Case Of Bolivia Research Articles

Shaping Ecological Norms for the Protection of Water Resources – Comment on the Judgment of the International Court of Justice in the Chile v. Bolivia Case (Dispute over the Status and Use of the Waters of the Silala, Judgment of 1 December 2022)

Shaping Ecological Norms for the Protection of Water Resources – Comment on the Judgment of the International Court of Justice in the Chile v. Bolivia Case (Dispute over the Status and Use of the Waters of the Silala, Judgment of 1 December 2022)

The state and the legalisation of illicit financial flows: trading gold in Bolivia

ABSTRACT Most research on illicit financial flows (IFFs) has focused on illicit outflows from low-income countries and the role of non-state actors in generating IFFs. Less attention has been paid to processes through which IFFs enter formal value chains – in effect being legalised before leaving the country – or the crucial role of state institutions as gatekeepers. We develop a novel explanatory approach to account for the enabling role of state institutions in the legalisation of IFFs. Building on political settlement theory, we explain the performance of institutions in regulating IFFs as a function to maintain political power. Taking the case of Bolivia, we examine how legalising illicit value flows works in practice and analyse the motives and underlying conditions that lead state institutions to permit the formal export of gold shipments that have been illicitly sourced or transferred. We find that the legalisation of IFFs accommodates the interests of powerful cooperatives dominating the gold-mining sector, which are critical to maintaining the political settlement on which the incumbent government’s power is based. By maintaining a status quo of non-enforcement, legal ambiguity, and informality, gold-mining cooperatives reap higher benefits from resource extraction at the expense of domestic revenue mobilisation.

Estimating Fiscal Multipliers Under Alternative Exchange Rate Regimes: The Case of Bolivia

Estimating Fiscal Multipliers Under Alternative Exchange Rate Regimes: The Case of Bolivia

Do Shifts in Late-Counted Votes Signal Fraud? Evidence from Bolivia

Shifts in late-counted votes often spark unfounded claims of electoral fraud. These claims exploit the early-count mirage: the expedient illusion that, absent fraud, an early advantage will persist. We characterize the early-count mirage and evaluate associated fraud claims in four disputed elections, focusing on the case of Bolivia in 2019. When late-counted votes delivered a narrow victory for the incumbent, fraud accusations followed—with dramatic political consequences. But we find that the vote-share trend can be explained without invoking fraud and that the allegedly suspicious shift in late-counted votes was actually an artifact of methodological and coding errors on the part of electoral observers. We document similar patterns in the other three cases. The details are context specific, but the core insights are general: time trends from legitimate vote-counting processes are far more varied—and errors in influential analysis far more frequent—than election skeptics allege.

On the Character and Causes of Inequality in Latin America

On the Character and Causes of Inequality in Latin America

The Role of the Failure of Multi-Party Systems in Bringing About Dominant Party Systems in Democratizing Countries: The Cases of Bolivia and Turkey

Political parties are political societies that have a steady and stable organizational structure that seeks to seize control of the state mechanism with public support. Party systems refers to the arrangement within which political parties operate. Predominant party system is a condition where the opposition parties challenge the strongest party in competitive elections but fail to remove the incumbent from power. The most popular definition and classification for the concept of predominant party system remains Sartori’s conceptualization. According to Sartori, the predominance is established when a party wins three consecutive elections while keeping the majority of the seats in the parliament. How do predominant party systems emerge? This article explains the impact of the failure of multiparty systems in fostering predominant party systems in democratizing countries.

Energy Transition Planning with High Penetration of Variable Renewable Energy in Developing Countries: The Case of the Bolivian Interconnected Power System

The transition to a more environmentally friendly energy matrix by reducing fossil fuel usage has become one of the most important goals to control climate change. Variable renewable energy sources (VRES) are a central low-carbon alternative. Nevertheless, their variability and low predictability can negatively affect the operation of power systems. On this issue, energy-system-modeling tools have played a fundamental role. When exploring the behavior of the power system against different levels of VRES penetration through them, it is possible to determine certain operational and planning strategies to balance the variations, reduce the operational uncertainty, and increase the supply reliability. In many developing countries, the lack of such proper tools accounting for these effects hinders the deployment potential of VRES. This paper presents a particular energy system model focused on the case of Bolivia. The model manages a database gathered with the relevant parameters of the Bolivian power system currently in operation and those in a portfolio scheduled until 2025. From this database, what-if scenarios are constructed allowing us to expose the Bolivian power system to a set of alternatives regarding VRES penetration and Hydro storage for that same year. The scope is to quantify the VRES integration potential and therefore the capacity of the country to leapfrog to a cleaner and more cost-effective energy system. To that aim, the unit-commitment and dispatch optimization problem are tackled through a Mixed Integer Linear Program (MILP) that solves the cost objective function within its constraints through the branch-and-cut method for each scenario. The results are evaluated and compared in terms of energy balancing, transmission grid capability, curtailment, thermal generation displacement, hydro storage contribution, and energy generation cost. In the results, it was found that the proposed system can reduce the average electricity cost down to 0.22 EUR/MWh and also reduce up to 2.22 × 106 t (96%) of the CO2 emissions by 2025 with very high penetration of VRES but at the expense of significant amount of curtailment. This is achieved by increasing the VRES installed capacity to 10,142 MW. As a consequence, up to 7.07 TWh (97%) of thermal generation is displaced with up to 8.84 TWh (75%) of load covered by VRES.

Factor of landlocked position in pursuing sustainable development. Case of Bolivia in XXI century

In the article the author attempts to 1) summarize the most relevant data and conclusions about the economy of landlocked countries, 2) assess the impact of the land-locked factor on the modern economy of Bolivia, and 3) answer the question: to what extent Bolivia's landlocked position hinders its progress towards the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Bolivia's landlocked position is one of the key determinants of the country's economy and development, but it seems unlikely that the structural weaknesses of the Bolivian economy can be attributed solely to it. Recognizing their vulnerability, landlocked developing countries must make a double effort to ensure informed and inclusive decision-making, balancing the achievement of the various SDGs together with all stakeholders. With little transparency in government plans and a lack of visible public consultation process, Bolivia's policies for sustainable growth appear to be lacking in coherence.

Violence against women in politics as an unintended consequence of democratization

ABSTRACT Latin American countries have struggled to improve the quality of democracy after the transition from authoritarian regimes. Countries have adopted various measures, including gender quotas, to make democracies more inclusive. Despite impressive gains in terms of the number of women in electoral politics, the quotas have proved insufficient to level the playing field of politics and promote the representation of women’s interests. Women report being the victims of violence and harassment that has the goal of forcing them to resign or controlling their decisions as political actors. This article examines the case of Bolivia to show that violence and harassment against women in politics include both traditional forms of gender-based violence and “novel” ways to attack women facilitated by democratic reforms. The article also analyzes feminist resistance to violence against women in politics in the context of regional campaigns to end gender-based violence. The analysis shows that democratization efforts, including the adoption of symbolic gender equality measures, can have unintended effects that undermine women’s political participation and gender equality goals and represent a significant obstacle to the consolidation of democracy.

Abordando percepciones erróneas sobre los conflictos de tierra y quinua: el caso de Bolivia

El incremento de la popularidad de la quinua por sus caracterísiticas culinarias y nutricionales puede tener consecuencias inesperadas en los principales países productores. Mientras las comunidades productoras se podrían beneficiar del incremento de la demanda, también puede ocasionar deseos de controlar la tierra productiva, como indican numerosos artículos de prensa. Este estudio analiza si el incremento del precio de la quinua aumenta los conflictos de tierra en Bolivia, uno de los mayores productores de quinua del mundo. Comparamos la fluctuación del precio de este producto con el precio de otros productos exportados por el país: los minerales. No encontramos una relación significativa entre los precios de la quinoa y los conflictos por la tierra. Sin embargo, sí encontramos una asociación entre los precios de los minerales y los conflictos, consistente con los efectos rapacity y de coste de oportunidad descritos en la literatura. Mientras los precios de los minerales intensivos en mano de obra como la plata y el cobre están asociados con una reducción en los conflictos, las fluctuaciones no afectan al estaño y otras exportaciones intensivas en capital.

From the “Pink Tide” to “Soft Coup d’État” in Latin America: the Case of Bolivia

Abstract This article addresses the impact of settler colonialism by the Spanish and United States in the American continent in forming the base, development, and power of capitalism in the West. It provides a general overview of the United States’ unequal economic relationships with Latin American countries since the end of the nineteenth century to the present. It highlights the role evangelist groups have in changing the way coup d’états have been taking place in the region, in particular, to countries that had democratically elected presidents who were part of the “Pink Tide” and had a program to counterbalance neoliberal policies that were contributing to unprecedented economic inequality in their societies. One of the central questions in this work is the role of coloniality within Latin American countries and between the US and Latin America in the coup d’état against Evo Morales in Bolivia on November 10, 2019.

¿Es la atención primaria de salud integral parte de la respuesta a la pandemia de Covid-19 en Latinoamérica?

Resumen América Latina se ha convertido en uno de los epicentros de la pandemia de Covid-19, con una crisis sanitaria y humanitaria. El objetivo del artículo es analizar las medidas para enfrentar la pandemia en países de la Región y el rol de la Atención Primaria de Salud, discutiendo obstáculos y potencialidades. Son analizados los casos de Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Uruguay y Venezuela. Los siete países adoptaran medidas de aislamiento social de diferentes alcances, con grados distintos de sostenibilidad. El énfasis de las respuestas estuvo más en la atención hospitalaria que en la vigilancia de la salud, identificación de casos y contactos y disposición de condiciones adecuadas para el confinamiento. En casi todos los países, se subestimó la capacidad de los servicios de atención primária en el territorio. No obstante, iniciativas de enfoque territorial y comunitario buscaron integrar la vigilancia de la salud con actividades de promoción, prevención y cuidado, aunque con alcance parcial. En este contexto la Atención Primaria Integral e integrada toma nuevo sentido y reclama desarrollos que contribuyan a recobrar el equilibrio entre sociedad y medio ambiente. Es necesario repensar los sistemas de salud y la importancia de la atención primaria de salud integrada e integral.

Multi-level learning in the governance of adaptation to climate change: the case of Bolivia’s water sector

ABSTRACT The efforts of Bolivia’s water sector to adapt to climate change include the mainstreaming of adaptation in water policy instruments and broad capacity building processes supported by climate funds and international cooperation. These sector-wide adaptation experiences in the country present important learning challenges across different governance levels. This paper analyzes multi-level learning in the governance of adaptation taking place in the water sector in Bolivia, by focusing on changes in the cognitive, normative and relational domains of learning. The analysis is guided by three questions: (i) Which institutional arrangements enable multi-level learning in the governance of adaptation in Bolivia’s water sector? (ii) What are the cognitive, normative and relational dimensions of learning in these arrangements? (iii) What are the implications of multi-level learning for shaping desired outcomes in the governance of adaptation? The case contributes to understanding multi-level learning processes in the governance of adaptation, including the role of national and international climate change policy instruments in these. In addition, the study provides methodological insights for assessing multi-level learning.

The gender effects of the minimum wage under weak compliance with labour regulations: the case of Bolivia

ABSTRACT This paper contributes to the minimum wage (MW) literature by providing new evidence on the gender effects of the MW in the context of weak compliance with labour regulations. We study Bolivia’s case, the country with the highest informal employment share in Latin America according to the International Labour Organization, during a favourable macroeconomic context characterized by a commodities boom that should have eased compliance with an active MW legislation. From a pooled cross-section of household surveys from 2005 to 2013 and a generalized difference-in-difference specification, we find evidence that the MW widened the hourly wage gender gap, and had negative effects on the formalization likelihood. Our findings stress the importance of enforcing compliance with the minimum wage legislation to reduce the gender wage gap.

Mandatory Multilateralism

AbstractThis Article challenges the conventional wisdom that states are always free to choose whether to participate in multilateral regimes. International law often mandates multilateralism to ensure that state laws and practices are compatible with sovereign equality and joint stewardship. The Article maps mandatory multilateralism's domain, defines its requirements, and examines its application to three controversies: the South China Sea dispute, the United States’ withdrawal from the 2015 Paris Agreement, and Bolivia's case against Chile in the International Court of Justice.

Discretion of the Monetary Policy: An Exemplification with Bolivia

Abstract In this paper, we evaluate and quantify the role of the discretion of the monetary policy in an open small and open economy (the case of Bolivia). The results suggest that conventional instruments of the Central Bank respond in different ways: interest rates present a sensitive/elastic response to output gap (actual economic cycle) [1.8]; an inelastic mechanism to inflation [0.5]. On the other hand, open market operations in the Central Bank responds elastically to inflation [1.2] and insensible to the output gap. These results are robust to alternative specification utilizing the Generalized Method of moments (GMM), for the quarterly period from 2000(T1)-2015(T4).

Counter-Hegemonic Narratives and the Politics of Plurality: Problematising Global Environmental Governance from Latin America through the Case of Bolivia

This article seeks to problematise current frameworks of global environmental governance by examining how the neoliberal model continues to rely on the state to suppress plurinational justice. Firstly, it discusses the creation of counter-hegemonic discourses through the emergence of new centres of epistemic production. Secondly, it analyses the ways in which these narratives interact, or fail to interact, with state policies on a local, national and international level through the case study of Evo Morales’ Bolivia. The article argues that one of main challenges confronting environmental governance will be to reformulate sovereignty as an epistemic and relational – as well as political and territorial – set of relationships.

The Role of UNASUR in the South American Democratic Crises (2008-2015)

The paper aims to analyze the performance of UNASUR in its first initial phase of activities in cases of democratic crises that happened in South America, during the period 2008-2015. Thus, it examines the cases of Bolivia (2008), Ecuador (2010), Paraguay (2012) and Venezuela (2014-2015). The central hypothesis of this study is that the defense of democracy and its institutions has been incorporated as one of the fundamental elements of the organization. Therefore, UNASUR is guided by political dialogue and consensus building for the maintenance of the democratic order in the South American countries and, consequently, a deepening of the regional integration process. It is argued that UNASUR includes democracy as one of its core values and acts to defend it in unstable situation. Therefore, the strengthening of the organization depends, among other factors, on its ability to resolve conflicts and promote democracy in the continent.

Minimum Wage Effects Under Weak Compliance with Labor Regulations: The Case of Bolivia

The empirical minimum wage literature, is mostly based on high law compliance contexts (developed countries) and therefore is not very informative for analyzing developing countries where the minimum wage aims to affect a higher share of vulnerable and poor workers. This paper contributes to the literature by providing new evidence on the minimum wage effects in a context of weak compliance with labor regulations (extreme informality). Hence, we focus on Bolivia, the country with the highest informal employment share in Latin-America according to ILO. Using a pooled cross section of household surveys ranging from 2005 to 2013, we find evidence that the minimum wage policy contributed to exacerbate women’s vulnerability by widening the wage gap and reducing their social protection coverage. Our findings stress the importance of assessing minimum wage effects of vulnerable groups in contexts of high weak compliance with labor regulation.

On Graduation from Fiscal Procyclicality: The case of Bolivia

Since Frankel et al. (2013), many authors have sought evidence of the so-called graduation from fiscal procyclicality; this concept refers to the direction change experienced by a number of developing countries regarding the implementation of destabilizing procyclical policies in the past. While the cyclicality of fiscal policy in Bolivia has been evaluated by multiple authors, we believe that our contribution is relevant because it models the response of fiscal policy in a much more intuitive way, that is also less prone to some specification problems frequently cited in the literature