Call for Papers
VI RISE-SASE 2025
Connecting the dots between digitalization, environmental challenges and social inequalities in Latin America
20-22 November 2025
Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Brazil
Collaborating Organizations:
CAPES
SASE
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Universidade Federal Fluminense
Connecting the dots between digitalization, environmental challenges and social inequalities in Latin America
Latin America faces a unique set of challenges that intertwine environmental issues, digitalization, and social inequalities. As the region experiences rapid economic changes, understanding how these factors interact is critical for promoting sustainable and inclusive development. Digitalization has the potential to transform economies and societies, yet it also poses risks if it exacerbates existing inequalities or contributes to environmental degradation. By examining these interconnected issues, we can explore how policies and technologies can align digital transformation with sustainable and equitable growth.
Digitalization, broadly defined as the integration of digital technologies into business and social processes, presents both opportunities and risks for environmental sustainability in Latin America. Digitalization can support the development of environmentally sustainable practices through the application of green technologies. Smart grids, powered by digital systems and IoT (Internet of Things) devices, optimize energy usage, minimizing waste and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These systems allow for the efficient distribution of renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, which are increasingly being adopted in countries such as Chile and Brazil.
Additionally, digital technologies are revolutionizing agriculture in the region. Precision agriculture uses data from drones, satellites, and ground sensors to monitor crop health, soil moisture, and weather patterns. This information enables farmers to make real-time decisions, reducing water and fertilizer usage and improving yields. In countries where agriculture is a key sector, like Argentina and Brazil, these digital tools help mitigate environmental impacts while boosting productivity.
Digital tools also enhance environmental monitoring and management. AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of environmental data collected from satellites and ground sensors, identifying deforestation, illegal mining, or pollution hotspots. For example, Brazil’s deforestation monitoring system uses satellite imagery to detect illegal logging activities in the Amazon rainforest. This technology provides governments and organizations with the data needed to make timely and informed interventions, which is crucial for protecting biodiversity and natural resources.
Despite these benefits, digitalization poses environmental risks if not managed properly. Data centers, which support the growing digital economy, require significant amounts of electricity and water, contributing to carbon emissions if powered by fossil fuels. In Latin America, where renewable energy capacity is still growing, this can exacerbate the region’s carbon footprint. Moreover, the rapid increase in digital device production and consumption generates electronic waste (e-waste). Disposing of old smartphones, computers, and other devices in an environmentally responsible manner is a challenge, particularly in countries where recycling infrastructure is limited. This e-waste often ends up in landfills, leaching toxic chemicals into the soil and water, and affecting vulnerable communities disproportionately.
In addition to its environmental implications, digitalization also impacts social inequalities in Latin America. The digital divide—disparities in access to digital infrastructure, technology, and skills—exacerbates existing socioeconomic inequalities, preventing marginalized populations from benefiting from technological advancements.
Access to digital technology in Latin America is highly unequal. Urban areas and wealthier regions enjoy high-speed internet, advanced infrastructure, and better access to digital tools, while rural and poorer areas struggle with inadequate or non-existent connectivity. This digital divide limits the opportunities available to marginalized communities, including access to online education, healthcare, and job opportunities. For instance, indigenous and rural populations often lack the resources to participate in the digital economy, deepening their economic marginalization.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which constitute a large portion of Latin America’s economy, also face challenges in accessing digital tools and resources. Larger firms are more likely to adopt advanced technologies due to their greater financial and organizational capacities, while smaller firms, often concentrated in less developed regions, lag behind. This gap reduces SMEs’ competitiveness and their ability to innovate or participate in digital marketplaces.
Despite the risks, digitalization has the potential to foster inclusive growth if supported by appropriate policies and investments. Governments can implement digital inclusion programs that provide marginalized communities with affordable internet access and digital skills training. Initiatives like Brazil’s “Internet for All” aim to connect remote areas, enabling people in these regions to access vital services such as telemedicine and e-learning platforms.
Furthermore, promoting entrepreneurship and digital literacy among disadvantaged groups, such as women and rural youth, can create pathways out of poverty. Access to digital tools enables small-scale farmers to connect with broader markets through e-commerce platforms, allowing them to increase their income and improve their livelihoods.
Environmental challenges, such as climate change, pollution, and resource depletion, are deeply intertwined with social inequalities in Latin America. Vulnerable populations, including indigenous communities, rural dwellers, and the urban poor, are often the most affected.
The impact of environmental challenges is not evenly distributed across society. For example, climate change increases the frequency and intensity of natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, and droughts, disproportionately affecting low-income and rural communities. These populations often lack the resources to rebuild after disasters or adapt their livelihoods to changing environmental conditions.
Pollution is another area where inequalities manifest. Marginalized communities are frequently situated near industrial zones, mining sites, or landfills, exposing them to health risks from pollution and toxic waste. Without the means to relocate or advocate for better living conditions, these populations bear the brunt of environmental degradation.
In response, environmental justice movements are growing in Latin America. Indigenous groups and grassroots organizations are increasingly advocating for the rights of communities affected by environmental degradation or resources depredation. These movements highlight the need for inclusive policies that address both environmental and social issues, ensuring that marginalized populations receive fair access to clean water, air, and land resources.
To create a holistic approach, digitalization should be leveraged to address environmental and social inequalities simultaneously, ensuring that policies promote inclusive and sustainable development.
Governments can implement green and inclusive industrial policies that integrate digital technologies with environmental and social objectives. For example, promoting the development of green technology clusters can create jobs while advancing sustainability goals. In Brazil, programs supporting renewable energy innovation could be coupled with digital skills training for local workers, ensuring that new economic opportunities are accessible to all segments of society.
Additionally, governments can incentivize smaller firms and cooperatives to adopt digital technologies through subsidies and technical assistance, helping them overcome barriers to digitalization. This support enables smaller businesses to increase their productivity, reduce environmental impacts, and compete in digital markets.
Encouraging sustainable digital business models is another avenue. Platforms that facilitate the circular economy—such as apps that connect users to repair services or enable product recycling—can reduce waste and promote sustainable consumption. Similarly, supporting farmers with digital solutions for sustainable agriculture, like weather monitoring apps and crop health analytics, aligns digitalization with environmental protection while enhancing livelihoods.
Data analytics and digital monitoring tools allow governments to design and implement more effective policies. By mapping environmental and social vulnerabilities, digital data helps policymakers target interventions where they are most needed. For instance, integrating environmental data with socioeconomic indicators can identify communities most at risk from climate change or pollution, enabling targeted infrastructure investments and social support programs.
In summary, the relationship between digitalization, environmental challenges, and social inequalities in Latin America reveals a complex but interconnected landscape. Digitalization has the potential to drive sustainable development and reduce inequalities, but it must be managed through inclusive and environmentally responsible policies. By aligning technological advancement with green and equitable objectives, Latin America can harness the transformative power of digitalization to build a more sustainable and inclusive future.
Founded in 1989, the Society for the Advancement of Socioeconomics (SASE) is an international institution with members in more than fifty countries. SASE organizes a main annual meeting, in addition to regional meetings, local academic events, and publishes a scientific journal, the Socio-Economic Review (SER).
In 2013, the First Ibero American Socioeconomic Meeting was held at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The II Ibero American Socioeconomic Meeting, held in 2015, was held in Porto Alegre, at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and in 2017 in Cartagena, Colombia. The IV Ibero American Socioeconomic Meeting, in 2019, was held at the School of Economics of the National University, in Heredia, Costa Rica and in 2022 the meeting was virtual at the Universidad Nacional San Marcos (UNM) in Peru.
The VI Meeting will be held in person at the Universidade Federal Fluminense, in Brazil.
Ana Urraca Ruiz (UFF, Brazil)
Ana Viñas (UAM, Spain)
Annelies Fryberger (SASE)
Danielle Machado (UFF, Brazil)
Javier Baquero Pérez (UAM, Spain)
Julimar da Silva Bichara (UAM, Spain)
Laura Pérez Ortiz (UAM, Spain)
Lucilene Morandi (UFF, Brazil)
Marta dos Reis Castilho (UFRJ, Brazil)
Pat Zraidi (SASE)
Santos M. Ruesga (UAM, Spain)
Coming soon
02/02/2025: Submissions open
01/06/2025: Deadline submissions (abstracts and panels)
01/07/2025: Communication for acceptance papers and panels.
15/08/2025: Early bird registration deadline
20-22/11/2025: VI RISE.
Members of the RISE-Scientific Committee
Alfredo Hualde (COLEF – Mexico)
Ana Urraca-Ruiz, (UFF, Brasil)
Ana Viñas, (UAM, Spain)
Anabela Mesquita (PIP – Portugal)
André Moreira Cunha, (UFRGS, Brazil)
Antonio Martin Artiles, (UAB, Spain)
Ciro Murayama, (UNAM, Mexico)
Cristian Dario Robayo (UPTC, Colombia)
Daniel Toro, (UTB, Colombia)
Diego Sánchez-Ancochea, (Oxford, United Kingdom)
Francisco Sánchez (USAL, Spain)
Fernando González Laxe, (UDC, Spain)
Frederico Rocha, (UFRJ, Brazil)
Ianina Tuñón (UCA-ODSA – Argentina)
Isabel Novo Corti, (UDC, Spain)
Jacqueline O’Reilly, (Univesity of Sussex, United Kingdom)
Jorge Carrera, (UNLP, Argentina)
Jorge Mario Martínez Piva, (Cepal, Mexico)
Julimar da Silva Bichara, (UAM, Spain).
Laura Pérez Ortiz, (UAM, Spain),
Leonardo Lomelí, (UNAM, Mexico)
Luis Enrique Alonso, (UAM, Spain),
María Ángeles Durán, (CSIC, Spain)
Marta dos Reis Castilho, (UFRJ, Brazil)
Miguel Atienza, (UCN, Chile)
Pedro Fonseca, (UFRGS, Brazil)
Raul Llorent (UV – Spain)
Sandro Monsueto (UFG – Brazil)
Santos M. Ruesga Benito (UAM, Spain)
Shirley Benavides Vindas, (UNA, Costa Rica)
Susanne Gratius (UAM, Spain)
Tania Jiménez Castilla (UTB, Colombia)
To join SASE, please go here: https://sase.org/join-sase/. Membership dues are listed there, and you can use that link to register for the conference when registration opens.
You must be a SASE member in order to attend the conference, in addition to the conference registration fees listed below.
|
Conference fees (USA $) |
Early Bird |
Regular |
|
Professor |
70 |
100 |
|
Postdoc/Emeritus |
55 |
80 |
|
Graduate Students |
30 |
50 |
|
Undergraduate Students |
0 |
0 |
|
Conference host rate* |
55 |
80 |
|
Lunch |
25 |
25 |
|
* Only for professors from UFF and UFRJ |
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM, Spain)
Universidad Nacional (UNA, Costa Rica).
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico (UNAM, Mexico)
Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM, Perú).
Universidad Tecnológica Bolívar (UTB, Colombia).
Universidade Federal de Rio De Janeiro (UFRJ, Brazil)
Universidade Federal de Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS, Brazil)
Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF, Brazil)