Date: 2 June 2015, 12:00 \u2013 16:00<\/p>\n
The last decade has been one of a natural resources boom for many Latin American countries, propping up economic growth and social spending in governments of all political persuasions. But while the high demand \u2013and prices\u2014for minerals, oil and other raw materials have provided a crucial stream of revenue, the extractive model has created, changed or exacerbated asymmetries of power, income and access to natural resources. The natural resources boom has also prompted a debate about the role of the state in collecting and redistributing rents, the relation between domestic laws and international capital, and the rights of local people versus the needs of the broader society.<\/p>\n
The purpose of the colloquium is to foster this debate by inviting contributions that investigate the role of fiscal policy as an instrument that can shape (for better or for worse) inequalities related to the use and extraction of natural resources. We welcome papers that address one or several of the following questions:<\/p>\n
– How has fiscal policy evolved over the last decade as a response to the commodities boom, both in terms of the collection of rents (e.g. corporate taxation vs. royalties) and their redistribution (e.g. social spending)?
\n– What has been the nature and scope of fiscal decentralization (e.g. regal\u00edas, canon minero, etc.) and what consequences has decentralization had on the effect of the natural resources boom?
\n– How do different political regimes constellations (e.g. partisanship, fragmentation, regime type) compare in terms of their results to decrease income or other forms of inequality? What positive lessons can be drawn?
\n– What are the implications of the extractive model for broader development questions (e.g. the \u201crevenue trap\u201d) and for environmental sustainability at the local and the national level?
\nThe half-day event will feature the presentation of maximum 8 papers by doctoral students of German and other European Universities. The papers will be presented in two sessions, each of which will feature comments by a discussant, followed by debate.<\/p>\n