Authors’ note Much has been written about diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, whether the two nations should continue to negotiate, and under what terms and conditions transactions should take place. Such consideration is timelier now than ever given the recent cooling effects from the outcome of the 2016 U.S. election on the bilateral […]
Perceptions of Water Quality in Cuba as Reported by Users: Preliminary Findings of the Cuba Water Project
Notes1 INTRODUCTION Potable water is indispensable to sustain human life. Throughout history, water has played a strategic role in promoting nation-building. During the Spanish Reconquista, for instance, Spanish forces manipulated water supply in Andalusia to secure a Moorish surrender and consolidate Spanish rule. As Havana grew to be one of the most important strategic ports […]
When Reforms Are Not: Recent Policy Development in Cuba and the Implications for the Future
Recent policy initiatives have instigated much controversy and speculation about the goals and sustainability of reforms in Cuba today. As is always the case with Cuban affairs, the scope of the reform narrative easily rival ideological positions. At the core of the controversy, however, are three questions. Would these policies lead down the path of […]
Poverty and the Effects on Aversive Social Control
In his classic study Development as Freedom, Amartya Sen (1999) argues that political liberties, such as the capacity to organize, advocate, and mobilize in the public sphere, are conjoined to the expansion of markets resulting from successful development policies. Once some of these essential rights are attained, Sen argues, they become part of our socio-political […]
Social Media in Contemporary Cuba
I have been invited by the organizers of the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy to participate in a roundtable to discuss the impact of social media in contemporary Cuba. In particular, I was asked to comment on two specific issues: (1) whether the explosion of social media […]