NEBE publications
Books and articles
M. Arsel, C. Mena, L. Pellegrini, I. Radhuber (2013) 'Property rights, nationalization and extractive industries in Bolivia and Ecuador'
Abstract
Since the election of the left-leaning leaders Morales in Bolivia and Correa in Ecuador, there have been highly contested changes regarding the role of the state in the extractive industries of these countries. While the content of these changes differ and have manifested themselves over different timescales and political approaches, they fall within the context of the politically charged and equivocal rubric of ‘nationalization’.
Focusing primarily on the minerals sector, the chapter demonstrates that there have been shifts and
swings in the property rights regimes of both countries at the ‘operational level’.
Pellegrini, L. and A. Dasgupta (forthcoming). "Land reform in Bolivia: the forestry question." Conservation and Society.
Abstract
In thispaper we discuss forestry issues related to land reform in Bolivia. We find that although the current land reform satisfies most of the necessary conditions for adequately addressing development issues in the agrarian sector, it does not deal with many challenges related to forest management and actually contains provisions conflicting with the objectives of sustainable forest management. Given that a large part of the land being titled is actually forest land, omissions and conflicts with the objectives of sustainable forest management are critical and may have harmful ramifications for the preservation of forest resources as well as poverty reduction within forest-dependent communities.
Pellegrini, L. (2011). "Forest management and poverty in Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua: reform failures?" European Journal of Development Research, 23: 266–283.
Abstract
This study is a policy assessment contrasting forestry reforms and their intended objectives against the state of the forestry sector in Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua. The study finds that there is a gap between policy objectives and the state of forestry in the three countries, and that the policy frameworks are characterized by lack of policy implementation and intrinsically flawed design. In other words, reform failure matched by failure to reform is present in each country. The Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers followed, and possibly reinforced, existing policy trends but they were unable to solve the implementation problems and lack of coherence that mark the policies of the sector.
Pellegrini, L. (2011). "Corruption, Development and the Environment". Dordrecht, Springer.
Abstract
The book analyses the influence of corruption on economic growth and environmental protection, examining corruption from different perspectives. It contributes to several streams of the literature and assembles evidence of the influence of corruption on two important variables in human welfare: income and environmental policies. The material evinces the detrimental effect that corruption has on economic growth and on the stringency of environmental policies. It also shows that standard techniques for fighting corruption are often based either on simplistic definitions or on strong assumptions that do not apply in many countries blighted by corruption. From a methodological standpoint, this work combines a number of approaches including a theoretical discussion of corruption and of its definition (often omitted in economic studies), together with econometrics, case studies and policy discussions.
George Mavrotas, Syed Mansoob Murshed, and Sebastian Torres (2011). "Natural Resource Dependence and Economic Performance in the 1970-2000 period", Review of Development Economics, 15(1): 124–138
Abstract
We look at the type of natural resource dependence and growth in developing countries. Certain natural resources called point-source, such as oil and minerals, exhibit concentrated and capturable revenue patterns,while revenue flows from resources such as agriculture are more diffused. Developing countries that export the former type of products are regarded prone to growth failure due to institutional failure.We present an explicit model of growth collapse with micro-foundations in rent-seeking contests with increasing returns. Our econometric analysis is among the few in this literature with a panel data dimension. Point-source-type natural resource dependence does retard institutional development in both governance and democracy, which hampers growth. The resource curse, however, is more general and not simply confined to mineral exporters.
