Presentación

Abstract

The present issue brings together seven articles addressing a range of topics related to the economic and social development of Bolivia and Latin America. The first analyzes the geopolitical dispute over critical raw materials in Latin America, highlighting the competition between the European Union and China for access to strategic minerals such as lithium, copper, and lead. The second examines how the design of fiscal decentralization in Bolivia affects service provision, showing that local revenue-raising efforts strengthen the effectiveness of transfers and improve outcomes in human capital and economic activity. The third article evaluates the progressivity of Bolivia’s main social programs between 2016 and 2024, showing their pro-poor character and their contribution to reducing inequality, particularly through Renta Dignidad. The fourth studies the relationship between water infrastructure, gender, and economic non-participation, emphasizing how constraints in access to water can reinforce care burdens that affect women’s economic autonomy. The fifth analyzes the relationship between competition and technological dispersion in Bolivian industries, finding that greater competition is associated with smaller productivity gaps across firms. Among the discussion articles, the sixth reviews the literature on the natural resource curse, systematizing its macroeconomic, institutional, and structuralist approaches, as well as recent debates on the subject. Finally, the seventh critically reflects on the scope and limitations of causal identification methods in the study of development in Latin America, underscoring the need for more comprehensive, contextual, and pluralistic approaches.