propostas devem ser enviadas para repalconference@gmail.com. A notificação sobre propostas aceitas será enviada na inicío de janeiro de 2018.

Formato das apresentações: Sessões individuais de 30 minutos (12 minutos para apresentação e 15 minutos para debate) em três painéis simultâneos. Os artigos completos devem ser submetidos no máximo duas semanas antes da conferência e serão disponibilizados em website para acesso a todos os participantes do encontro. Espera-se que os participantes leiam os artigos previamente de forma a enriquecer as discussões durante a conferência.

Coordinadora da organização local: Angelika Rettberg e Laura Wills (Universidad de los Andes)

Coordenadores do programa: Daniela Campello (Getúlio Vargas Foundation) e Andrew Schrank (Brown University)

A REPAL é uma rede de pesquisadores (institucionalmente afiliados a universidades na América Latina, América do Norte e Europa) interessados em promover e dar visibilidade a novos estudos em economia política latino-americana. Substantivamente, estamos interessados em analisar as interações entre processos econômicos, políticos e sociais. Particularmente, interessa-nos entender como os resultados dessas análises podem contribuir para o nosso entendimento dos modelos de desenvolvimento, das instituições que os sustentam, bem como dos problemas práticos por eles enfrentados. Quanto aos métodos, buscamos promover pesquisas baseadas em dados empíricos e sensíveis ao contexto, que contribuam para novas formas de descrição, conceitualização, inferência causal e inovações teóricas que desafiem o conhecimento convencional sobre os fenômenos socialmente relevantes para a região. Do ponto de vista metodológico, nossa abordagem é aberta e eclética, baseada na premissa de que os métodos devem ser escolhidos em função do problema de pesquisa (e não o contrário). Institucionalmente, a Repal é uma rede aberta à comunidade científica e estruturada para promover o debate diverso e plural em economia política latino-americana. Para maiores informações, confira o site da REPAL: http://redeconomiapoliticaamlat.com.

Comitê diretivo: Daniela Campello (Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Rio de Janeiro), Juan Pablo Luna (PUC-Chile), Paula Muñoz (Universidad del Pacífico, Lima), Vicky Murillo (Columbia University), Ben Schneider (MIT), Andrew Schrank (Brown University), Eduardo Silva (Tulane University), Kathryn Hochstetler (LSE).

The REPAL 2018 Annual Meeting will take place in Bogota, Colombia on 14-15 June.

The following two Annual Meetings will be held in New Orleans, USA (2019) and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2020).

The REPAL 2016 Best Paper Committee has awarded the Best Paper Prize to Matthew Amengual’s “Buying Stability: The Distributive Outcomes of Firm Responses to Risk in the Bolivian Mining Industry”. The committee considered that the paper is making a strong theoretical and methodological contribution to the study of political economy in Latin America. The original data collected by the author through fieldwork and a survey in four mining enclaves in Bolivia is particularly noteworthy.

The runner-up to the Best Paper Prize is Kathryn Hochstetler’s “Electricity Consumption in Brazil and South Africa: Distributive Coalitions and Consequences”.

The committee also selected the first Best Graduate Student Paper Award, which goes to Diego Díaz-Rioseco’s “Blessing and Curse: Oil and Subnational Politics in the Argentine Provinces”.