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4401. Macroeconomic Policies to Increase Social Mobility and Growth in Bolivia

Author:
Lykke E. Andersen, Alice J. Brooks, and Alejandro F. Mercado
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:
Poverty in Bolivia continues to be among the highest in Latin America despite decades of concerted national and international efforts to reduce it. Bolivia has meticulously followed the recommendations of the Washington consensus at the same time as external aid has been generous and foreign direct investment has boomed. Nevertheless, average productivity and incomes remain at the same low level as they were 50 years ago. This paper suggests that the failure of previous development policies is due to a lack of social mobility in the country. Without social mobility, there is little incentive for people to invest in human and physical capital, and without investment there cannot be productivity growth. In addition, the lack of social mobility implies an inefficient use of human capital, and it hinders the construction of efficient social mechanisms for redistribution and consumption smoothing over the life-cycle.
Topic:
Development, Poverty, Public Policy, Macroeconomics, and Social Mobility
Political Geography:
South America and Bolivia

4402. Trade, FDI, Growth and Poverty in Bolivia

Author:
Lykke E. Andersen, Osvaldo Nina, and Dirk Willem te Velde
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:
After several decades of “state-capitalism” characterized by import substitution policies, Bolivia implemented in 1985 a New Economic Policy (NEP) following neo-liberal ideas of free trade, privatization, and liberalization of capital flows. It was hoped that the opening up of the economy would attract foreign direct investment (FDI) which in turn would help modernize Bolivian industry, improve productivity, increase exports, stimulate growth, and reduce poverty. This paper investigates to what extent this actually happened.
Topic:
Development, Poverty, Foreign Direct Investment, Inequality, and Trade
Political Geography:
South America and Bolivia

4403. Regional Integration and Poverty: A Case-Study of Bolivia

Author:
Osvaldo Nina and Lykke E. Andersen
Publication Date:
10-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:
This paper investigates the impacts of regional integration processes on poverty in Bolivia. It first demonstrates that regional integration has stimulated a diversion of trade away from traditional US and EU markets towards countries of MERCOSUR and the Andean Community. At the same time, the composition of exports has changed from predominantly minerals towards slightly more elaborated goods, such as vegetable fats, food and beverages. The paper presents econometric analyses of the impact of imports, exports and FDI (by sector, and trade block) on individual labor incomes and household poverty status. The results show that higher exports generally tend to benefit the workers who work in the exporting sectors. However, this result only holds for export sectors that exploit some natural resource rents (mining, hydrocarbons, modern agriculture), and not for those which rely purely on low wages in order to be competitive (most manufacturing sectors). Imports typically have a negative effect on worker salaries, except the imports of capital goods, which do not compete with local production. This implies that the change towards more regional trade of goods with a smaller natural resource rent component is unlikely to contribute to a reduction in poverty. For exports and FDI to be helpful for reducing poverty, they would have to focus on sectors, which are labor intensive and at the same time exploit some natural resource rents. Sectors that might fulfill these criteria are modern agriculture and tourism.
Topic:
Development, Poverty, Economy, and Regional Integration
Political Geography:
South America and Bolivia

4404. Litigation as a Tool for Development: The Environment, Human Rights, and the Case of Texaco in Ecuador.

Author:
Elizabeth C. Black
Publication Date:
05-2004
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
As the process of globalization continues into the twenty-first century, ensuring that transnational corporations are held accountable for their work abroad will be one of the greatest challenges faced by development specialists. In the current context, litigation in U.S. courts is an increasingly important tool in assuring that the people of underdeveloped nations do not suffer from the exploitation, pollution, and cultural degradation that has marked such countries’ “progress” in the past. This paper examines the case of María Aguinda et al. v. Texaco Inc., in which a group of indigenous Ecuadorans have sued the U.S.-based petroleum giant in response to environmental and human health damages resulting from its work in Ecuador in the 1970s and 1980s, in order to provide an example of one way in which litigation can foster development. In the context of the Aguinda case, this paper presents several specific recommendations for developing the legal means by which corporations can be held accountable on an international level beyond the U.S. court system.
Topic:
Development, Environment, Globalization, Human Rights, Business, Accountability, Corporations, and Litigation
Political Geography:
South America, North America, Ecuador, and United States of America

4405. Complex Emergencies and Human Development: A Quantitative Analysis of Their Relationship

Author:
Rosilyne M. Borland
Publication Date:
05-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
Increasingly, the world’s poorest and most marginalized are also those most affected by armed conflict. The complicated interactions among modern conflicts, poverty, hunger, and disease have led to the emergence of the notion of the “complex emergency.” The widespread occurrence of complex emergencies in the world’s poorest countries, where development efforts are the most needed, has grave consequences for human development. Through an application of quantitative methods, this paper examines the relationship between complex emergencies and development using the human development index developed by the United Nations Development Programme and the typology of complex emergencies developed by the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research. The study demonstrates a relationship between levels of development and types of complex emergencies and suggests that an index which considers the multiple manifestations of complex emergencies would provide a better measurement than a single quantifier. These results point to the need to situate development efforts in the context of complex emergencies in order for them to meet the needs of the world’s most vulnerable populations.
Topic:
Development, United Nations, Armed Conflict, and Emergencies
Political Geography:
Global Focus

4406. A New Challenge for Kosovo’s Emerging Democracy. November 2004.

Author:
Adrian Zeqiri
Publication Date:
11-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
On 23 October 2004, elections for the central institutions of Kosovo were held for the second time. According to CoE and OSCE observers, the elections were held in a free and fair environment and there were no irregularities in the process. Shortly after the publication of the election results, LDK (the largest party) and AAK, (a party stemming from former KLA structures) announced their decision to form a coalition government. This decision points to a number of new factors that may shape future political developments in Kosovo, set against a backdrop of urgent Standards implementation and future status negotiations. The NATO-led intervention in 1999 established the territory as a UN protectorate, under charge of the international community in all major spheres of life. Since then Kosovo has seen a gradual empowerment of local institutions over a period of four elections, both municipal and central. The 2004 central elections were organized largely by local institutions, reflecting the ability of Kosovo actors to successfully adopt responsibility for the running of the territory. Unlike the previous broad-based coalition government emerging from the 2001 elections, the recent agreement between LDK and AAK sees parties taking up positions of power and opposition within the new assembly. This constellation presents a new challenge for the fragile political environment of Kosovo. The international community may now be faced with a more confrontational political landscape and the more politicized Albanian politicians will be tested to function within this new arrangement. This report serves to analyse the election results and their implications for the formation of a Kosovo assembly. It will further discuss the impact of these developments in the current and upcoming intensive political period in Kosovo.
Topic:
Development, Minorities, Elections, and Democracy
Political Geography:
Europe and Kosovo

4407. Sustainable Development in Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria: The Role of Social Capital, Participation, and Science and Technology

Author:
Akin L. Mabogunje and Robert W. Kates
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
Sustainable development as an aspiration is global; as an ongoing process, it is local. A growing number of scientists and technologists share in the aspiration and experiment with the local. Here we report one such effort in Ijebu-Ode, a small city of 200,000 inhabitants in south-west Nigeria, which, through a participatory city consultation process chose to reduce poverty through a set of local and sustainable livelihood activities. Now four years into the effort, we describe the setting, the participatory process, the poverty reduction activities, and the impressive results to date. We attribute the success to date to the large stock of social capital, the participatory process that drew upon this stock, and the scientific and technological community that both serve as boundary spanners to link Ijebu-Ode to the national and the global and as a resource for local technologies and advice.
Topic:
Development, Science and Technology, Sustainability, Participation, and Social Capital
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

4408. Institutions and Development

Author:
Robert H. Bates, Avner Greif, Macartan Humphreys, and Smita Singh
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
This paper addresses the political foundations for economic development in Africa and does so by exploring two basic themes: political accountability and political order. We say that political elites are accountable when, in order to retain office, they must employ power to serve the interests of those whom they rule. By political order we mean the extent to which people employ coercion to protect property rights rather than to trespass upon them. Where there is accountability, many hold, then those with power make policies that enhance the welfare of private citizens, as by rendering them more prosperous (e.g. World Bank 1991). And where there is political order, then there is security for property rights, rendering it in the interests of private agents to invest, to labor, and to generate higher levels of income (North and Thomas 1973). The paper provides data about the trajectory of political reform and political order in contemporary Africa and their significance for the behavior of governments. It demonstrates the limited impact of political reform upon public policy, documents the relationship between reform and conflict, and posits the existence of a political "trap" that limits Africa’s development.
Topic:
Development, Political Economy, Economic Growth, Accountability, and Institutions
Political Geography:
Africa

4409. Probing the Sources of Political Order

Author:
Robert H. Bates
Publication Date:
10-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
As noted by Hobbes, political order makes possible the good things of life. It constitutes the political foundations for development. Motivated by the theory of the state and qualitative materials from Africa, this paper develops a model of the foundations of political order, which it then tests on data from 46 African countries over the period 1970-1995.
Topic:
Development, Political Economy, Conflict, and Institutions
Political Geography:
Africa

4410. The Neo-Roman Republican Legacy and International Political Theory

Author:
Steven Slaughter
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Australian National University Department of International Relations
Abstract:
This paper claims that established accounts of international political theory overlook the neo-roman strand of republican political theory. It seeks to address this case of neglect and extend republican observations into international political theory in three steps. The first step examines the nature of international political theory. The second step examines the neo-roman strand of republicanism's conception of liberty and the institutions whereby this type of liberty is secured. Lastly, the main elements of a republican approach to international political theory are developed in a way that highlights republicanism's institutional approach to world politics and its commitment to the state.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, Government, and Politics