We use village census data and linear regression models to examine changes between 1975 and 2002 in the associations of parental resources with boys’ and girls’ schooling in four rural Guatemalan villages. Levels of schooling in 1975 were universally low for children 7–17 years. Large...

A new methodology of seismic hazard and loss estimation has been proposed by Chen et al. (Chen et al., 1998; Chan et al., 1998) for the study of global seismic risk. Due to its high adaptability for regions of different features and scales, the methodology was applied to Central America. Seismic...

Folk experiments in agriculture are often inspired by new ideas blended with old ones, motivated by economic and environmental change. They tend to save labor or capital. These notions are illustrated with nine short case studies from Nicaragua and El Salvador. The new ideas that catalyze folk...

This paper examines potential differences in land use between Q'eqchí Maya and Ladino (Spanish speakers of mixed ancestry) farmers in a remote agricultural frontier in northern Petén, Guatemala. The research site, the Sierra de Lacandón National Park (SLNP), is a core conservation zone of...

Due to both deepening economic crises and pressure from external lenders, Costa Rica and El Salvador implemented trade and market liberalization reforms in the 1980s. This study explores whether these policy changes shifted production toward each country’s presumed comparative advantage in...

Much has been written on the tradeoffs that smallholder farmers face when having to allocate their biomass resources among competing objectives such as feed, fuel, mulch, compost or the market. This paper summarises yet a new body of evidence from 10 studies on tradeoffs in the allocation of...

The US multinational United Fruit Company has been considered the quintessential representative of American imperialism in Central America. Not only did the company enjoy enormous privileges in that region, but also counted on authoritarian governments in dealing with labour unrest. The...

With increasing concerns about rising energy demand and cost, diminishing oil reserves, and climate change, Central American and Caribbean (CAC) nations have the opportunity to become producers of low-carbon sustainable biofuels for domestic consumption and foreign exchange earnings. While the...

This study examines the determinants of renewable energy consumption per capita for a panel of seven Central American countries over the period 1980 to 2010. Specifically, we find that a long-run cointegrated relationship exists between renewable energy consumption per capita, real GDP per...