Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

This paper shows how the homo oeconomicus has evolved from utility at work to consumption and then to the mystification of profit in a context of financialization and long-term crisis. Thus, a semantic slippage occurs, which distorts the achievements of capitalism, such as individualism and self-interest, for a libertarian belief –alien to liberalism, to Bentham’s utilitarianism and marginalism– in which it is not possible to define social utility, nor the connection between the “rationality” of individual decisions and social choices. Usefulness is confused with profit in the primacy of today’s business mentality and is often reflected in individual behavior.

China’s prominence poses challenges to the Pacific Alliance (PA) countries seeking to strengthen their integration. This is due to asymmetries in trade exchange and reprimarization within the framework of the Commodities Consensus. From a critical point of view, the trade positioning between the PA and China between 2001 and 2021 is examined, contrasting the Chinese Five-Year Plan and its dual circulation strategy with an analysis of trade concentration and composition. This period allows us to study trade since China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). The findings show a deterioration of the PA countries’ position, but also opportunities for catching up through integration in intermediate goods value chains.

This article analyses the subordinate internationalisation of Latin American economies based on the foreign capital understanding in the Latin American neo-structuralism. We discuss the theoretical foundations of this tradition to examine the economic consequences of foreign capital share in the productive structure of these countries after liberalisation. We also identify new forms of susceptibility of Latin American economies through foreign dominance in domestic economic activities. There is an ambiguity in the role of foreign capital, which requires control and coordination to flourish. The State intervention is important to i) enable a positive insertion into global value chains, ii) to foster industrialisation, iii) to mitigate adverse effects of financial flows, and iv) to encourage investments against exogenous cyclical effects.

  The purpose of this paper is to link the effects of Argentina’s external debt with its ecological effects, from a perspective that combines ecological economics with political economics. This link is established through the concept of ecological debt, understood as the debt that central countries owe to peripheral countries due to their production and consumption patterns. To calculate this debt, Argentine exports from 1961 to 2018 are analyzed through different prices implicit in the ecological footprint. This allows to measure the ecological debt/credit in the case of Argentina and to establish a comparison with the external debt.

It is recognized in the literature that advances in technology are one of the main mechanisms to increase technical efficiency and production with less use of inputs. However, technological advancement can also lead to increased emissions due to rebound effects or the Jevons paradox phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of technology and technological spillovers in CO2 emissions. In a complementary way, the hypothesis of the inverted U-shaped relationship between CO2 emissions and industrial value added is empirically evaluated in a panel of country-sector data. Results show that both the stock of R&D and domestic R&D spillovers play a significant role in reducing CO2 levels. There is weaker evidence for foreign R&D spillovers.

  The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence on the impact of internet use –as a proxy for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)– on Total Factor Productivity (TFP) for a group of 12 Latin American countries. Unlike other studies for the region, this paper considers a more recent and extended period in which the internet is no longer a newly introduced technology. This relationship is analyzed by estimating a two-way panel data model. The results obtained provide evidence of a positive, albeit inelastic, response. A 1% increase in the percentage of households with broadband access (PHBA) is associated with a 0.064% increase in productivity.

This research analyzes the relationship between intrapreneurship culture, management collaboration networks, and information and communication technologies on innovation performance, as well as their direct and indirect effects on business performance and competitiveness. Using data from MSMEs in Mexico's trade sector, the study tests fifteen hypotheses across three models, each examining the impact of a causal variable on innovation performance through a quantitative analysis using structural equation modeling. The results indicate significant associations between these factors and highlight the role of innovation in enhancing business outcomes. Additionally, the study considers the profound effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has exacerbated existing vulnerabilities in Latin American and Caribbean economies, affecting key sectors such as commerce, tourism, and transportation. The conclusions emphasize the varying impact of direct and indirect effects of causal variables (intrapreneurship culture, management collaboration networks, and information and communication technologies) on the mediator variable (innovation performance) and outcome variables (business performance and competitiveness). Across all models, a positive and significant relationship is confirmed between innovation performance and both business performance and competitiveness. However, a stronger association is found between the causal variables and business performance and competitiveness. Based on these findings, the study proposes strategic recommendations for businesses aiming to enhance their performance and competitiveness in dynamic environments.

This study explores the factors influencing the adoption of Generative AI text-to-image tools in the creative industry, using an extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. The objective is to assess how brand recognition and trust, alongside performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, and social influence, shape the behavioral intention to use Generative AI tools. While previous research has emphasized the importance of UTAUT constructs in technology adoption, the influence of brand equity factors remains underexplored. This study bridges this gap and provides insights to enhance adoption strategies. Standardized questionnaires were used, incorporating UTAUT constructs and brand-related variables such as Brand Recognition and Brand Trust. The sample consisted of individuals working in the creative industry in the US and Spain, with 208 valid responses. The survey was distributed through creative online communities. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling was employed to validate the hypotheses, ensuring reliable and valid results. Key findings indicate that performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, and brand trust positively influence the behavioral intention to use Generative AI tools, while brand recognition negatively influences behavioral intention. Social influence and effort expectancy did not present statistically significant results. These insights contribute to developing effective adoption strategies for Generative AI in the creative industry.  

The study aims to compare the experience of implementing a progressive taxation system in the EU countries with the taxation system in Central Asia to establish the prospects for reforms in this area. The following methodological methods were used: methods of generalisation to analyse theoretical materials, methods of processing statistical results, estimation of the Gini coefficient, and assessment of the progressiveness and redistributive capacity of profitability indicators using economic and mathematical modelling methods were also used. The income tax indicators of such countries as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan were assessed. The study determined that according to the data on progressiveness and redistributive capacity due to the peculiarities of tax policy implementation, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan have a pronounced progressiveness and redistributive capacity. Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan do not have such indicators. The Gini Index (coefficient), which indicates a high degree of income inequality in these countries, is also very characteristic. On the contrary, the Gini coefficient of the leading European Union countries is higher: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, and Germany are characterised by a high degree of fairness in the tax structure and social sphere. Thus, the need to reform the taxation system to achieve the goals of sustainable development in Central Asian countries is an urgent problem that should be addressed and accounted for at the state level.

The purpose of the present study was to address the primary research question: “To what extent do perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) explain auditors’ behavioral intentions (BI) to adopt big data analytics (BDA) in auditing firms in Palestine?" A mixed-method approach was utilized, integrating quantitative data from a census survey of 94 auditors at the Big Four accounting firms in Palestine, which achieved an 86% response rate, with qualitative data from semi-structured interviews conducted with 9 auditors at the managerial level or higher. This methodological combination strengthens the validity and reliability of the research outcomes. The findings revealed that PU directly influences auditors' intentions to adopt BDA, and PEOU also affects BI to adopt, but not with the same significance. The study’s findings supported the use of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), indicating that auditors are more likely to adopt BDA if they perceive it as useful for their audit firms and if it helps achieve the required efficiency.