We examine the environment as a mechanism for building substantial integration in Colombia. In environmental peacebuilding, substantial integration is a positive peace dimension characterized by trans-societal links that foster social cohesion. Employing data from the Amazonian Department of Caquetá, we argue that the Government of Colombia is pursuing a peacebuilding approach that impedes opportunities to forge an inclusive social order. Instead, it has forcibly integrated frontier communities to advance an extractive peace that perpetuates longstanding patterns of resource violence.

In this study, we estimate the marginal effects of increasing forest cover on dengue prevalence in Costa Rica using econometric models to relate hospital admission records to forest cover maps from 2001 and 2011. We find that increasing the percentage of forest cover significantly decreases both the number of hospital admissions for dengue and the probability of an outbreak.

Abstract

Abstract

This final paper in the Special Issue on Latin America summarizes the contributions of the 15 previous and more specialized papers under the themes of 1) defining characteristics of Latin American forestry and its comparison with forestry in other parts of the world, 2) policies that make a difference specifically for  Latin America and 3) Latin America's developing forest industry.

Abstract

Building on new institutional theory, this paper develops an analytical framework for analyzing constraints to the institutionalization of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) at four different institutional levels. The framework is tested in an empirical analysis of the environmental assessment system in Vietnam, which is a frontrunner among developing countries regarding the introduction and use of SEA.

Understanding unethical behavior is essential to many phenomena in the real world. We carry out a field experiment in a unique setting that varies the levels of reciprocity and guilt in an ethical decision. A survey more than one year before the field experiment allows us to compare at the individual level stated unethical behavior with revealed behavior in the same situation in the field. Our results indicate a strong discrepancy between stated and revealed behavior, regardless of the specific treatment in the field experiment.

In this paper, we evaluate the effects of a psychological training, called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on stress and risk and time preferences. MBSR is a well-known psychological technique, which is believed to improve self-control and reduce stress. We conduct the experiment with 139 participants, half of whom receive the MBSR training, while the other half are asked to watch a documentary series, both over 4 consecutive weeks.