The Dark Side of Infrastructure: Roads, Repression, and Land in Authoritarian Paraguay

Felipe Gonzalez, Josepa Miquel-Florensa, Mounu Prem and Stephane Straub
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Felipe Gonzalez: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

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Abstract: Transportation infrastructure is associated with economic development, but it can also be used for social control and to benefit the governing elite. We explore the connection between the construction of road networks, state-led repression, and land allocations in the longest dictatorship in South America: Alfredo Stroessner military regime in Paraguay. Using novel panel data from the truth and reconciliation commission, we show that proximity to roads facilitated state-led repression and the illegal allocation of agricultural plots to dictatorship allies. These results suggest that infrastructure projects can also hinder economic development.

Date: 2022-12-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his, nep-tre and nep-ure
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Related works:
Journal Article: The Dark Side of Infrastructure: Roads, Repression and Land in Authoritarian Paraguay (2025)
Working Paper: The Dark Side of Infrastructure: Roads, Repression, and Land in Authoritarian Paraguay (2025)
Working Paper: The Dark Side of Infrastructure: Roads, Repression, and Land in Authoritarian Paraguay (2024)
Working Paper: The Dark Side of Infrastructure: Roads, Repression, and Land in Authoritarian Paraguay (2023)
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DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/zetmq

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