For enthusiasts of computers in the classrooms, a 2015 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) may have come as a rude surprise. Several OECD countries have invested heavily in information technology, the report found. But students in those countries didn't significantly improve their abilities in reading, mathematics and science as a result. … [Read more...] about When It Comes to Education, Computers Can Be a Dangerous Temptation
Social Issues
Why Are Latin Americans Happier than Their GDP Would Suggest?
Money can’t buy happiness, or at least that’s what many Latin Americans may say. The latest World Happiness Report has shown once again that the region has higher levels of wellbeing than its GDP would predict, and some Latin American countries have a higher happiness index than developed nations from Western Europe. What is it about the region that makes its citizens happy? … [Read more...] about Why Are Latin Americans Happier than Their GDP Would Suggest?
Moving Out of the Social Media Bubble to a More Robust Democracy
Since its founding in 2004, Facebook has boasted of its mission to "make the world more open and connected." And with nearly 2 billion users, including more than 230 million in Latin America, it has in many ways earned boasting rights. Facebook is today the world's dominant social media site for people sharing personal and political news, interests and passions. It unites … [Read more...] about Moving Out of the Social Media Bubble to a More Robust Democracy
Falling Inequality: A Brazilian Whodunnit
By Julián Messina, Francisco H.G. Ferreira and Sergio Firpo Long one of the world’s most unequal countries, Brazil surprised pundits by recording a massive reduction in household income inequality in the last couple of decades. Between 1995 and 2012, the country’s Gini coefficient for household incomes fell by seven points, from 0.59 to 0.52. (For comparison, all of the … [Read more...] about Falling Inequality: A Brazilian Whodunnit
Can Latin American Workers Dodge the Deaths of Despair?
For much of the last century, mortality rates in the United States fell steadily. But from 1998-2013, that trend reversed for a special demographic: non-Hispanic whites, aged 45-54. The problem, according to a new study by Nobel Laureate Angus Deaton, and fellow economist, Anne Case, lay in people lacking a college degree. Tens of thousands of those middle-aged whites were … [Read more...] about Can Latin American Workers Dodge the Deaths of Despair?