A Conversation About The Natural Resource Curse

Bolivia is a very cultural place with a unique background. Bolivia has very few jobs in agriculture but many jobs in other departments. Bolivian families can include several children before marriage and can range even further after. Health care is very rare and not easily accessible. Many crops are common here, however, they have very uncommon ways of preparing their product. Many devastating agricultural issues plague Bolivia. Families in Bolivia who farm are usually poor for many reasons. Malnutrition is a large issue in Bolivians daily lives. Bolivia's water supply it tainted and cause millions of deaths per year. Education for rural children is very low as well as insufficient.

Not unlike many of the Southern American countries which were colonized by Spanish conquistadors, Bolivia was imperialized by spaniards in the 16th century through the defeat of the Incan Empire. The native population of Bolivia was thrust immediately into poverty and slavery, though they avoided the major devastation of European disease which ravaged through other native settlements which had been imperialized. Spaniards put slaves to work mining and “By the end of the 17th century, the mineral wealth had begun to dry up.” (Infoplease) Bolivia gained its independence in 1825 and suffered from much turmoil within and without its borders. It lost much land to outside forces, and political instability, as is common among recently independent countries, contributed to a loss of diminishing wealth. The country currently sits on the second largest natural gas deposit in the world, and also contains much oil, but due to lack of capitalism in the country, it has yet to draw upon this large advantage. Currently, “the country ranks 108th out of 187 countries on the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index” (IFAD) About 60% of Bolivians are impoverished, and most of this poverty is among the indigenous population. The country suffers such poverty due to: Lack of capitalism, lack of rural roads or forms of easy transportation, limited access to institutions such as schools and hospitals. There are several solutions to the problems present in

Based on the demographic profile in CIA World Factbook, Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. Their quality of life is poor because of lack of healthcare, poor education, life expectancy, malnutrition, among other factors. They have a very high income inequality rate. Bolivia lacks basic needs like clean air and water. Educational opportunities are very limited. Bolivians have to leave home to find work, there are very few opportunities in Bolivia. There is one small bright-spot, children are being vaccinated at a higher rate.

In 1976, after a Texaco Gulf consortium discovered mass amount of oil in the Oriente, the construction of a 312-mile-long pipe line was commissioned. The pipe line was gradually transferred to state ownership during the 1970s and 1980s, and for the first time in Ecuador’s history, from its new ability to tax private foreign petroleum companies, the government had its own economic independence and source of revenue, and created free market policies, dubbing neoliberalism. Its economic growth

We, the Bolivian delegation, are aware that there is economic disharmony in the world and know that this is because of the international trade of natural resources. Even though we have important natural resources such as natural gas and petroleum, we are the 2nd poorest country in South America. The main reasons for this are;

The Republic of Costa Rica is a small nation; it is home to just over 4.8 million people in an area roughly comparable to Vermont and New Hampshire combined. The land that comprises modern Costa Rica is significantly lacking in terms of ‘classical natural resources,’ that is, fossil fuel deposits, and precious metals, among others. Sections of the nation that do contain such deposits are often protected national forests, or in some cases purposefully undeveloped. Thus, economic development historically oriented towards export-focused agrarian production. Despite this, Costa Rica has been able to commit to a renewable energy grid, abolish its military, and in recent years, develop industries in consumer electronics, medical equipment, and information technology. One of the most curious questions concerning the peculiar situation in Costa Rica is “Why?” Why has a small Latin American nation been able to completely reform energy production and do away with its military far earlier than its neighbors and much of the world? Ironically, Costa Rica has been aided in these endeavors by its lack of resources, in a ‘reverse-resource curse.’ That is, a lack of resources has contributed positively toward the development of a stable government and economy. Without large domestic sources of fossil fuels, energy production has specialized in the form of renewable generation. Similarly, the Costa Rican government’s ability to abolish the military stems almost

Some scholars agree that this is possible because of Bolivia’s emerging socio-political and economic sectors. On the socio-political level, the elected representatives form part of groups that have been historically excluded from both political and economic power thought Bolivian history. Economically, Bolivia has been experiencing a remarkable recovery from previous economic devastations and a slow period of growth by implementing good economic and financial policies. With an average growth of 4.8%, and 6.5% in 2013, the government assumes the responsibility of producing and distributing its national wealth by reestablishing its economic task on the public sector. By acquiring a social, multinational and communitarian figure, it is indispensible for the state to design a new productive form of rationalizing government spending. In doing so, the government created four different national strategies in base of the National Development Plan. Bolivia Digna, includes social polices pertaining the recognition of excluded sectors of society and the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in the social and cultural life of the country. Bolivia Soberana is based on the set of relations with other countries at the global level by defending national and cultural values. Bolicia Productiva, as implied by its name, is the strategic sector of the economy: hydrocarbons, mining, electricity production, etc. Finally, Bolivia Democrática aims to found Bolivia as a Plurinational state by intensifying democracy in political, economic and social decision-making. Hence, it is evident that the governments overall goal is to construct a decolonized state, where it can express power over popular sectors, indigenous municipalities,

Furthermore, Bolivia has now an accumulated valuable amount of rainy-day fund of foreign reserves. Ana Corbacho, the International Monetary Fund’s chief of mission said of Bolivia’s growth: “Bolivia has in a way been an outlier. The general trend is we have been revising down our growth forecast, except for Bolivia we have been revising upward” (William Neuman Pg.1). Currently, they have received praise from the International Monetary Fund and further international financial institutions. These compliments come as a surprise, considering that Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales, has numerous times criticized and insulted those institutions. He often

Bolivia is in the west-central portion of South America. Bolivia is said to be a landlocked country and has been this way since it lost its’ Pacific Coast territory to Chile in the War of the Pacific between 1879-1884.2 Thankfully some of Bolivia’s neighboring countries have granted Bolivia access to the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Those neighboring countries that border Bolivia include: Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay to the southeast, Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and finally Peru to the northwest.3 Much of Bolivia is said to be considered highland country. This means that elevated mountainous plateaus, hills, and

South America’s growth has been very minimal in 2015. The country has faced a few setbacks. The region's growth is down to levels last seen in the 1990s, and its debts are heavy and getting heavier. There are two primary factors that cause issues for South America. The first is the decline in the rate of growth in China, which has affected commodity and other exports to China. China’s slowdown, which has punctured commodity prices and, with them, exports from and investment in South America. These include minerals as well as soybeans and other items. The second major factor is the significant decline in oil prices. This decline is having a huge impact throughout South America and is affecting the prospects of growth in many countries. Brazil

Bolivia has nine major departments. The departments of Bolivia are as follows Beni, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, and Tarija. The Village of Lupalaya is located in the Department of La Paz near Lake Titicaca. The departments and location of Lupalaya can be seen in Figure 1. Lake Titicaca is the largest lake in South America. More important to this paper than the political boundaries of the different departments of Bolivia are the geological provinces

An area of importance to Peru’s economy is the external sector. The export of its natural resources is subject to price volatility. Recently there has been less demand and price decreases in Peru’s copper, silver, and natural gas exports (Focus Economics, 2017). Furthermore, imports now exceed exports and thus may increase risk in trade balance. The import of goods and services in 2015 (current U.S. $) was approximately $44,800M and exports totaled approximately $40,300M (GlobalEdge,

With an economy dominated by the production of oil, Venezuela has enjoyed the highest standard of living in Latin America. In spite of its success in the oil industry, agriculture and manufacturing also play important roles in Venezuela’s economy. With this in mind, it would seem as though Venezuela’s economic state has flourished. Rather, it has suffered from the effects of political influence, corruption, and poor economic management. The distribution of wealth across Venezuela has caused the elite to benefit at the cost of the working people. This is mainly due to the economic and political structure of the country. Even with the plentiful resources Venezuela possesses, it is constantly being threatened by political instability,

The oil-rich Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, located on the northern coast of South America, was for many decades considered among the wealthiest nations in the entire continent. While having the largest proven oil reserves in the world has often proved a tremendous boon for Venezuela, the very black gold that has been the cause of its success has also proven to repeatedly be its kryptonite. Over half of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product stems from petroleum exports – which equates to approximately 95% of total exports. It is really not too hard to imagine what drastic consequences shifts in global oil prices could have on the economy.

Latin America’s second biggest economy is regarding the arrival of unconventional oil and gas on the scene is regarded as an opportunity to reverse the steady decline the country has experienced in oil and gas production. Argentinian outlook appear to be looking up, industry insiders suggest that the prospects are certainly taking many of the right boxes. Nevertheless, there are problems such as the country’s energy policies, regular tree environment and energy markets, that make the country at first sight a challenging place to invest in. However, there has been a turnaround in government attitudes towards investors as the realisation that for Argentina to duplicate the American unconventional revolution. Already, there have been a number of policy and regulatory changes to reverse the past downward spiral in investment in exploration and production, that resulted in Argentina turning itself from a net energy exporter to a net energy importer, which although politically popular has put severe economic strains on its economy.