TY - JOUR
T1 - The value of redistribution
T2 - Natural resources and the formation of human capital under weak institutions
AU - Agüero, Jorge M.
AU - Balcázar, Carlos Felipe
AU - Maldonado, Stanislao
AU - Ñopo, Hugo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2021/1
Y1 - 2021/1
N2 - We exploit time and spatial variation generated by the commodities boom to measure the effect of natural resources on human capital formation in Peru, a country with low governance indicators. Combining test scores from over two million students and district-level administrative data of mining taxes redistributed to local governments, we find sizable effects on student learning from the redistribution. However, and consistent with recent political economy models, the relationship is non-monotonic. Based on these models, we identify improvements in school expenditure and infrastructure, together with increases in health outcomes of adults and children, as key mechanisms explaining the effect we find for redistribution. Policy implications for the avoidance of the natural resource curse are discussed.
AB - We exploit time and spatial variation generated by the commodities boom to measure the effect of natural resources on human capital formation in Peru, a country with low governance indicators. Combining test scores from over two million students and district-level administrative data of mining taxes redistributed to local governments, we find sizable effects on student learning from the redistribution. However, and consistent with recent political economy models, the relationship is non-monotonic. Based on these models, we identify improvements in school expenditure and infrastructure, together with increases in health outcomes of adults and children, as key mechanisms explaining the effect we find for redistribution. Policy implications for the avoidance of the natural resource curse are discussed.
KW - Academic achievement
KW - Intergovernmental transfers
KW - Resource booms
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85097383163&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102581
DO - 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102581
M3 - Article in a journal
AN - SCOPUS:85097383163
SN - 0304-3878
VL - 148
JO - Journal of Development Economics
JF - Journal of Development Economics
M1 - 102581
ER -