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Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Part One: Introduction -- 1. Accounting for Growth and Decline in Venezuela -- 2. Trends and Cycles in the Venezuelan Economy -- Part 2. A Critical Survey Of The "Resource Curse" Literature -- 3. Economic Explanations of the Growth Collapse in Venezuela -- 4. Political Economy Explanations of the Growth Collapse in Venezuela -- 5. Economic Liberalization, Political Instability, and State Capacity in Venezuela -- Part Three: An Alternative Political Economy Of Venezuelan Growth And Decline -- 6. Toward a New Political Economy of Late Industrialization -- 7. Periodization of Industrialization Stages and Strategies in Venezuela -- 8. The Structure of and Changes in Political Settlements in Venezuela -- 9. A New View on the Political Economy of Growth in Venezuela -- Part Four: Beyond The Venezuelan Case -- 10. The Political Economy of Growth in Malaysia and Venezuela -- 11. Conclusion: Rethinking the Political Economy of Growth -- References -- Index

Di John J. Taxation, developmental state capacity and poverty reductionInt J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 270–279 © 2011 United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), International Journal of Social Welfare © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare.This article argues that policy instruments in taxation are likely to be more effective when one views taxation not only in terms of administrative capacity, but also when tax is viewed in wider developmental processes. Much of the literature and policy on taxation explores how to improve taxation in terms of administrative capacity without examining what policies are needed to improve the incentives of taxpayers to comply. The article provides examples of how tax reform can be more usefully employed when linked to explicit production strategies. It also argues that the success of improved tax collection needs to be assessed, not simply in terms of revenue increases, but also how these increases affect distributional outcomes and political stability.

The concept and measurement of 'failed states' is not generally helpful in understanding the economic and political realities in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper undertakes a review of the literature that addresses the concept, measurement and causes of 'failed states' in Sub-Saharan Africa. It finds that concept and measurement of 'failed states' is not generally helpful in understanding economic and political realities in Sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, it argues that an aggregate index of state performance is unhelpful for policymakers because it misses the wide range of capacity across different state functions within polities. It also finds that the main theories attempting to explain 'state failure' have important theoretical shortcomings and are not supported by the evidence. Finally, the paper examines the political economy behind why some states in the region are more resilient than others.

Mineral and fuel abundance does not determine either the political or economic trajectory of less developed countries. This paper undertakes a critical survey of the 'resource curse' –the idea that mineral and fuel abundance generates poor economic performance in less developed countries–. It examines the proposition that mineral and fuel abundance generates growth-restricting forms of state intervention and extraordinarily large degrees of rent-seeking and corruption, which are generally argued to be negative in terms of the economic growth outcomes they generate. The analysis surveys the Dutch Disease, rentier state, and rent-seeking versions of the resource curse and finds they have significant shortcomings in terms of both theory and evidence. It also discusses particular growth strategies that have been effective in producing long-run economic growth in mineral- and fuel-abundant developing countries.

El presente documento tiene por objeto presentar algunos debates teóricos y políticos clave en torno a las relaciones que existen entre fiscalidad, ayuda exterior, gobernanza y organización política en la economía política del desarrollo en el África Subsahariana. El documento se centra especialmente en tres áreas principales: (1) debates sobre teorías y políticas en materia de fiscalidad en el África Subsahariana; (2) en qué medida la abundancia de recursos minerales resulta una maldición o una bendición para el crecimiento y la estabilidad política; y (3) cómo y por qué las organizaciones políticas son fundamentales para comprender la capacidad de resistencia del Estado en África.

Taxation provides one of the principal lenses in measuring state capacity, state formation and power relations in a society. This paper critically examines three main approaches (economic, administrative and political economy) to understanding taxation. It also examines differences in tax composition across middle-income developing regions and finds that Latin American economies tax upper income groups much less than in East Asia and Eastern Europe, and explores the political economy and policy implications of these differences. The paper also examines issues of tax reform in low income/post-war economies and explores the problem that capital flight poses for less developed countries. – taxation ; tax reform ; political economy ; state capacity ; developing countries