The current political context in Colombia with an ongoing peace process requires to implement measures to rectify past political repression and to create adequate conditions for exercising political opposition. The physical elimination and social stigmatization of a political opposition group, as it happened with the Unión Patriótica, are weak foundations for a post-conflict situation. I will suggest that a collective reparation for UP victims which recognises not just the damage produced individually, but the harm suffered as a collective, could serve to foster trust between the parties on the negotiations table. I claim that a reparation strategy centered in the concept of dignity would respond more efficiently to the harm caused to this collective. I state that, contrary to the common practice, it is possible to conceptualise a collective reparation for groups with no ethnic, cultural or religious bonds.

The aim of this article is to investigate the determinants of the foreign direct investment (FDI) in some European countries from 2003 to 2010. This period is interesting because it was characterized by huge investments of capital before 2008 and after this date a cooling of the economy due the subprime mortgage implosion. Panel Data of 23 European countries were analyzed among the several FDI macroeconomic triggers proposed by the UNCTAD in the United Nations Conference For Trade and Development report of 2012. Our empirical results are consistent with the objectives of the UNCTAD model. The FDI has become in a very important goal for all the countries because it has positive spillovers that act as boosters for the growing of their economies. Within the positive effects we highlight the transferring of technology to domestic firms, the creation of new and better jobs, the increasing in the number of tax payers and, besides, these investments are a clean source of income with the benefit of not assuming the risk linked to the debt. Consequently, the governments have the need and the duty to promote policies for attracting FDI. If we analyze the case of Europe, one can differentiate three groups of development and several kind of challenges, i.e., the high unemployment rates that some Mediterranean countries are facing, the adverse selection problem that hinders the credit flow across the productive value chain and the migration of the manufacturing to developing countries. Hence nowadays the understanding of the factors determining the FDI is a key issue to link the policy making with the potential investors.

The debate around the possibilities of using green consumption as a strategy to address the current environmental crisis is still open. This paper, using elements from the sociology of consumption found in the work of Zygmunt Bauman, and the aesthetics of existence from Michael Foucault, problematize the current notions about the political value of green consumption and its relation to the development of collective action. It is argued that green consumption represents a fertile ground for political participation through the care of others. The argument is developed in reference to diverse initiatives inside the Local Food Movement. This article develops the idea of a subject able to resist by opening diverse consumption spaces that challenge many aspects of the current global economy.

CD34+ cell dose in the transplanted product is still considered a measure of the engraftment potential in haemopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). CD34+ selected products are characterised by their high purity and depleted T-cells. These characteristics have made them traditionally suitable to decrease the incidence of graft versus host disease, particularly in haploidentical HSCT. The CliniMACS is a state of the art cell sorting system based on magnetic particles conjugated to CD34 antibodies. This study retrospectively evaluated the CliniMACS system performance in terms of CD34+ purity and cell recovery, and T-cell depletion in the selected product. The results were compared against target values fixed by the processing centre, as well as against published data. Factors affecting the CD34+ cell recovery were also investigated and a pilot study was carried out to assess the effect of cryopreservation on the viability of the selected products. In total, 151 procedures were analysed. The mean recovery and purity were 64.82 + 16.19 and 88.0 + 11.0% respectively. The mean T-cell depletion was 4.7021 + 0.5129 logs. Only purity was slightly below the specification (90%), with the lowest values obtained from peripheral blood (PB) collections. Factors affecting the recoveries were the overall age of the product (p=0.001), overnight storage (p=0.002), and the use of a particular tubing set with the instrument (p=0.002). The mean CD34+ viability was not significantly different to the value before cryopreservation (p=0.068). Results from this study were comparable with published data of the CliniMACS system performance. Local investigations regarding the purity of PB products should be performed. For the first time, using a magnetic separation method, factors affecting CD34+ recovery were identified. The significance of the effect of product age and overnight storage on cell recovery, provide a rationale for further prospective studies

The growing concern of continuous increases in health care expenditure, particularly due to high-cost medicines’ reimbursement, as well as international trends, promotes the feasibility and a positive scenario to establish a means for Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in Colombia. Methodology: This policy analysis paper utilizes a literature review to support the context surrounding the Colombian Health System, focusing on HTA, and a regional perspective. Following, personal interviews were conducted to provide a description of the policy process of agenda setting and policy implementation, as well as stakeholders’ opinions about the establishment and functioning of such a HTA Agency.

International trade markets are shaped by different standards and technical regulations across countries and regions affecting trade. This paper analyzes the relationship between international standards and exports for manufacture firms in Latin America. The study tests the hypothesis that internationally-recognized quality standards compliance helps firms to export. Throughout an econometric approach, a logit model examines the relationship between firm’s decision to export (yes/no), and the variable of whether or not a firm has an internationally-recognized quality standard. The study uses data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey. It concludes that for each firm’s export determinant, the probability to export is consistently higher when firms comply with the internationally-recognized quality standards. This means that, regardless of the size, age, foreign ownership, use of communication technologies, manufacture sector and country type, a firm benefits in terms of exports, from internationally-recognized quality standard compliance. In this sense, policymakers may create programs to proactively support trade; such as training firms on how achieve compliance with international standards and subsidize part of the cost. On the institutional framework, these policies could be achieved by improving capacity by rethinking the role and evaluate the performance of (1) the Export Promotion Agency and (2) the National Standards Body. Which opens a new line of research for these topics of public policy and public administration.

Para evaluar la dinámica temporal y espacial de la comunidad de aves del transecto Volcán Barva - La Selva, Cordillera Volcánica Central de Costa Rica, se estimó la riqueza de aves por estrato (la altura en metros en la cual está ubicada la parcela de muestreo) y total, teniendo en cuenta y excluyendo a las especies migratorias latitudinales. Se comparó la riqueza de aves de los años 2005 y 2008 y se calculó la probabilidad de detección para cada año, probabilidad de extinción local y tasa de colonización de especies de aves. Para evaluar la estructura espacial se compararon los estratos más distanciados del transecto muestreado (100 m y 500 m) y se calcularon la riqueza de especies de cada estrato, probabilidad de que especies que viven en los 500 m ocurran en los 100 m, probabilidad de que especies que viven en los 100 m ocurran en 500 m y probabilidad de detección para cada estrato. La mayor riqueza ocurre en la parcela de los 500 metros. Por otro lado, la estructura de la comunidad permaneció estable entre los años 2005 y 2008 ya que se da una compensación por extinciones y colonizaciones locales. Para analizar la dinámica poblacional de 38 especies en decline, se modeló y seleccionó siete de estas por ser las de mayor detectabilidad y estar relacionadas con la insectivoría del sotobosque. Se estimó un índice de abundancia para los años 2005, 2006, 2007 y 2008, tasa de reclutamiento, probabilidad de sobrevivencia aparente y probabilidad de detección.Se concluye que las siete especies de insectívoras del sotobosque evaluadas presentan tendencia hacia el incremento de su abundancia entre los años 2005 y 2008, aunque se debe tener en cuenta que cuatro años pueden hacer parte de un período de fluctuaciones naturales de estas especies.

In earlier decades, a number of authors have been looking at how commuters value the usefulness of travel time and at which point it is still considered to be a disutility to minimize. This document presents the results of a survey which was carried out on different transportation modes in Northern California. The results of this study show how the utility of travel time may change from one person to another, unveiling the latent relationship between several factors (i.e. Attitudinal factors, primary mode of transportation, age, gender, etc.) and what we consider the usefulness of travel time. This study included several considerations made from different approaches, including linear regression analysis and ordered probit models. The dependent variable was always considered to be the usefulness of travel time represented in the final survey by an ordinal variable. Moreover, the study comprised data segmentation (i.e. primary mode of transportation) which explained some conceptual differences between a pooled model and “active-passive” models. Finally, the outcome of this study shows how active travel modes (i.e. Car driving) are usually the most unattractive, for the reason that the possibility of engaging in different activities while traveling is very limited. Similarly, how the activity itself may change the perception of travel from a disutility to minimize to a transition or mostly useful time.

In many cultures palms offer a vast number of products, especially Non-Timber-Forest Products (NTFPs), which have been traditionally used by indigenous and mestizo groups in Latin America. Some species have gone beyond the domestic use and their commercialization has reached local, national and international markets. Among the palm products that are widely commercialized in South America are palm heart (Euterpe oleracea), extracted from the young unfolded spear leaves of the palms, and the handicraft woven from fibers (Astrocaryum chambira, A. malybo and A. standleyanum), all extracted from the leaflets. In Colombia, these four palm species are economically important for the harvesting communities as well as for wholesalers and retailers. However, commercialization has been based on the extraction of raw material from wild palm stands up to the point that several palm species are threatened by developing markets for their products, and the need of income for the harvest communities and industry. The general objective of this thesis is to describe the value chains of palm products from E. oleracea, A. chambira, A. malybo and A. standleyanum in different Colombian regional markets, as well as national and international markets, and to analyze the economic importance, potentials and implications of this trade. Data on the four value chains was gathered through interviewing all actors of the value chain and revising the literature about the commercialization of these palm products. This study assesses the main actors or organizations in the commercialization chains, their specific activities, different routes to trade products, and how well the chains currently work by conducting a qualitative and quantitative value chain analysis.Major results involve particular dynamics and distributions of the profits along each value chain, as well as common aspects: the value chains are short, simple, the commercialization channels need to be strengthened, the scarcity of the raw material is a crucial constraint for the commercialization of the products. Unsustainable harvest practices are common. Moreover, the marketing potential of each group of palm products as well as promised target markets are characterized. The principal contribution of this thesis consists in shedding light on the current status of the value chains of these four palm species in Colombia, and proposing possible routes of development to strive for sustainability in each of the value chains analysed. Moreover, this study provides information about the economic importance of the palm products to the local communities and the need to upgrade the commercialization channels, products and communal incentives to assign equitable incomes along the chain.

This paper presents the first ecological economic model of tropical dry forest on Bonaire Island. The model projects the economic benefits of the ecosystem services provided by the forest under two management alternatives: The baseline scenario assumes that the current short-term extractive practices continue for the following thirty years while the alternative scenarios includes the implementation of a birdwatching program, enhancement of agriculture, goat eradication and husbandry and reforestation program. The study reveals that the alternative scenario brings about $8.5 million more than the baseline scenario. Higher benefits could be obtained depending on the combination of the implemented programs though the implementation of the goat eradication and husbandry program together with the reforestation program is the most cost-efficient combination. The sensitivity analysis showed that doubling tourism doubles the economic benefits while reducing it in a half increases four times the economic benefits. In the other hand, the analysis showed that grazing by goats and other roamers costs about $4 million to the island; it is necessary to reduce the grazing to 70% of the current state in order to have benefits and goats at the same time. The research also estimates the value of seed dispersal and pollination on the Bonairean forest in $ 17 million.