Natural resources, redistribution and Human capital formation

How do resource booms affect human capital accumulation? We exploit time and spatial variation generated by the commodity boom across local governments in Peru to measure the effect of natural resources on human capital formation. We explore the effect of both mining production and tax revenues on test scores, finding a substantial and statistically significant effect for the latter. Transfers to local governments from mining tax revenues are linked to an increase in math test scores of around 0.23 standard deviations. We find that the hiring of permanent teachers as well as the increases in parental employment and improvements in health outcomes of adults and children are plausible mechanisms for such large effect on learning. These findings suggest that redistributive policies could facilitate the accumulation of human capital in resource abundant developing countries as a way to avoid the natural resources curse.

Beyond divide and rule : weak dictators, natural resources and civil conflict

We propose a model where an autocrat rules over an ethnically divided society. The dictator selects the tax rate over domestic production and the nation’s natural resources to maximize his rents under the threat of a regime-switching revolution. We show that a weak ruler may let the country plunge in civil war to increase his personal rents. Inter-group fighting weakens potential opposition to the ruler, thereby allowing him to increase fiscal pressure. We show that the presence of natural resources exacerbates the incentives of the ruler to promote civil conflict for his own profit, especially if the resources are unequally distributed across ethnic groups. We validate the main predictions of the model using cross-country data over the period 1960-2007, and show that our empirical results are not likely to be driven by omitted observable determinants of civil war incidence or by unobservable country-specific heterogeneity.

Efectos de la reducción del nivel del Lago Chad sobre la Seguridad Regional (Nigeria, Níger, Chad y Camerún) durante el período de 2000-2010

El Lago Chad ha sido durante varias décadas, una fuente de supervivencia económica para millones de personas que habitan en cuatro Estados a saber; Nigeria, Níger, Chad y Camerún. No obstante, el cambio climático, el aumento acelerado de la población, la explotación insostenible y la mala regulación de los Estados ribereños han sido los principales factores que han dado lugar, en la última década, a la dramática reducción del nivel del Lago Chad. Teniendo en cuenta que los Estados aledaños al Lago, se encuentran inmersos en una Interdependencia Compleja, este nuevo contexto, ha tenido un impacto directo en la región, debido a que ha agravado otras variables económicas, sociales, ambientales y políticas, dejando un ambiente de inseguridad regional. De esta manera, la reducción de la Cuenca del Lago Chad representa una amenaza compartida que vincula estrechamente a Nigeria, Níger, Chad y Camerún, lo que permite vislumbrar la existencia de un Subcomplejo de Seguridad Regional.

Work-family conflict, burnout and work engagement among teachers: The moderating effect of job and personal resources

The present study contributes to the literature on the Job Demands-resources model in the italian school context. the aim of this paper is to examine how the interaction between work-family conflict (i.e., a typical job demand) and opportunities to learn and to develop and self-efficacy (i.e., typical job and personal resources, respectively) affect the core dimensions of burnout (exhaustion and depersonalization) and work engagement (vigor and dedication). Hypotheses were tested with a cross-sectional design among 143 teachers of a junior high school in the north of Italy. Results of moderated multiple regression analysis partially supported the hypotheses as the opportunities to learn and to develop buffered against the aversive effects of work-family conflict on depersonalization, whereas self-efficacy moderated the relationship between work-family conflict and vigor. From a practical viewpoint, our findings suggest that opportunities to learn and to develop and self-efficacy are important re- sources that help teachers to reduce the negative effects related to work-family conflict.

Gross Inequality and Inequality of Opportunities in Basic Education: Were they affected by Latin America’s Economic Boom?

In the context of economic growth and recovering socio-economic conditions, many Latin American countries have implemented deep educational reforms since the beginning of the century. This paper aims to analyse whether these changes have promoted equality of educational opportunities in the region. Both the access and knowledge and skills dimensions are evaluated for six important countries, deepening the analysis for Argentina, Brazil and Colombia, in order to better understand the trends observed. Results point to reasonable progress in access, but reflect an unsatisfactory evolution of the level and distribution of knowledge and skills as reflected by PISA test scores.