Why Commodity Booms Have Not (Yet?) Boosted Human Capital: Bolivia’s Struggle to Create a Skilled Workforce
Do windfalls from the extractive sector help developing countries invest in human capital? To date, empirical studies remain inconclusive. Using Bolivia as a case study, this chapter examines the specific political-economic dynamics that led the country to increase spending on education yet at the s...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Institut de Hautes Études Internationales et du Développement
2014-11-01
|
| Series: | Revue Internationale de Politique de Développement |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/poldev/1779 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850164106517020672 |
|---|---|
| author | Fritz Brugger Kathlen Lizárraga Zamora |
| author_facet | Fritz Brugger Kathlen Lizárraga Zamora |
| author_sort | Fritz Brugger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Do windfalls from the extractive sector help developing countries invest in human capital? To date, empirical studies remain inconclusive. Using Bolivia as a case study, this chapter examines the specific political-economic dynamics that led the country to increase spending on education yet at the same time failed to build a skilled workforce. Overall, the study finds that while the mining sector continued to seek unskilled, cheap labour, the capital-intensive hydrocarbon sector, for its part, developed on-the-job training programmes. Meanwhile, education policies failed to anticipate evolving demand from the labour market. As a result, vocational training suffered, a situation further compounded by efforts of powerful groups in the education sector to protect their own, somewhat narrow interests, at the expense of educational achievements. It concludes that the rise of private education and popular skills-based training programmes cannot substitute for development of a functional vocational training system, capable of supporting the country’s ambition to develop a world-class lithium processing industry with linkages in strategic sectors. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-baf71d13082d47b8bf6cdaf88780086a |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1663-9375 1663-9391 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2014-11-01 |
| publisher | Institut de Hautes Études Internationales et du Développement |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revue Internationale de Politique de Développement |
| spelling | doaj-art-baf71d13082d47b8bf6cdaf88780086a2025-08-20T02:22:04ZengInstitut de Hautes Études Internationales et du DéveloppementRevue Internationale de Politique de Développement1663-93751663-93912014-11-01510.4000/poldev.1779Why Commodity Booms Have Not (Yet?) Boosted Human Capital: Bolivia’s Struggle to Create a Skilled WorkforceFritz BruggerKathlen Lizárraga ZamoraDo windfalls from the extractive sector help developing countries invest in human capital? To date, empirical studies remain inconclusive. Using Bolivia as a case study, this chapter examines the specific political-economic dynamics that led the country to increase spending on education yet at the same time failed to build a skilled workforce. Overall, the study finds that while the mining sector continued to seek unskilled, cheap labour, the capital-intensive hydrocarbon sector, for its part, developed on-the-job training programmes. Meanwhile, education policies failed to anticipate evolving demand from the labour market. As a result, vocational training suffered, a situation further compounded by efforts of powerful groups in the education sector to protect their own, somewhat narrow interests, at the expense of educational achievements. It concludes that the rise of private education and popular skills-based training programmes cannot substitute for development of a functional vocational training system, capable of supporting the country’s ambition to develop a world-class lithium processing industry with linkages in strategic sectors.https://journals.openedition.org/poldev/1779policy coherenceeconomic | development historypublic expenditurecommoditieseducationyouth |
| spellingShingle | Fritz Brugger Kathlen Lizárraga Zamora Why Commodity Booms Have Not (Yet?) Boosted Human Capital: Bolivia’s Struggle to Create a Skilled Workforce Revue Internationale de Politique de Développement policy coherence economic | development history public expenditure commodities education youth |
| title | Why Commodity Booms Have Not (Yet?) Boosted Human Capital: Bolivia’s Struggle to Create a Skilled Workforce |
| title_full | Why Commodity Booms Have Not (Yet?) Boosted Human Capital: Bolivia’s Struggle to Create a Skilled Workforce |
| title_fullStr | Why Commodity Booms Have Not (Yet?) Boosted Human Capital: Bolivia’s Struggle to Create a Skilled Workforce |
| title_full_unstemmed | Why Commodity Booms Have Not (Yet?) Boosted Human Capital: Bolivia’s Struggle to Create a Skilled Workforce |
| title_short | Why Commodity Booms Have Not (Yet?) Boosted Human Capital: Bolivia’s Struggle to Create a Skilled Workforce |
| title_sort | why commodity booms have not yet boosted human capital bolivia s struggle to create a skilled workforce |
| topic | policy coherence economic | development history public expenditure commodities education youth |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/poldev/1779 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fritzbrugger whycommodityboomshavenotyetboostedhumancapitalboliviasstruggletocreateaskilledworkforce AT kathlenlizarragazamora whycommodityboomshavenotyetboostedhumancapitalboliviasstruggletocreateaskilledworkforce |