Who wants violence? The political economy of conflict and state building in Colombia

Leopoldo Fergusson

Revista Cuadernos de Economia, 2019, vol. 38, issue 78, 671-700

Abstract: I propose three broad sets of political economy underpinnings for the persistence of conflict and the weak state. First, a “public goods trap” rooted in inequality implies that a low supply of, and demand for, public goods reinforce each other. Second, economic and political rents create vested interests in the status quo. Political rents are particularly problematic, partly because reformers face a curse of dimensionality: many things have to work well for state capacity and stable peace to consolidate. Finally, a very lientelistic pattern of political exchange consolidates a weak state, and weak states are fertile ground for clientelism. **** Propongo tres conjuntos amplios de pilares de economía política para la persistencia del conflicto y el Estado débil. Primero, una “trampa de bienes públicos” arraigada en la desigualdad implica que la amplia oferta y demanda de bienes públicos se refuerzan entre sí. Segundo, las rentas económicas y políticas crean interés en el status quo. Las rentas políticas son particularmente problemáticas, en parte porque los reformadores enfrentan una maldición de dimensionalidad: muchas cosas tienen que funcionar bien para que la capacidad del Estado y la paz estable se consoliden. Por último, un patrón muy clientelista de intercambio político consolida un Estado débil, y los Estados débiles son un terreno fértil para el clientelismo.

Keywords: Conflict; state capacity; public goods; political economy; conflicto; capacidad del Estado; bienes públicos; economía política (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

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Working Paper: Who wants violence? The political economy of conflict and state building in Colombia (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:col:000093:017599

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